We had so much fun with our “Is it a solid or liquid?’ experiment, that I just couldn’t wait to find more fun sensory play ideas using cornstarch. This super simple bubble dough recipe has become our new favorite homemade play dough.
I first heard about Bubble Dough through a pin by Creative Playhouse, and I just had to try it! I chose not to add the oil she suggested to make the “better version” her post was about. But I definitely went with adding the glitter!
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Materials Needed:
- 1 Cup Cornstarch
- 1/2 Cup Shampoo
- Glitter (optional)
Our bubble dough was made with 1 cup of cornstarch and 1/2 cup of shampoo. The original recipe called for 1/2 cup of liquid dish soap, but it said that Dawn dish soap sometimes doesn’t work right…and since I use Dawn at home, I thought I’d try substituting with shampoo.
Shampoo worked great! Plus, if you use a scented shampoo it turns out smelling nice.
My son’s first reaction to the bubble dough was, “It’s so soft!” It really, really is. The cornstarch gives it a lovely feel.
This homemade playdough is also VERY stretchy.
They had fun forming “snowballs” and making miniature snowmen, complete with pipe cleaner arms, and watching them “melt.”
Eventually some of the animals from our collection made it to our play.

I think cornstarch is quickly becoming one of our favorite ingredients for sensory play fun. After all our fun with this simple bubble dough recipe, I’ve got a lot of new ideas for things to try mixing with it.
You’ll also enjoy:
- 10 Simple Bubble Dough Recipe Twists
- How to Make Taste-Safe Cloud Dough
- Awesome Liquid Starch Slime Recipes
- Learn with Play: 150 fun ideas
Danya Banya says
Oh that looks like fun! We haven’t done cornstarch ourselves before, but they do it a lot at our local playgroup. But I haven’t seen it mixed with shampoo before…
OneMommy says
Definitely recommend this one! 🙂
Francesca says
That looks like heaps of fun!
OneMommy says
It really was! 🙂
Pinkoddy says
Oh this looks really good – I love how it is so stretchy.
Visiting from the pin it party
OneMommy says
We had lots of fun with it! Thanks for stopping by; looking forward to checking out your pinterest boards….
Donna @ Little Lilypad Co says
I love this idea!!
Mum of One says
What a great idea. I have never attempted anything like this but I think my son would love it. I have pinned to our board and also shared on our new google plus page.
Thanks for sharing with the pin it party 🙂
OneMommy says
I really only made homemade play dough once when my daughter was little… Then I just started buying Play Doh. But this one is definitely a winner!
(Yes, I think he has a future in cute photo bombing!)
Alicia - One Mother Hen says
The combination sounds really weird, but it obviously works! I like the sound of the softness, I just want to get my fingers into some!
OneMommy says
Oh, it is a strange combo, but definitely one we will do again!
Eva @ The Multitasking Mummy says
Absolutely brilliant! As a mum of one 19 month old I am absolutely loving discovering these fabulous ideas. And look how stretchy it is, I think mum will have just as much fun with this one!
Thanks for linking up for Mummy Mondays!
OneMommy says
Mum will definitely have just as much fun! I couldn’t keep my hands off of it! 🙂
Tal @ The Crafeteria says
I love cornstarch! We love mixing it with water and food coloring. Never tried it with dish soap or shampoo, what a great idea! We’ll try soon!
OneMommy says
Mixing it with water is totally fun!
Jesikah says
What fun! Definitely going to do this with my little one! 🙂
Kat says
This looks awesome! My kiddos will love this thank you so much for sharing 🙂
Debbie says
This is great! Pinned it! Thanks for sharing @ TMTP!
OneMommy says
Thank you for pinning it!
Emma says
That looks great, I must try it. Found you from the Pin-it party. x
Claudette says
We just did this today and we had a blast! 🙂 We left out the oil too and used dish soap. So much fun! Love your blog!
OneMommy says
I might need to try it with dish soap since we aren’t using oil, although the scented shampoo does smell nice!
Donna DM Yates says
omg, I’ve never heard of this, but I want to play with it too!
OneMommy says
Seriously, the ideas out there for kids are so much fun!
Tulip says
That looks like so much fun! I love how you incorporated the penguin toys into play. I don’t know why I’ve never thought to do that with our play dough. Thanks so much for sharing at the KBN Back to School Link up!
OneMommy says
Mine love to put their animal toys into so much of our sensory play. We have a serious animal collection here….