BY
September is in full swing and we thought we’d celebrate by doing Back-to-School week! My oldest kiddo just started pre-school and Kate is now the mother to an official kindergartner. This week we’re going to have *five* posts. Hear that? A post every single day of the week you lucky duckies. So make sure to check in! Kate is going to be sharing some great breakfast and school lunch foods (something we’ve gotten tons of requests for) and I’m going to do some really fun kitchen crafts/science projects that are great for entertaining young hands and minds. Which brings me to today’s post.
Do you guys remember this??
I was so obsessed with that stuff and I totally remember the commercials. When I made this homemade version I couldn’t believe that it had the exact same smell. Took me right back to 6th grade!
If you’ve ventured into science fun like this before then you already know that 97% of home projects require the same 2 ingredients. Elmer’s glue and borax. In fact, I’m convinced if I combine them in enough different ways I’m sure to come up with then next earth-shattering invention like velcro, post-it notes or spray cheese.
Start by dissolving a teaspoon of Borax in one cup of water and set it aside.
Now pour the Elmer’s glue in a separate bowl. You can use either clear glue or white glue for this. For this first batch I’m using clear.
Add some water to that glue
and then stir in some food coloring. I think green is quite fitting for slime, don’t you?
Once that’s all stirred up, just pour your Borax mix into the bowl. You will instantly see masses forming in there. Straight out of an alien movie I tell ya. Or a science book. I know there’s some science-y explanation for the magical formation of slime, but I couldn’t tell ya. Something about polymers…man I used to be really awesome at chemistry. Now I just make really awesome cookies. I think cookies are way more useful as an overall life skill.
See? Say it with me: ewwwww! You just want to use your hands at this point and just kind of stir and smoosh and try to get all of the solids.
It will be wet and soft at first but you just have to keep kneading it. The moisture will knead out or absorb (just toss the liquid left in the bowl) and soon you’ll have a nice blob. Normally a finished product resulting in a “blob” is not a good thing, but this is an exception. Love your blob.
I have to say I actually prefer the white glue. I don’t know why, it just seemed to have a nice texture (you know, because I’m such a connoisseur of slimy blobs). This time I enlisted my only favorite helpers. This is a fun project for kids, just supervise and make sure they’re old enough to understand it’s not something to eat.
Older kids can help measure and stir and younger ones can stand and protest that they don’t get to. And then try to eat the science experiment. It’s all about the family fun.
This is their favorite part. Both of my kids said in unison, “Ahhhhh!! There’s something in there!”
This is a good picture of what you’ll get when you first try to grab it. You might think you messed up because it’s so loose. Just keep smooshing!
And soon it will look like this. Nice and smooth and dry to the touch.
It only takes minutes to make and your kids will think you’re awesome. And it will totally keep them busy for at least 3.5 minutes. Hopefully even more if your kids have longer attention spans than mine do.
What kid doesn’t like to squish slimy things?? Even *I* love playing with this stuff!
Homemade Slime
Description
Your kids will have so much fun in the kitchen with this homemade slime!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 teaspoon borax powder
- 1 1/2 C water, divided
- 4 oz (1/2 C) Elmer’s glue, clear or white
- food coloring
Instructions
- Add borax powder to 1 cup of water and stir to dissolve. Set aside. Pour glue into a medium mixing bowl and add 1/2 C water. Add a few drops of food coloring until desired color is reached and then stir to mix glue solution until smooth.
- Pour the borax mixture into the glue mixture and watch the solids start to form. Stir for a few moments and then use your hands to gather the mass. The mixture will be very soft and wet.
- Keep kneading until it firms up and feels dry. Discard excess liquid in bowl. The more you knead and play with the slime the firmer it will become. Store in a ziplock bag or air tight container and the slime will keep indefinitely.
Notes
- *Note: that this is not a recipe for human consumption. It is for play purposes only. Make sure to supervise young children.
I have to ask though, just in case (since I am the proud mother of the Spawn of Satan, the Sister of the Spawn, and the Spawn-ette in training), how would I get it out of clothes, carpet or furniture?
I ask this for the obvious reason that my little darlings would somehow manage to get it into all three, along with hair, the washing machine, the dishwasher, and everything else you can possibly imagine.
It is Glue, water and borax. Water should take it out, but I would strongly suggest that you not use any food coloring as that is what will stain things.
Vinegar gets it out of most things, mayo gets it out of hair!
I made this slime by myself and had so much fun,it got in my carpet and nail polish remover took it out
toothpaste (the white stuff) takes food colouring out of everything 🙂
straight vinegar will take it out! 🙂 good luck!
I got it on a fuzzy blanket, and fingernail polish remover on a washcloth took it straight out 🙂
I have worked in Child Care for 16 years and have made this plenty of times. It comes out of clothes with hot water and hair with worm water and a little combing. I also wanted to say if you can’t find Borax you can use liquid starch.
Hope this helps.
sorry it should say “warm water”.
