How to Make your Own Play Dough + Add Essential Oils

We’re all in this together. Stuck at home. Unsure of what’s going on in the world. Trying to avoid spreading germs and keeping those at risk around us SAFE. So with that comes a LOT of time. Our kids are in first and second grade and they love school. Their teachers are phenomenal, and daily they were being challenged to excel and shine in their every day lessons. We know that while we may not be first and second grade specific teachers, that our kids are blessed to have TWO teacher parents, who are able to be hands on and attentive during this time at home. We do not take this lightly, nor do we take it for granted. Prayerfully, nor do they…

Today after their math and reading lessons we wanted to do a fun science activity. We have been talking a lot about using resources that we already have on hand at home, so when they recently realized that their own store bought Play-doh was pretty dried up, we were inspired to make our own. The kids were so intrigued and Y’all, this was SO easy!

Here is what you would need:

• 1 cup of water

• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (or I have read that vegetable or olive works)

• 2 teaspoons cream of tartar

• 1/2 cup of salt

• 1 cup of flour

• food coloring of choice + essential oils

You will mix everything together in a sauce pan on the stove over low/medium heat. For us it took less than two minutes to have it all stirred in and at that dough like consistency. We let it cool, then brought to the table to let the kids get started!

I saw this recipe from my friend Casey on Instagram, she is the QUEEN of DIY with her adorable girls and she is such a fun and totally real mama. (Check out her blog HERE!) Using Essential Oils to add to the homemade play-dough made this activity even more enjoyable for us as a family. We are treading through uncharted territories with this COVID-19 and stress levels can get quite high. Essential Oils in general tend to help support our emotions and today they definitely boosted our spirits AND made our house so delicious smelling. We used lemon, lavender, peppermint, and last minute I grabbed the ylang ylang to add to our pink play-dough.

Did you know that all of those oils have a huge variety of benefits when we use them!?
Lemon: refreshing, energizing, uplifting AND has anti-fungal properties
Lavender: also has anti-fungal and microbial properties, is calming, and uplifting
Peppermint: energizes, disinfects, largely energizing, and is a great oil to boost spirits
Ylang Ylang: “flower of flowers,” this one is a big mood enhancer and stress reducer and it smells heavenly!

We added about 5-10 drops of the chosen essential oil to each mound of play-doh, and overall, this activity was a WIN. The kids thanked us several times throughout the day for making it with them, they played with it super often, and the density and texture of the play-dough was spot on. Even if you don’t have kids, I still recommend making this. What a great sensory activity for you to do AT HOME, while you have a LOT of time on your hands. If you are local reading this and don’t have oils but would like to try them? E-mail or text me and I’m happy to gift you some samples. We can even practice our social distancing skills and I can leave them on the porch or in the mailbox for you ;) Seriously though. Need oils? Holler at your girl. And if you try this recipe, will you please tag me in any Instagram or Facebook posts/stories you may do!? Find me at Instagram here!

Praying for all of you, sincerely! Thanks for reading and browsing through these photos. As always, hit reply or contact me through this page.

Cleaning with Oils: Lemon

Y’all know we are brand new to the Oil World, but it’s been a little under a week and I am ALL IN! I am having so much fun Googling, researching, scouring Pinterest, and reading through my guide from Young Living. I’ve been on a Lemon kick recently, not only because it smells amazing, but because it has so many health benefits as well. It acts as a natural disinfectant for surfaces and it can also eliminate mold and help you get that streak-free shine on your appliances. Not only does it do those things, it can help you with fatigue, flu symptoms, and help re-charge your metabolism. The reason I dove in recently though was because I was most interested in cleaning surfaces and household things, while achieving that deliciously CLEAN smell after I did it. Here are three things that I did, but guys, there are SO MANY MORE hacks than what I did in one afternoon:

Household Multi-Purpose Cleaner: The recipe I found for it called for 1c.distilled water, 1c. vinegar, and 10 drops of Lemon EO. I want to always admit what worked for me and what did NOT, so because I have such a sensitive nose, I added 20 drops of EO, and I am not a fan that I STILL smell the vinegar the way that I do. I think next time I would only do 1/2 c. of vinegar and still 20 drops of the lemon oil. (You will find what works for you! It’s all about playing around with quantities and proportions and what you like scent wise.

Lemon & Lavender Room Spray: I’m a huge fan of this! I wanted to create a little room spray for our first floor bathroom. We did 10 drops of each oil (lavender and lemon) and did 1oz of the rubbing alcohol above. Asa was worried it would smell too much like alcohol but after we shook it real well and let it sit, it just smells like yummy lavender + lemon. The fragrance is super, super light and airy; perfect for a small room like a bathroom.

Microwave Cleaner: Some of you may have been doing something like this for years, however, I just tried it for the first time ever! One of my girlfriends said she cleaned her microwave by heating up water that had Lemon EO in it, and that she just wiped out the microwave afterwards and by golly she was right! I used this bowl above, did 10 drops of Lemon EO, microwaved the bowl for 5 minutes and then let it sit for 1 minute. I then used a paper towel and wiped out the whole microwave, inside of the door, tray and walls; and there wasn’t a single stain in it to be found! I’ve heard people who do this with straight vinegar, but I love the lemon EO route because it smells so dang yummy!

Other ways I’ve read you can use Lemon to clean:
-Soap Scum Remover
-Glass Stovetop Cleaner
-Wood-polish & Stainless Steel Cleaner
-and so much more!

What have you used lemon to clean? I’m going to need to add that oil to my October Essential Oil order because umm….I’ve used a LOT of it. Luckily it’s one of the cheaper oils, and you can order it HERE. Don’t forget to use my Enroller ID when or if you purchase oils from Young Living, my number ID is 20381963. And if you want to jump all in like I have and get the perks of being a member (wholesale vs. retail pricing = HUGE perk!!), click the link HERE.

PLEASE email me if you have any questions or if you aren’t sure, and especially if you are even slightly intrigued. I would love to partner with you, walk with you, and we can learn together how to live a more Green lifestyle!