We love making homemade play dough and today we’re sharing a fun and easy-to-assemble Butterfly Play Dough Kit perfect for Spring!

A homemade butterfly play dough kit is a gorgeous gift idea or a fun way to engage in some spring sensory play with your kids

Butterfly Play Dough Kit Gift

It’s supposedly Spring, but winter just will not cooperate – so we’re welcoming Spring in with this fun homemade Butterfly play dough kit as we stay cozy and warm inside, waiting for the snow to melt!

Since my daughter was really little, we’ve been putting together themed play dough kits nearly every month for the kids in our daycare to play with – and then, as she got older she would bring the kits to her kindergarten classroom.

While we used to have a big tower of play dough toys, I found that the kids were always the most excited for these kits – and unlike most play dough toys, you can use the items in these bins over and over again in other ways. (Throw the butterflies into a sensory bin, make flower crowns with the flowers, use the glass beads for counting practice, etc.)

These play dough kits also make great homemade gifts – or a nice quiet time bin for kids who have outgrown nap time. Even my daughter’s six and seven year old friends love getting into the play dough when they come over. I think if you make it engaging enough, play dough can be a fun option for most ages of kids.

I use Ikea sectioned containers (something I learned from Jen over at Mama. Papa. Bubba. – the queen of the homemade play dough kits) because they keep all of the supplies organized and are super easy for kids to keep tidy and put away. I usually keep the play dough in these kits for about a week, without additional wrapping, but you could store the play dough in plastic bags if you want to use your homemade play dough kit for longer or are worried about your play dough drying out.

We used our no-cook homemade play dough recipe in this play dough kit, which is easy enough for kids to help make – they just might need some assistance when it comes to adding the boiled water.

Check out our video to see how to make the play dough and all the fun ways there are to play with it!

How to make a butterfly play dough kit for kids

Materials for Butterfly Play Dough

2-3 batches of homemade play dough in different colors
Variety of flowers
Glass beads
Butterfly or insect toys
Heart-shaped cookie cutter
Butterfly-shaped cookie cutter

Tip: swap out these materials for anything you already have on hand, including:

Pipe Cleaners
Straws
Tongs <– we love these plastic tongs for the kids, they’ve lasted for years and are great for practicing pencil grip

Ingredients for Homemade Play Dough:

Water
Vegetable Oil <– you can use melted coconut oil but if it’s cold where you are, it will make the play dough a bit tough at the start of playing (will soften with the heat of hands playing)
Flour
Salt
Cream of Tartar <– I buy the big container or from a bulk store as those little jars are so expensive! A bulk container will last us for months of play dough making – and can also be used for soft sugar cookies, snickerdoodle cookies, etc.

Scroll down to the printable recipe card for full measurements.

How to Make Butterfly Play Dough

Combine all dry ingredients for the homemade play dough (flour, salt and cream of tartar) and stir well.

Add the oil and food dye into the measuring cup with the water and pour into the dry ingredients.

Stir well, then knead for approximately 2 minutes when cool enough to touch. Add more flour if the mixture is too sticky – or more oil if a bit too dry.

Assemble your homemade play dough kit by placing one type of object in each section. (Feel free to use more or less of the objects that we featured – or swap them out for objects you already have on hand.)

If changing out the objects, try to keep them open-ended so that the kids can play with them in a few different ways. For example, the flowers were used to make little gardens for the butterflies to visit – but also used to make impressions in the play dough and as baskets to hold the glass pebbles.

Manipulatives like the glass beads are great for encouraging counting or other math concepts to come into your child’s play. Different colors of manipulatives also allow for patterning.

Pin this Butterfly Play Dough Kit:

Super simple butterfly play dough kit - a homemade gift or a great quiet time sensory play activity for kids

Grab your free printable instructions for our homemade no-cook play dough recipe:

Yield: 1 Play Dough Kit, 2 cups play dough

Homemade Butterfly Play Dough Kit

A homemade butterfly play dough kit is a gorgeous gift idea or a fun way to engage in some spring sensory play with your kids

Prep Time 5 minutes

Active Time 10 minutes

Total Time 15 minutes

Difficulty Easy

Estimated Cost $5

Materials

Homemade Play Dough (recipe below)
Variety of flowers
Glass beads
Butterfly or insect toys
Heart-shaped cookie cutter
Butterfly-shaped cookie cutter
Pipe cleaners
Straws

Tools

Tongs

Instructions

Assemble your homemade play dough kit by placing one type of object in each section. (Feel free to use more or less of the objects that we featured - or swap them out for objects you already have on hand.)
If changing out the objects, try to keep them open-ended so that the kids can play with them in a few different ways. For example, the flowers were used to make little gardens for the butterflies to visit - but also used to make impressions in the play dough and as baskets to hold the glass pebbles.
Manipulatives like the glass beads are great for encouraging counting or other math concepts to come into your child's play. Different colors of manipulatives also allow for patterning.

Notes

To make homemade play dough, you will need:

1 cup flour
1/2 cup salt
1 Tablespoon cream of tartar
1/2 to 3/4 cup boiling water
1 Tablespoon oil
Food dye

Combine all dry ingredients for the homemade play dough (flour, salt and cream of tartar) and stir well.

Add the oil and food dye into the measuring cup with the water and pour into the dry ingredients.

Stir well, then knead for approximately 2 minutes when cool enough to touch. Add more flour if the mixture is too sticky - or more oil if a bit too dry.