Hehe, I was trying to imagine what on Earth “worm water” is! 🙂
Haha
Ok
Im glad this stuff worked ?Lol
Worked!
I have to say that this question is the reason I got on google. “How do you get glue and food coloring out of carpet?” A wonderful friend of mine took my kids to her house for a while and made slime with our kids. Not mad at her or anything so don’t get me wrong. My neice (the devil’s spawn, devil being my baby sister) came over and of course did not follow the “only in kitchen rule” and took it to my daughter’s room. Which of course had new carpet and house is rented. So I have a blue stain in the carpet and don’t want it to end up costing me $500 (deposit).
My daughter had a blast making this. We have a science fair this month at school and she is going to make this her submission. P.S. What is with everyone saying their children are spawn from satan/devil? I have a great sense of humor but that seems to be of bad taste. Just sayin
Yeah, well, neither are real creatures so. . . .
acetone nail polish remover. I say this from experience. last night my friends dog got into her slime and spilt it all over their expensive carpet. we google what to do and it said acetone nail polish remover and it worked great!
Thanks so much for this recipe it helped a lot and it worked so thanks so much!!!!
When I get it on carpet, I use hot water right away and it washes it right out! Thanks!
Vinegar
Vinegar helps with it and mayo helps get it out of hair!☺
I always make these SLIMEs!! THEY ARE SO FLUFFY!!
Not messy at all! Perfect for messy kids. So much nicer than play doh. There’s not crumbles or drying up in your carpet.
This is awesome! Btw I am a kid.#SLIMERULES #bestrecipe
just throw your clothes for a wash with some borax and it will be fine
On clothing, if it’s fresh, soak the affected area in vinegar, then wash it normally. Furniture and carpeting are pretty hard and I haven’t quite figured them out yet.
Vinegar
InfoxicatingLady, my personal guess would be to use soap and water since this is primarily glue. If you ended up with the washable type of glue, it should work!
The blue goo looks like it has a different texture than the green slime. I can't wait to make this. I'm going to do it today!
just found your blog, through another, and can't wait to keep reading. thanks for the giveaway! would love to try the freeze dried fruits.
ourfamily@frontiernet dot net
My kids love making this when friends come over. They stick it in a little cup, fill it to the max and it is fart putty too, lol. Hours of entertainment!
We've gotten it on the carpet and I still have a little mark from it. I wiped as much of it up as I could, let it dry, vacuumed, and that took most of it out. If anyone has a better solution, I'm all ears.
A carpet cleaner once told me that most stains can be removed from carpet by gently scrubbing with an old toothbrush and a solution of warm/hot water and white vinegar, in equal parts. Sometimes it takes a two tries, but so far it has always worked for me.
Just started following your blog. Your kids are adorable! Love the tips and recipe index. Cant wait to try the egg and ham cups for breakfast
Pork for children? Interesting what this world is coming to. I guess we might as well feed them out pet dogs. Anyone know anything about the nature of pigs (they are very intelligent loving creatures like dogs) or their health hazards to out body’s? Oh that’s right, it doesn’t matter unless it tastes yummy 😉
Pigs will literally eat a human….
My kids love playing with this stuff at the OMSI! To have some at home would be a real surprise for them I think 🙂
Infoxicating Lady- Lucky for you one of the main ingredients is laundry soap! 🙂 It should wash out easily with warm water and a little soap if needed. But it's also not "sticky" so it shouldn't make a mess unless your little spawn actually rubs it into something:)
Isn't Borax great? All my little ones love this project, and I love it because it's non-toxic and so very washable. Also, I am hosting a giveaway on both Organic Orgy and Zen of Homekeeping if you and your readers would like to learn about and win a great natural sports drink – pop on over. Thanks, Kitty
This stuff is awesome! I remember playing with it as a kid too. Our boys had a blast with it. Fun post Sara
Oooh fun! We used to make this for the kids at the daycare I used to work at. We had so many parents ask for the recipe, we sent it home in cute little jars with recipe tags.
Just in time for the rainy season!! I'm going to wait to pull this out of my bag of tricks for when the sun has all but permanently gone away and the rain clouds are daily, but I think my little guy will love it. Does it need to be made in a non-food-prep bowl or does it wash up ok?
Southworths- it washes up just fine, no worries there.
How totally cool!!!
lololololol
This is a fun recipe, but I want to caution moms that borax is essentially boric acid and toxic if ingested. Just keep an eye on the kids.
http://www.greenfootsteps.com/borax-information.html
On your link it clearly states…”Borax is NOT Boric Acic” …just an fyi. It is boric acid once mixed with another ingredient.
Ok, THAT is kind of cool.
It was so great to see you this weekend!! I'm sorry we couldn't chat longer. Snotty kids, changing of the guard, and all that jazz. :-p
That kid has amazing eyes! I love the first picture. 🙂
I've been WAITING for this post – my boys can't wait to make slime!
