Most children love slime, the ooey gooey and stretchy toy slime you will often find in the toy machines in most grocery and department stores. While kids love this sticky stuff you may soon ask yourself why you paid for it in the first place. This is a very good question because it is easy to make toy slime from inexpensive items commonly found in most kitchens.
Kids will enjoy making the slime as well as playing with it later. The project will certainly help keep them occupied when they are cooped up indoors during a rainy or cold day.
This recipe for toy slime does not require cooking or any other heating and does not call for any tools to prepare it so it is safe for older children to prepare the recipe without supervision. However, I suggest that you observe the kids in action as the project has the potential to become quite messy in the hands of excited children.
You will need the following implements to prepare the recipe: one small mixing bowl, one medium mixing bowl and a wooden mixing spoon.
You will also need the following ingredients to make the recipe:
1 cup white glue (Elmer’s and rosé art glues work well)
2 1/3 cups water divided into 1 cup and 1 1/3 cup portions
12 drops of food coloring.
Begin the project by mixing the white glue and 1 cup of the water in the small mixing bowl until well blended. If you wish to use primary colors such as red, blue or yellow you may add 12 drops of the food coloring directly to the mixture at this time and then stir until well blended. If you wish to use secondary colors such as purple for example, I suggest that you mix the food coloring in a separate container before adding it to the mix. Otherwise your slime may end up with two-toned color.
If the slimes color is not as bold as you would like you may add 2 – 3 more drops of food coloring. I would avoid adding any more than that though because if you use too much it will stain a child’s hands while they are playing with the slime. The food coloring will easily come off of skin but not so easily off of other surfaces a child may then touch.
After you have mixed the glue, water and food coloring and are satisfied with the color set it aside while you work on the next step. In the medium mixing bowl stir 4 tablespoons of borax with the other 1 1/3 cups water. Stir the mixture until the borax has completely dissolved.
Once the borax has dissolved add the contents of the small bowl to the borax and water mixture. Do not mix the glue solution with the borax and water mixture. Instead use the spoon to roll the glue globs in the borax and water mixture 5 or 6 times. Avoid leaving the globs in the borax solution for too long or the food coloring will bleed into it making your finished slimes colors pale. You should be able to easily remove the glue globs from the borax mixture after you have rolled them.
After you have removed the glue globs you will have to knead them for several minutes to ensure the right consistency. Then your slime is ready for immediate use. Otherwise you may store the slime in zip lock storage bags. I suggest that you store the bags in the refrigerator to help the slime last longer without drying out.
