is cloud dough fun?
yes.
is cloud dough messy?
yes.
is cloud dough for you?
maybe.
after reading the book Little Cloud,
Bear and i made the infamous cloud dough
that is viral all over pinterest.
i gotta say, i loved it.
it felt nice.
smelt nice.
and most importantly,
Bear loved it.
the flipside?
it makes a mess.
it's not for the faint-hearted.
in anticipation of a small mess,
i set Bear's table up on a shower curtain.
little did i know...
how epic the mess would be...
see what i mean? tracked all. over.
packed into the nooks & crannies of toys.
ground into the rug.
stuck in the seams of our pergo floor.
it was everywhere.
now, the real question.
would i make cloud dough again.
yes.
in fact we did just the other day.
it made a mess.
again.
and Bear had fun.
and it cleaned up.
and that's the real deal
on cloud dough.
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disclaimer:
i am in no way attacking, criticizing, or speaking ill about my fellow bloggers.
i just want to share with you what i wish i would've known before making cloud dough.
Andie- haha! Did you know The Outlaw Mom has been banned from making it EVER in or out of her home? We love our cloud dough bins- but when we do it outside, I drag the bins to the sidewalk and hose them off immediately. When we do it on a lawn, like when we made 170 lbs for the Super Hero party in three giant low bins, I laid out tarps and when we pull a bin out in the kitchen, it is on tile floor that sweeps and mops up easily. The real downside is that oil will coagulate with the flour over time if it is not cleaned immediately outdoors- it will create a sort of thick film that defies decomposition. At our birthday party site, I noted stray balls of cloud dough had been beaten down by rain the following week and it had actually glued the blades of grass together. haha! We love it and we still play with it alot- But there things to consider. Also- it is important that kids where "play" clothing- because just throwing the clothes into the washer and dryer can result in sticky balls all over the clothing. I actually let my kids play in their bathing suits. Funny post!
ReplyDeleteWe play with our Cloud Dough outside :)
ReplyDeleteThe original place from where I pinned it said how easy it was to clean up. They failed to mention that you shouldn't vacuum it up. The heat from my vacuum caused the oil to "melt" creating an oily film all over the inside of the canister that I had to scrape out with an odd assortment of bottle brushes and hot soapy towels.
ReplyDeleteCloud dough is an outside activity. Then all participants (including toys) get cleaned up real well.
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of cloud dough! I bet my kids would have loved it when they were little...actually, they might even love it now! lol
ReplyDeleteAs a mom of 3 boys, we play with it ALL the time in my kitchen (on tile floor). Clean up isn't too bad... I have the kids strip down when finished (it may leave grease stains on clothes), sweep immediately and mop that night w/ a steam mop (if not mopped, can cause some slick spots;)
ReplyDeleteWe did it at the kitchen table...we have tile floors....that are still slick from the baby oil weeks later...
ReplyDeleteFUN! I keep meaning to make it, but keep forgetting. Maybe it'll be an outdoor activity :)
ReplyDeleteRebecca @ All-American Vegetarian
Thank you for making me laugh tonight, Andie!! Good for you for being willing to play with it again! You are superstar momma!
ReplyDeleteThis such a fun and lovely post, Andie! You nailed it!!!
ReplyDeleteOh my!!! We've made cloud dough, but I took it outside on our patio. I can't imagine having that mess inside, lol! I'm sure the kids loved it!
ReplyDeleteHA! Yes I totally wish I had known this. My son used his hot wheels trucks in it and it took a week and a toothbrush for me to work up the nerves to clean them all before allowing him to play with them on the carpet again. That said I totally loved the texture and had fun in the process. Will have to re think my cleaning or placement of activity next time. Thanks in advance from future cloud dough makers :)
ReplyDeletehaha. Good one! The level of mess will be totally dependent on the child. When we did it inside I actually found I was able to contain the mess without any difficulty and the toys we used were fine after a wash in hot soapy water. I think it's important people are aware of the potential for mess though so that they can be properly prepared haha
ReplyDeleteYeah I discovered this the hard way too. Now we play with it on a giant plastic mat or out side
ReplyDeleteI had the same experience with "moon sand" that my son got for a birthday gift. What a disaster!
ReplyDeleteWord!
ReplyDeleteWe declared it an outside play thingy!
...danielle
Yep. Messy fun. We play with it outside. The last time we played with it, Aiden and his friend mixed it with oobleck. Talk about a great mess. It's rained twice and it's still caked on the patio. :)
ReplyDeleteYep. Messy fun. We play with it outside. The last time we played with it, Aiden and his friend mixed it with oobleck. Talk about a great mess. It's rained twice and it's still caked on the patio. :)
ReplyDeletetotally cute and honest post.
ReplyDeleteMy oldest LOVES cloud dough! We have only once played with it inside,lol! You are a brave and fun mommy:-) I only let him uses his outside trucks etc toys in it. He put his almost $50 tonka fire truck in it when he was with his Mimi outside one day, omg! I freaked, not on him or her but freaked. cloud dough still falls out of the truck and this have been months ago and it has been cleaned. I have to laugh though bc I understand the mess it makes. So glad you and Bear had fun with your cloud dough. We store ours in a rubbermaid and it seems to keep well. My son plays with it over and over. We tried something new with it about a month ago just havent posted on it yet. Thanks for sharing your story Jaime@FSPDT
ReplyDeleteThanks for telling like it is. I have been wondering how messy will be. Can it keep? (in box?)
ReplyDeleteOh yeah! You nailed when you said "epic mess". We do it outside and I never hose down! It sticks to concrete, grass blades, hides under the sand table. Unbelievable.
ReplyDeleteKids mixed up the cloud doh, sand and a brand new packet of Pom poms! Wait for it with water. Talk about a royal mess. I should never answer phone calls during messy play.
It is awesome to read behind- the - scenes blogposts.
Turkey Mom
looks so cool, i can only imagine it feels like silk in your fingers! I still might try it even though my kids are older!
ReplyDeleteHahahaha did you see my original cloud dough post? You might not have seen it, because I wrote it back in November. It's one of the ones that I accidentally deleted a few months back. :/ Anyway, I learned the hard way how messy this stuff is. Like you, I still love it. We make it often, but I'm more careful where I set it up. ;) This is such a well written post. Thank you for sharing with The Sunday Showcase. (On a side note, I need to catch up with my blog reading! In addition to not writing, I haven't had time to read much. I need to go back and see what you and Bear have been up to!)
ReplyDeleteHaha, that's good to know. I have no problem with messes, but usually I underestimate the magnitude.:)
ReplyDeleteI like cloud dough because even though its messy its white you can just hoover it up and doesn't satin our cream carpet (unlike some paint/ playdough etc)
ReplyDeleteWe made the mistake of using cloud dough indoors as well. It was as messy as playing with flour but with the addition of oil it completely stained our "unfinished" wood floors. The stains go away eventually but all I know is if you have a child who is too young to follow directions about keeping it in the bin, you need to leave it outside.
ReplyDeleteFunny... That is exactly the same as our story, especially the picture with the toy truck, my son loves to put his diggers in it but it gets into all the cracks and it is hard to get out... great fun but so messy and it still gets carted inside even if you it set up outside. But oh well they are only little once
ReplyDeleteOh man! Big messes make me a little faint, but outdoors is ok. I can imagine how hard it was to get out of those toys. You are a great mom Andie! Thanks for sharing at Mom's Library!
ReplyDelete