Just made up a triple batch for my 3 kids as an end-of-summer goodie. Sadly, none of ours solidified like in your pictures. We got the initial clumps, and working them in just made them smaller, but no more materialized. Hmmm, wonder what I did wrong.
Very weird Stephanie, I don’t know!
Did you use washable glue?
Hi. We just made up a batch with our kids, and all we got was colored soap and glue soup. What did we do wrong?? Please help!! Does it matter if the glue is a different brand than Elmer's?? It's the same kind of white kids' glue that we used. Just not Elmer's.
Please advise. Thanks!
I haven’t made this recipe, but I would imagine that, yes, it does matter if glue is Elmer’s. I’m a teacher, and I speak from experience when I say that there is a reason Elmer’s and Crayola are considered the “name brand” on school supplies. Spend the extra buck. They work much better and last much longer than off-brand.
I ended up with the same thing.. I’m not sure what went wrong but it just wasn’t mixed well so I stuck it in the microwave for 30 seconds(I made a big batch- 16 oz glue plus other ingredients) and then in the blender on the highest setting for about 2 minutes and it worked out fine! Kids are playing with it as I type 🙂
Just realized how old that question was!! Lol
thanks monica,
mine too didn’t work right away, i put it in the microwave for a few seconds to warm it up and i gave it a vigorous stir and it went from a liquid mess to congealed slime!
Lynn, I would definitely use Elmer's glue. I have read that other "school glues" don't have the same composition. I bet that was the problem!
I didn't even know Elmer's made clear glue! How fabulous! I use to be a "science birthday party entertainer" here in Manhattan and have made slime by the gallons with kids. It was pure awesomeness! My advice/reminders for parents is it is only glue, soap (borax), and food coloring. Food coloring is the only thing that might stain, everything else cleans up easily. And Elmer's brand is the only way to go, other brands never worked as well in my many years of slime making.
This is exactly what I was going to look up a recipe for. I can't wait to do this "nose picking" booth at our school's spring carnival game. Homemade slime, here we come!!
http://www.carnivalsavers.com/unique_carnival_game_nosepick.html
**Yes, before each child puts their finger up the nose and into the slime we are going to have them use hand sanitizer.**
I came to your blog through Craft gossip, and couldn't be happier! I just LOVE everything, from recipes to slime!
So much fun! My house is full of giggles right now! It took awhile to get my littlest one to touch it, but now she's having a blast! Thanks so much for this recipe! And by the way all I had was a generic brand of glue and it worked just fine.
I just made this with my kids and it is freaking awesome!!! Thank you for posting about it. 🙂
I think I figured out the problem with the soupy slime. Our first batch turned out that way because the kids started stirring right as soon as I poured the borax water into the glue mix. The second time we let it sit for a while and everything came together beautifully.
Made this stuff for my co-op preschool today. It was a hit! At first, I thought it wasn't going to work, but when I actually followed the instructions and made sure ALL the excess liquid was drained (which was more than I expected there to be), it did. It did also help to let it sit for a minute. Very fun!!
About how many ounces does this make?
Denise/Nene- not sure on the ounces, but it makes about a palm full :)Maybe a little less than a cup?
Thank you! My kids and I had so much fun playing with the slime!
My boys and nephew are loving this! Thanks for sharing the good memories.
Love it! Just made our second batch in a gorgeous blue…but it’s getting all over our skin (the blue dye)…any tips? Btw – this makes a great ‘pool’ for tiny plastic animals 🙂
Lol, I’m not sure Kate, I’ve never had it dye my hands before! You must have some really good food coloring 🙂
WEll we tried it twice and both time it didn’t come out right but I think it is because we used Elmer’s Clear GEL glue. I’ll have to buy the white kind and go with that. Also if you don’t want it to stain anything (because of the food coloring) just don’t add color.
I just pinned your green glob of goo. I love how you do such fun things with your boys! I can’t wait to share this with my grown son. So he can share it will his daughter.
Just made this for my classroom. Me thinks a science project is in the works! I used Wilton Gel Color and my hands turned Smurfy blue. I just added a tiny bit of the borax to my hands and it came right off. Thanks for the recipe!
I’ve made this before, but never with the clear glue…what a fun difference that makes! Thanks!
Just wondering if you can get Elmers glue in Australia? I have never seen that brand but we have lots of other white PVA glue is that the same? Also how long can you keep the slime for? Thanks
I’m not sure Heidi, Elmers is just a standard brand here in the states. You’ll have to experiment with others. And honestly, I’m not sure how long it lasts, I’ve never really stored it long term. If it’s in a zip-top bag it will definitely last a week or two but I usually end up tossing it after that so I’m not sure how much longer it stays good.
They last at least a year if in a container I have tried!!????
Heidi, I’m in Australia too and I made 2 batches of slime this morning with plain ‘no-name’ type PVA wood glue from the cheap shop. Worked great!
Heidi: we found it at OfficeWorks. But the clear Clag works too.
