Play With Play Dough – Tools for Parents and Kids

Dec 13, 2010
Susan Caplan

Play Dough Ingredients - Photo by Susan Caplan McCarthy

Learn what inexpensive tools from around the house will increase your child's fun with play dough while you teach them ways to work the clay.

The tools listed below work with any salt and flour play dough recipes. Different dough mixtures work better for some projects, say beads for jewelry, than others. However, if you just make play dough because it is a fun and creative manipulative, then the tools below will help kids create anything that they can imagine.

Tools for Play Dough Recipes

Whether you are working with earthen clay, a polymer clay, or a salt and flour play dough, kids will have more fun if they have tools that will help them make their creations. If your child loves playing with clay, look around the house for items that can go in a box especially for clay play. Some ideas to get you started, without limiting your options include:

Use a wood board, such as an old cutting board, as a work surface.
A small, flat board can press a piece of clay to a uniform flatness.
Two narrow strips of wood will help kids create straight edges when they press the boards against the clay.
A dull table knife works well to cut dough and can scrape up bits that get stuck to the work surface.
A small rolling pin will flatten play dough.
A pencil serves double duty as a mini rolling pin as well as a tool for drawing dots and lines.
Cookie cutters cut specific, flat shapes.
Toothpicks, craft sticks, untwisted paper clips, nails, drinking straws, etc. add details and can poke holes in beads or pendants.

Make Clay Items With Textures and Designs

After shaping a piece of clay, an assortment of different items can create interesting textures that will remain in the clay when it dries. Again, a box of tools just for play clay saves you from finding pieces of salt dough clay on your kitchen utensils.

Decorative spoon handles, bolts, shells, different pasta shapes, buttons, spools, and different kitchen gadgets can all add decorative designs and textures to the clay.

Press pieces of window screens, mesh bags (like the type oranges come in), and lace into clay to create interesting textures.
A garlic press is a fun tool for making hair.
Drag forks, toothbrushes, and combs across a smooth piece of clay.

For more fun, try making chocolate play dough or work with a clay such as Fimo or Sculpey to make push pins with polymer clay or use in an assortment of small clay projects.

Play with play dough and all sorts of tools that will help kids shape the clay and add interesting textures to their creations. None of these tools are expensive – you should be able to find them in the basement, garage, or kitchen. If your kids at home or in the classroom love playing with clay, make a box of items they can use to decorate different play dough recipes.