This easy cornstarch playdough recipe adds a little water to baking soda, salt and cornstarch to make the coolest homemade sculpting clay. Making cornstarch playdough is cheap, easy and great for kids of all ages including older kids who might use the homemade play dough as sculpting clay. Make cornstarch clay at home or in the classroom!

Easy Cornstarch Playdough Recipe for Kids
Want a cheap, unique art project for your kids? Use our three ingredient cornstarch and baking soda playdough recipe to create cornstarch clay.
Related: Our most popular play dough recipe
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Ingredients Needed TO MAKE CORNSTARCH CLAY
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2/3 cup salt
- 1 1/2 cup water
Video: HOW TO MAKE CORNSTARCH Playdough
Directions to Make Easy Playdough REcipe
Step 1
In a small saucepan, mix the baking soda & salt with 1/3 cup water and bring to a boil.
Step 2
In a small bowl, combine cornstarch & 1/4 cup water and stir well.
Step 3
When the salt mixture boils, remove it from the heat & add the cornstarch mixture.
Step 4
Stir vigorously for a minute or two to thicken the clay.
Step 5
Scoop onto a sheet of waxed paper & allow to cool before giving it to children to play with.
Step 6
The clay will air dry in a few days, so set them on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper to serve as a drying rack.

Our Experience Making Cornstarch Play Dough
This recipe make a small batch of clay, probably enough for 3 or 4 sculptures. If you’re entertaining more than a few kids or have a child with a big creative streak, I would double or triple the recipe.
Make Your Cornstarch Sculptures Extra Special
To make your sculptures even more fun, look through the junk drawers & art supplies for things to stick on your sculptures for eyes, arms, antlers, buttons, etc.
Google eyes, screws, luggage keys, sequins, soda can tabs, tiny nuts & bolts, buttons, paper clips…any tiny pieces would make great additions!
Safety Note:
**If using small pieces to decorate your sculptures with, this project is not appropriate for young children.**
Cornstarch Playdough Recipe

Did you know you can use water, baking soda, and cornstarch to make a homemade playdough that is a great sculpting clay?
It’s cheap and easy and great for bigger kids like kindergarten kids.
Materials
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2/3 cup salt
- 1 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, mix the baking soda & salt with 1/3 cup water and bring to a boil.
- In a small bowl, combine cornstarch & 1/4 cup water and stir well.
- When the salt mixture boils, remove it from the heat & add the cornstarch mixture.
- Stir vigorously for a minute or two to thicken the clay.
- Scoop onto a sheet of waxed paper & allow to cool before giving it to children to play with.
- The clay will air dry in a few days, so set them on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper to serve as a drying rack.
Notes
This recipe make a small batch of clay, probably enough for 3 or 4 sculptures. If you’re entertaining more than a few kids or have a child with a big creative streak, I would double or triple the recipe.
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Have you tried making these cornstarch playdough and sculptures? Let us know how it turned out in the comments!
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