Slime
Yield: 1 batch/about a cup-sized blob
Homemade slime requires just 3 everyday ingredients, takes a few minutes to make, and will entertain kids for hours!


Ingredients

  • 1 (4- to 5-ounce) bottle Elmer’s glue (see Tip 1)
  • ¼ – ½ cup water (see Tip 2)
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1- 1½ tablespoons contact saline solution or slime activator, plus an extra squirt or two as needed (see Tip 3)
  • Optional mix-ins: Food coloring (see Tip 4); glitter (classic or fun shapes); mini Styrofoam balls or beads; essential oils for fun scents; one or two pea-size blobs of toothpaste (for stretchier slime)

Instructions

    • Pour the glue into a bowl, and then mix in water, starting with ¼ cup. (Tip: Water makes the slime stretchier. Coach Suzie uses ½ cup; ¼ cup has worked best for me. If you add the higher amount and having trouble mixing it all in, squeeze any lingering glue from the container–or simply pour off the excess water.)
  1. Stir in the baking soda and saline solution or slime activator, starting with 1 tablespoon, and mix until combined. If the slime is too sticky, add another squirt or two of the saline solution or activator. The more you add, the thicker the slime will be. The less you add, the slimier it will be.
  2. Stir until you can no longer stir easily, and then knead with your hands. The slime will be sticky at first but that will go away as you knead. If not, add more saline or activator. I keep adding squirts of saline (or pea-size drops of activator) until the slime doesn’t stick to hands.
  3. Play! Pull apart, stretch, and have lots of fun. Store the slime in an airtight container, jar, or zip top bag.

Notes & Tips

 The slime will wash off the bowl, spoon, and your hands very easily.
 For thicker slime, add more saline solution. For a slimier texture, add less saline.
• Recipe makes one nice blob of slime, about 1 cup. May double or triple the recipe as needed.

Optional Mix ins:
• Food coloring
 Scented oils
 Glitter (jumbo glitter is far less messy than regular glitter)
 Mini styrofoam balls

Tip 1: So many glue choices! While you may use the original white school glue, clear is fun and works well with the larger glitter (looks great and avoids the fine dust of traditional glitter getting everywhere). The colored glue is really fun too, and with that, there’s no need to use messy food coloring. Be sure to use Elmer’s glue, as some lesser quality glues may not work as well.

Tip 2: For “fluffy slime,” mix in 3 cups of shaving cream instead of the water.

Tip 3: Activator is sold in craft stores (Elmer’s sells a small bottle called Magical Liquid), although contact lens solution works just as well. Just look at the label and make sure the saline solution contains boric acid and sodium borate. I have noticed that the activator leaves a slight residue on your hands (which washes off), that the lens solution does not.

Tip 4: If you wish to use food coloring, stir it into the glue and get the color you like before adding the saline, as it’s harder to mix in when the slime begins to thicken. Also, in this case, avoid using wooden spoons or other things that will stain. And for more color choices, gel food coloring is available at many craft stores and online. Look for Wilton brand.


More recipes at FountainAvenueKitchen.com