The chemistry: Elmer’s glue is made of polymers. The borate ions from borax crosslink the polymers. This means that the BO4- ions are attracted to the hydroxyl (OH-) groups on the polymers, which basically connects them together, increasing the viscosity. A similar concept is actually used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) systems in the gas wells in Pennsylvania.
THANK YOU!! I love to show the science behind the fun! This was a fun Experiment that I did for 9th graders and they LOVED it!! The problem solving that came about when some didn’t work out well, was a great learning experience too!
just found your blog…can’t wait to try this with my three boys. My two younger boys are one and three and they look ALOT like your two in the photos – wierd!
Thanks for the recipe! My son and I going to make some now 🙂
I haven’t tried it with slime yet. I need to make a store run for Borax. But I have begun using washable liquid watercolors in place of food coloring. They are a little expensive and hard to find, but a little goes a long way. I bought a small six pack through Rainbow Resources dot com. I think it cost a little less then ten dollars. I use them wisely and they have lasted one year and I still have a bunch left. Just thought I would share to take care of the staining issues. 🙂
I have used this for years. My sons are now in college. One of the best “tools” to add to slime is STRAWS!! Put the slime on a tray, pat the slime around the bottom of the slime and then blow!!! It’s makes fabulous slime bubbles.
I don’t want to be a downer (and I’m truly thinking of doing this with my toddler) but I keep reading conflicting information on the safety of borax. The info is so conflicting I’ve decided against making our own laundry detergent with it.
Does anyone have any better info than the mess of confusion on google?
I just looked on wikipedia. It says that it takes a large amount of borax to cause severe symptoms or death, and that amout varies from person to person. Infants are usually the most sensitive to the effects of it.
I think that as long as you don’t let an infant play with it, and as long as your children don’t get into a HUGE box of it and play around with it, it will be just fine. And for this you are only using a teaspoon, so it’s not going to cause any problems. Just keep an eye out for “beefy red” (that’s what the article called it) rashes…if you see that then take it away. The rashes just mean that your child is sensitive to borax.
Wow! I first found this on Pinterest and it caught my eye. I’m a mom to 2 boys aged 4 & 5 who absolutely love anything ‘gross’. I’m also a daycare provider and we love ideas that break up the routine a little – especially towards the end of a very long summer! Thanks! We made 2 batches – one was overly gooey, one was a little tough – but regardless, it’s been keeping the crew entertained for a good half hour and they’re still giggling over the mess! (Just a note, I always throw paint shirts on the kids when we’re working with anything messy – including food colouring.)
I was so excited to make this! The directions looked so simple,however, I must have done something wrong because mine came out like very thick soup. I must have kneaded it for a good 30 minutes and still couldn’t get it thicker. I couldn’t even let my son play with it as it was to watery and caused a huge mess..I think I am going to try again though and make sure I am following the directions step for step!
I LOVED THIS…..made a practice batch this afternoon and will be making it with my grandchildren(ages 3 and 4) when they come to visit next weekend. We will probably make green for him and pink for her!! I can’t wait. I think even Papa will get into making this with us.
Just have to tell you what a success this has been!! I bought the glue for 20 cents per bottle at the back to school sale, already had the borax. We’ve made 5 different colors and it has kept them occupied for going on 2 hours and they’re still having fun! Where else can you get 2 hours of fun for a buck? THANK YOU!!
LOVE IT! Thanks I can’t wait to make this for the kids 🙂
.. I really would like to try it.. can someone please report what is written on the label of this elmer’s glue? I am in Italy and not very talented in science matters… I would like to be sure of what I am mixing.. thankyou!
Hi all,just hopped across this website and am so excited.I have 2 boys age 6 and 5 and a little girl age 3.They would love this but i am in Ireland and have never heard of Borax! Can anybody tell me what it is? Thanks x
Julie, it’s a type of soap sold here in the states. It’s the exact composition that makes it work for a lot of science projects like this so I don’t know of a substitute. But you could certainly find it online. It’s just a product used for home cleaning.
You can use an eye wash solution instead of borax if you can’t find it (I believe it’s banned in the UK,) as long as it contains boric acid and sodium borate. So optrex is a good one.
I made this and had the same problem Kate did, my fingers ended up stained blue from the food coloring.. I ended up having to make a plain boring white batch because my stepson’s mom would have flipped had I sent him home with blue hands!! Any tips on coloring the putty and not your hands?
That’s so weird! it’s never happened to me. Maybe a little too much was added, or it is the brand you used? I’ve never had it dye my hands; I just use a drop or two, which just simply isn’t enough to do anything but color the putty.
A big hit this morning with my preschoolers! Super easy to make and easy to clean up the project mess too. It’s look like it will hold their attention for about 20min.
Hey, 20 minutes for preschoolers is like 4 hours in real time, haha. Awesome!
