Well it’s thanks again to Happy Hooligans for this post which inspired us to get mixing and make some of our own ‘cloud dough’!
The recipe on Happy hooligans called for 8 cups of flour and 1 cup of baby oil, but I decided that as there is just one Annabelle, and it was our first experiment, we should start smaller! So we used 4 cups of flour and half a cup of baby oil. That really is it!
There are loads of photos of Annabelle measuring, pouring, mixing and being generally very clever but due to the heat and mess factor, her state of undress makes the photos unsuitable for public viewing!! She is getting very good now at measuring quantities, and she helps me count how many cupfuls and pours them in very carefully.
We started mixing with a wooden spoon, but we found a whisk was perfect for breaking up the larger lumps and combining the mixture together.
As soon as I put my hands in for the ‘final mix’ I understood why this stuff is so popular, it just feels lovely and soft and smooth (like a cloud!!) but as soon as you squeeze, it moulds into a firm shape. In fact, I was enjoying mixing so much I didn’t want to tip the mixture out of the mixing bowl and hand it over for Annabelle to play with! It behaves a bit like damp sand, but much finer and lighter and without leaving any residue on your hands – due to the baby oil, it actually leaves your hands very soft. A nice bonus!
I had heard that this was a messy activity but it was too hot and not shady enough to go outside, so we did this in the conservatory on our trusty shower curtain and it was absolutely fine. Annabelle and I got a bit dusty but the mat contained all the mess on the floor. I defiantly wouldn’t worry about trying it inside again.
Here are a couple of our shapes.
It is pretty incredible just how many sand moulds, jelly moulds and small cake moulds we seem to have collected! We soon discovered that silicone moulds are just too floppy for this. The firmer the mould, the better the shape seemed to turn out. Annabelle’s favourite shape was the teddy bear, she loves her teddy bear playdough cutters, and we recently even found some teddy ice cube moulds!
After Annabelle’s first go with this, I covered it up and she used it for the next couple of days. There is still quite a bit left over (after she thew some outside for the birds!) so I have put it in a ziploc bag, and will see how it keeps!
I think next time we might experiment with some food colouring in the oil. We might even make 2 different coloured batches and see how they mix together…so many ideas, not enough time!
Thanks so much for the shout out in your post! So glad you tried it and had fun with it! Don’t you love an activity that’s simple and inexpensive?
I don’t blame you for cutting the recipe in half. I thought about doing that myself, but figured with so many little people here, we’d probably need a biggish container for them to all work around.
On a sad note, I’ve heard from several people who say it doesn’t take food coloring well. I believe it’s the oil/water factor. The colouring just doesn’t mix with the oil if you add it directly to the oil, and it just beads up if you add it directly to the mixed cloud dough. I thought I’d mention it to save you wasting the ingredients to make a batch. Looks like the natural stuff will have to do! 🙂
Ah, I did wonder about the colour mixing with the oil. Thanks for letting me know! This is another activity that I shared with school, i’m sure they will love it too!