I was thinking the same thing lol
I had a student put in their hair, some how we tried vinegar and it came out easily. Love this stuff. Try putting it in a strawberry basket and hand basket up above table. It comes down so cool. Then you can cut with scissors .
your boys’ faces are fantastic! looks like great fun- will have to try it 🙂
Just made this with my grandkids, they had a blast. they are 8 and 5 so much fun we will do it again. thank you for posting it.
This was fun. Thanks!
I made this stuff once when I was in school, except that my teacher called it flubber. Either or, I loved it. Thanks for posting the recipe.
Thanks for sharing! I have three grandkids coming for a visit this weekend (6, 8 & 10), I think they will think they have a cool Nana for letting them make this!
Random fact:
If you put all of said ingredients into a Rubbermaid with a lid (or Tupperwear, or old sippy cup, etc) and shake it (for something like ten minutes), you will get a nice lovely round ball of the Gak-substance. Without ever having to touch it yourself.
Which is wonderful, because I *hate* the way the stuff feels.
About the “toxic borax” comment from someone, I would disregard, as my guess is that Borax would only be toxic if ingested in large doses. Borax is basically Boron which is in many vitamin supplements. I take a very small amount of Borax each day as a supplement for my arthritis, and it really helps me. I’m not dead yet 😉
In regards to the safety of it – ITS CALLED ADULT SUPERVISION!!!!! thats all it takes peopke.
I couldn’t believe how well this worked! I just made this for my nieces for Christmas and made the clear kind in dark blue and purple with snow glitter inside~it turned out so pretty and jewel-like! lol Who knew slime could merit that reaction? haha Thank you!
I just did a 1/4 batch to test to see if my non-Elmer’s glue would work. I used “Desk-Tech Stationery” brand and it was just labelled “White Glue”
It totally seized up instantly into slime – with NO excess liquid. But after I played with it for about 5 minutes (I’m 35! It is irresistible!) it suddenly started to lose elasticity and became sticky and more liquid again. Still slimy but not “I still have clean hands” slimy like it had been.
we alway just mix it in the ziploc bag that way there is less chance of a mess and it is fun to squish the ingredients together through the plastic.
Hi!
So i’d love to do this, but i can’t find the “Borax”
Can i use something else or can you tell me where can i find it ?
Thank you 🙂
It is found at normal grocery stores with the dishwashing detergent or household cleaners. Or you can always get it on Amazon.com
I found this on pinterest. Thanks now I will be the best mom ever.
My two-year-old played with this for a solid hour and only stopped because it was time for dinner. He adored it. He also poured it all down one side of his shirt and pants, and when I ran it under water nothing happened. I’m going to stick them in the washer and pray that works. But it was worth it.
My 4 year old and 2 year old sons LOVED this!
Thank you so much for the recipe and the “how to”.
My nephews will have ton of fun with this slime.
We don’t have the glue brand “Elmer’s” in New Zealand. Is it just standard kids craft glue, designed for cardboard and paper etc?
Thanks for the awesome recipe, I can’t wait to try it as soon as I work out a suitable brand glue substitute for down here.
My girls were pretty grossed out about the idea of making slime, but in two minutes their pink slime was ready and they are loving it. Thanks for the fun idea.
I think the reason you liked the white glue’s texture better was because you used 5oz of the clear glue instead of 4. But I don’t know for sure… just a thought.
In other countries, the glue we call Elmers’s glue is also known as PVC glue. Found that out on a British art program. Yes, it’s plain white school glue, of the sort used to glue paper and cardboard. Different brands will bond differently, so do make test batches.
I love this stuff! We actually made it in my Forensic Science class in college. It was to demonstrate how substances can change with they interact with other substances. We also took clear plastic lids (like the kind that come off to-go salad/sandwich containers), drew on them with sharpies and then put them into a toaster oven. They melted…kinda…more like they shrunk down to the size of coasters. That was to demonstrate how heat changes materials.
I did this this week in my homeschool. I blogged about it and linked back to this post. Thank you so much for sharing. Here’s where you can find your linkback: http://sonshineclassicalacademy.blogspot.com/2012/02/five-senses.html
I am in Australia and have never come accross ‘Borax’ what is it so that maybe i could get something like it????
You can purchase it online Tamina, just google!
Try the laundry isle in the supermarket. It’s definitely available in Oz.
Ive made several batches and they NEVER turn out like the ones pictured here do i really need to use elmers glue, do different colors (food coloring) make a difference my green will turn out but blue or red never become unwet feeling please help.
You’re probably putting too much water into your glue. I find a “safe” percentage to be 2/3 glue and 1/3 water, though if you toy with that a bit and add a LITTLE more water, your slime will be slightly more pliable/stretchy. Try it!
This is awesome. My daughter and I made eight batches in a row tonight, we had to run out to grab more glue. Afterwards, we used all our old pots and pans and opened a slime cafe. Thanks for the great recipe, too much fun!
OMG IT IS SOO FUN I COULD PLAY WITH IT ALL DAY IF MY MOM WOULD LET ME.HA IT IS SOOO FUN!
Can I use anything as a substitute for Borax? I live out of the country and they don’t sell it here 🙁
Not that I know of Raquel. That specific soap has chemical properties that cause the reaction needed. You can always purchase it online.
Liquid Starch will do it, but if your grocery store doesn’t have Borax, they probably don’t have liquid starch either : P Plus, liquid starch slime tends to be runnier.
The chemical component in Borax that you need is Sodium Tetraborate, a safe salt of boric acid.
Do you know a substute for elemers glue?
Nope, it’s kind of an important ingredient 🙂
You can use almost any inexpensive detergent. I try to find one without Borax, as it causes an allergic reaction with my daughter’s friend.
I’ve made this dozens of times over the past decade. If you follow the directions, no short-cuts, and don’t add too much food coloring, it should work. There will usually be left over liquid that needs to be discarded. Also, if you made it white, you can let your children color it with old, washable Crayola markers when they play with it. Eventually, it all turns a gross grey color, but they have fun with it in the meantime. Store it in the fridge, in Ziploc bags, to make it last longer, but know that it is more flexible and stretchy, the warmer it is. Thanks for posting this fun idea!
I used this in a round up today for Little Leprechauns. So much fun to draw the boys into some crafty time. http://www.kidscreativechaos.com/2012/03/three-clever-st-patricks-day-crafts-and.html Pinning too.
i made the slime yesterday with my two kids and they loved it. hours of entertainment! we added goggly eyes! i linked your post on my blog: http://www.thelettereblog.com/2012/03/17/slime/
I didnt want to use food coloring cause i didnt want to worry about having to clean up after it. elmers makes clear glitter glue in several colors. i made this using the green glitter glue and didnt use food coloring it worked great! my son is so excited over this stuff! thanks!
ok so i did white elmers glue and glitter glue. the glitter glue you get the color and the glitter but not the same consistency as the white glue. the white glue is awesome but i didnt put in food coloring
We made this with 8 ozs of Elmer’s Glue and a cup of liquid starch.
You can always tell a real-life mom from her realistic estimate of putting in 15 minutes of work for 3.5 minutes of kid play time…which is used to clean up what was dirtied in the 15 minutes previous. Thanks for the recipe! My boys are gonna think I rock…even after I have to spank #2’s hand for eating the stuff.
I have made this in my science class. One little angel’s portion of “gloop” with glue and Borax got dropped behind a table and has been stuck to the carpet for 5 years.
I make it white and let them choose colored craft sticks to stir the gloop. As it starts to set, the color from the wooden craft stick starts to transfer onto the gloop. The red, green, and blue work well. The yellow craft sticks not so well.
Thanks for the recipe! We are going to make this tomorrow at an 8 yr old “Mad Scientist” birthday party. FYI your “print this” button is not working. 🙂
Anyone know how long this lasts? I am wanting to make it for birthday presents and have a busy week before the birthday party…I don’t want to make it and then have it no longer set for the birthday party. I have airtight containers and can store in the fridge as some have suggested, just looking for how long this lasts. Thanks!
Keep it in zip loc bags or gladware and it’ll last for MONTHS. AND MONTHS : )
i love this idea but i have learnedthe hard way not a kinda thing to put in a ziploc bag and forget about.
Hey ladies!!
As far as clean up – let it dry. found it on my carpet. It actually dried away from the carpet. Excuse the choppiness of the comment – typing one-handed while I nurse 🙂
I made this today with my 3 year old. She loved it!! The slime with the clear glue isn’trelly slmie but with the white glue it was slimy. I would suggest just using it with white glue. My 3 year old doesn’t like the clear glue one its not slimy it is more rubbery. Thanks though for posting i was fun to make and she loves it!!
My son was home sick from school a few days ago so I decided to do something fun with him during the time the Tylenol was making him feel a little better. We made 3 batches of slime in different colors with different kinds of glue. We both had so much fun and it was wonderful to see him enjoying himself on a sick day! 🙂
I did this with my daughter and her half brother one weekend. We added glow in the dark acrylic paint to the mixture for added fun after seeing something smilar on pintrest.
Fun to try:
Put a funnel into an empty mayonnaise or pickle jar (or something similar). Roll your slime into a nice round ball and put the ball into the funnel. Check it out every 10 minutes or so. Over time it will flow through the funnel and “pour” into the jar–slow motion fluid flow!
I used to make this with my kids when they were little. So fun! If you roll a small ball of it, you can bounce it like a super ball. 🙂
Love the recipe! My boys will love it! I was just wondering how you would store it after it’s made, and the fun is done-for now. Cant wait to try it.
Thinking of trying this, but I live in Costa Rica and we don’t have Borax. I’m wondering if I could use boric acid? Has anyone ever tried that?
For fear of a food coloring disaster I am going to soak an old washable marker in the water to see how that works, I’ll try to post if it works or not.
We just did this and it was great!!! The boys are loving it! Thanks for such easy instructions!!!
Walmart carries Borax! I was having trouble finding it also because i was looking in the laundry detergent isle. When I went back to look for it again, I found it with the starch. Hope this helps! Can’t wait to make this with the kids I’m babysitting for this summer!
We made this this morning and when they finally got bored with it, they were putting it into containers…and it magically turned into flap, the farting putty!! They have had so much fun with it!! And my kids are 9 and 11!!
We made this today! It was so much fun. Thank you for sharing. I did a post about it and linked back to your blog. Thanks again for the inspiration. 🙂 http://www.laurascraftylife.com/2012/06/science-for-kids-making-slime.html
What if we add glitter? ^^
I am making this today with the kiddos. Thank you for sharing!
I saw this fun idea when I was looking for fun things to do with my little brother or when I baby sit. I tried using Baking Soda because we don’t have Borax. This didn’t work. It is now just in a green liquidy form. Please tell me what I can do, or where to get some (is it cheap?) Thanks!
Bethany, Borax is a key ingredient here, there are no substitutions. It’s easily found with the laundry soap in the grocery store and is inexpensive.
i just tried it. i happened to have a bottle of white glue that i got on sale from the last “back to school” sale at target. and the borax i happened to have on hand from making my own laundry detergent! i left it without color so it wouldnt stain. and no fighting over who got what color.
great stuff!
Does it HAVE to be Elmer’s brand or can it be any cheap brand of glue?
Thanks for this recipe. My two girls and I have just made a batch. We used clear glue and added some (tiny/very fine) glitter. It’s a hit!
Thanks again; I needed a break today and I’m hoping it’ll amuse them for a few minutes at least 🙂
PS – I’ve just noticed the time on the comment. No my girls aren’t up all night – it’s almost 3pm here.
Was worried it wouldn’t come together but when it did what a blast!!! We put it in dixie cups and then blew into it with straws making amazing bubbles and fart noises!!!! Creative play is so fun, thank you for your creativity.
We made this today!! It was great. We didn’t have any of the problems mentioned above. We used one drop of food coloring and that was plenty. No stained hands or table! Thanks for the blog post!
Hi, I was really excited when I found this slim recipe posted on Pintrest and couldn’t wait to try it. I knew already that “Borax” wasn’t sold as “Borax” here in Germany so I was looking for an alternative and found that Borax is not sold at all to private people (just with a license for research and production) and that it is a controlled substance. I asked myself why and took a look around online. I found that a very small amount (less then a teaspoon depending on the size of the child) is deadly to a small child. This link http://www.magicalchildhood.com/articles/borax.htm
sums up the risks and gives a couple others sites with facts. Like the site says there a plenty of dangerous chemicals in my house but I’m not giving them to my kids to play with. ~ Leona
I just made this recipe for my boyfriends grandsons. My concern is … I used Gel Food Coloring and when I “kneaded” the gak my hands were stained a pale neon pink.
What food coloring product did you use? Can you also substitute Neon Craft Paint for the food coloring?
Thanks in Advance for your reply,
Tammy Craggs (pink Hands)
I used the McCormick brand , and it didn’t turn our hands colors. It did a great job turning our slime green though 🙂
Awesome! I just made a batch with my twin boy kindergarteners , and they could not stop giggling! I am in charge of a game in their class next week at the Halloween party, and I am totally doing this with them.
I’m a nanny (I have a 3 year old and a two year old) and I literally just made this with them. (typing this as they play with it!). They LOVE it. Thank you so much for this post!!! 🙂
Oh, this looks like fun! My granddaughter will love it.
Just made neon greens slime for a Halloween party! It turned out awesome. It really seems like it’s not going to work, but if you just keep squeezing the stuff, it magically comes together in a few minutes.
Hot Water melts Gak instantly! I am a preschool teacher and have gotten it out of my students hair and clothing no problem!
love it!!!!! how long will it last?!?
i did this with my friend tori we loved it it is on face book on my page
Thanks for the recipe…tried one that uses starch and it never did come together. Added a tiny bit of borax to the mixture and presto! Thanks
made this this morning and my sons been playing with it for the last hr. He realized quick that it makes great quick sand for his army figures lol
I had to cut this out of my sons hair Christmas day… Not a huge fan!
Wish I had known about the vinegar… Two boys plus slime equals
Bottle of wine with lunch.
Somebody asked how long this lasts. We use it weekly at least, store it in a plastic container in the refrigerator, and what we have is about 4 months old right now. The kids love it, and it seems to last forever…
How long does this last? Will it dry out?
loooooooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvveeeeeee iiiiiiiiiiittttttttt got to go and try it
love it i got to go and try this at home
Hi. I’m in New Zealand and had some trouble finding Elmers glue here so tried several types of PVA, the first kinda worked, thickened up but didn’t dry out as you mentioned, still fun to play with but would break rather than stretch. Then i tried a wood pva which didn’t work at all, was just water till i added a bit more borax then went rock solid!
Finally tracked down some Elmers glue-all and this type it worked perfectly! A joy to play with and i’m glad i persevered with trying different types! I think i enjoyed it more than my toddler. 🙂 Thanks for this. 🙂
Thanks for this. Good to know. I tried it with 4 kinds of glue. Clear craft glue did nothing (it stayed like water). The two white craft glues it tried became hard like mozzarella. Not stretchy at all, you could just tear of pieces but not incorporate them again. Last on is tried was PVAC wood glue. It made just a hard plastic mass. I guess I don’t have an alternative glue and will order some elmer’s glue online because it is not sold in Europe.
Looks like a lot of fun! There are so many fun crafts and projects that I want to try with my son when he is a little bit older.
Looks like fun.
This did not work with glitter glue, but worked great with white glue. Perfect for a 7-year-old boy’s birthday party. Thanks!
I used glitter glue and it worked just fine …
We are making this for Halloween this year! Thanks for the tutorial.
Try adding a drop or two of glycerin to this. It will help with consistency (plus it makes your hands soft when you play with it!).
I just featured this recipe! We had a great time making it in connection with the book Bartholomew and the Oobleck. Thanks for the recipe! My kids loved it!
cool
I love this recipe <3
I made this with my kindergarteners today, and it was awesome! They loved it so much. Thank you!
What amazing ideas! Thank you so much for sharing step by step the procedure! I will definitely try these at home with my two boys. Thanks a lot!
I have three-year-old daughter and I am sure that she will be in love with this idea! I will made the sticky crazy thing at home for sure! Thanks!
MAKE THAT FREAKING SLIME MAN!@#$%^&*+_
Thank you for your recipe. How much does this make, enough for 1 child or more?
You really only need a little blob, so definitely enough for a couple of kids.
how do you store it away?
Just in a zip top bag 🙂
It sure looks fun! Don’t you think? What shall we do with the slime? (You call it BLOB) ☺️
Awsome…????
This is so cool!
I am a school librarian, and instead of using a bowl and possibly making a big mess, I used a cup to make the borax water mixture and a ziplock bag to make the slime. I am making this tomorrow with our 4th grade boys. This way they have a handy way to take it home and not make a mess all over my library. 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
What fun and so easy.my 11 yr d nephew is still playing with it this morning while I cook breakfast. Thanks for making a nite at aunt Cindy
S house a success story
Where do you get that stuff from because I want to try it so that’s why I am wondering.
Borax is used with the laundry. Fairly common stuff. I’ll even bet you already own some.
At first the slime was clumpy and wouldn’t stick together. But then I added a little bit more glue and water and VOILA! It solidified! Great recipe!
At first the slime was clumpy and wouldn’t stick together. But then I added a little bit more glue and water and VOILA! It solidified! Great recipe! 😉
All the mothers in here are cracking me up. I suggest you use a little less than a whole bottle, because using an entire bottle turns it into more of a putty, and it gets everywhere.
I LOVED THIS RECIPE <3
I am trying to make it now
I love how all of these materials are found at home! I do not have to go to the store while everything I need for this project is at home!
Thank you so much for this slime recipe, now I am selling it all over my children’s school and we have made tons of money! I tried making slime out of laundry detergent but I ket on getting this soapy bleck! Thanks a ton!
this recipe is perfect..my daughter and i made this tonight..we opted out of the food coloring because i feared it would stain our hands,so we have white slime(not the best color for slime)..but if you follow this recipe exactly as its shown,you will have perfect slime in just a few minutes…we made ours in styrofoam cups…as soon as the borax laced water hits the glue/water mix,it instantly turns to slime..and i now have it stored in a zipper bag if she wants to play around with it again..nice article and great instructions,thanks!
I have heard that borax is dangerous it cause cancer. and if your little ones are playing with slime with borax so much, they’ll have a 55% chance that they will get cancer! some substitutes are baking soda and eye drops, salt mixed with glue, or washing detergent. a good “no glue or borax” recipe is suave Kids watermelon sop and salt. its soooo cool! I hope this helps all of those slime makers out there!!!!
Borax has been around for ages–what makes eye drops and washing detergent work for slime is the borax/boric acid in them.
Yay, you might want to use shaving cream ?!! It so works!!
I really loved making it!!! My brother may have eaten some of it so……. I hope that he is going to be ok!!!
#AMAZING SLIME!!!
i had sooooooo much fun making this with my little bro? thx
My kids said that this is the best slime recipe ever….thanks for sharing….at last we found a good slime recipe 🙂
I tried the slime and it is so cool!! I love it and play with the slime everyday thx!!
What happens if I don’t put it in a plastic bag? Does it mold or would it harden into a more rubbery substance? I’m trying to make human eyeballs decoration for Halloween and I’m looking for something heavier so I can distribute said eyeballs throughout the jar. Water would just make them float and well probably leak if I attempt to pack away the jar. Do you think this might work or would it end up molding?
I honestly have no idea, sorry!