Kaitlynn has been making batches and batches of Homemade Slime recently. This stuff is so fun to play with, it makes great gifts (kids have been begging her to make it for them!), and it’s really popular right now.
She recorded a Facebook Live video with me a few weeks ago about how to make Homemade Slime and so many of you asked for the recipe. So she helped me put together this post for you all today on how to make Homemade Slime.
If you’ve never made this before, you have to try it! It’s SO cool and kids of all ages (and adults!) love playing with it. It’s great for stress relief and for kids who have trouble concentrating if their hands aren’t busy.
Jesse and I have fun playing with it with the kids and seeing who can make the biggest slime bubble that pops the loudest (does that mean we are kids at heart or just weird??!)
To make homemade slime, start by making Slime Activator.
To make this, add one teaspoon borax powder to one cup HOT water. Stir until dissolved. Set aside.
(You can keep this for a few weeks in an airtight container if you are planning to make multiple batches of Homemade Slime.)
Now add one-fourth a cup of glue, shaving cream, foaming hand soap, and a few squirts of liquid hand soap to the bowl. Mix well.
Then, add 2-8 drops of food coloring (optional) to make the slime whatever color you’d like. Kaitlynn has made all sorts of fun colors.
Then, add one teaspoon of Slime Activator (see above) at a time until slime forms into a ball in the bowl.
Once your slime has formed, take it out of the bowl and start kneading it. If your slime is too sticky, add more Slime Activator. However, be sure not to add too much or it will start hardening.
If you’d like your slime to be more stretchy, you can add a little body lotion and knead it in until you get it to your desired stretchiness. You can add more, if you’d like.
When not in use, be sure to store Homemade Slime in an airtight container. Otherwise, it will dry out.
SLIME RECIPE
1/4 cup Elmer’s glue
1/4 cup shaving cream
1/4 cup foaming hand soap
3 pumps regular hand soap
2 pumps body lotion (optional)
Slime Activator (1 teaspoon at a time)
Add one-fourth a cup of glue, shaving cream, foaming hand soap, plus a few pumps of hand soap to the bowl. Mix well. Then, add 2-8 drops of food coloring (optional) to make the slime whatever color you’d like.
Then, add one teaspoon of Slime Activator (see above) at a time until slime forms into a ball in the bowl. Once your slime has formed, take it out of the bowl and start kneading it. If your slime is too sticky, add more Slime Activator. However, be sure not to add too much or it will start hardening.
If you’d like your slime to be more stretchy, you can add a little body lotion and knead it in until you get it to your desired stretchiness. You can add more, if you’d like.
When not in use, be sure to store Homemade Slime in an airtight container. Otherwise, it will dry out.
SLIME ACTIVATOR
1 teaspoon borax powder
1 cup HOT water
Stir until dissolves. Store in an airtight container.
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post when Kaitlynn and I share ways to use Homemade Slime to give as Valentine’s gifts or to make Homemade Valentine’s!
My granddaughters have been making different versions for the past 2 years (now 14&11-1/2) and watched many YouTube clips to learn. Now they just create their own… But we don’t do Facebook- how can we see Your daughters video clip ??
Here is a link to the video on You Tube. Hope that helps! -Jordan, MSM Team
Just wanted to share idea my daughter came up with for her activator if borax and water. She made some up and kept in old glue bottle. I was impressed with her thinking and I love that I don’t have borax powder everywhere each time she makes slime! Also, make sure to watch this slime parody. So funny for us parents. https://www.facebook.com/TheHoldernessfamily/videos/2046211772284756/
Thank you for a written recipe, I have been looking for one… I keep on getting videos….
My 10 year old daughter makes tons of it also. I have containers of slime all over the place, lol. I tried your recipe 3 times though and I can’t get it to work.
It seems to be fine until I add the activator.
Lori
Mine was sticky but wet in a ball. Any idea why it felt so wet?
Just curious how much this makes? If I were to buy little containers to put this in for gifts for Valentines Day kids, would I need to triple this batch? Just wondering if anyone has advice. I have 20 kids in the class. Thanks!
If you bought small containers, I think you could take it times 7 or 8 and there’d be enough for 20 kids. If you bought really tiny containers, I think you could get by with taking it times 5.
Just curious how much this makes? Like if I were to buy little containers to put this in for gifts for Valentines Day kids, which I need to triple this batch? Just wondering if anyone has advice. Thanks!
This must be a national trend in the pre-teen age group! My daughter, 11, has been making batches and batches of slime using different recipes. I’ll share Kaitlynne’s potion with her!
😉
My daughters have been obsessed with slime for months. Here are a couple of tips I’ve learned from them.
1. Elmer’s glue works best, but a cheaper brand can work too. I guess it just needs to have PVA in it. I bought a dollar store brand and it was horrible.
2. The best substitute for borax is contact lens solution, but you need to use a lot more than the borax to make it work. Other items that my kids know of, but haven’t tried, are tide laundry detergent or liquid starch.
3. Foaming hand soap makes it bubbly, add it in when you are adding the glue and shaving cream.
4. You can store it in plastic bags also.
Great tips, thank you for adding your input. I’ll have to stock up on Elmer’s at the next school sale.
Thanks so much for these great tips!
Could you please add to the recipe when and how the regular (non-foaming) hand soap gets used?
Thanks!
I added that in. Sorry for missing that the first time around!
Great post, Kaitlynn! What happens if the borax is not used? I’m interested in making this with my students at school, but it borax is typically frowned upon in the school. Are there any alternatives that work well? Also, would it work to store the slime in freezer bags?
Thanks!
My kids loved to make this when they were young, and they’re now in their 20’s! Our recipe used liquid starch instead of borax. And, yes, we stored it in freezer bags.
I have seen recipes using contact lens solution instead. Check Pinterest.
Yes! I made slime with my older vbs kids And we used buffered saline solution instead of borax. There is boric acid in saline but is already nicely dissolved and diluted to safe levels. It works really well. I found it was more reliable than the borax method for a large group. It was a major hit 🙂
This looks like a really fun project to make with our son. He is still quite young, so I had a few questions.
1) Does the food coloring come off on to hands or surfaces at all?
2) Does the slime leave any residue behind on hands or surfaces?
My daughter has been making slime by the bucket full, and yes it will leave colorful stains on your walls if they touch them before washing their hands. It doesn’t leave a residue, however, probably because of the soap. At least, I haven’t noticed that yet – ymmv!
Crystal it’s so funny you posted this today. Homemade slime must be taking the kid world by storm right now, because my 11 year old is fairly obsessed with it and I’ve been buying glue every week! The interesting thing I’ve noticed? She plays with it for hours every day. I’ve noticed that she will have one hand working the slime while she does her (homeschool) math. And she can sit to get an entire lesson done – which takes around an hour, something that in the past has proved difficult for her.
I think playing with the slime gives her the tactile stimulation, or at least the movement, she needs to sit still to get her math done without popping up out of her chair every two minutes (what she used to do).
Slime is literally helping her with math. 🙂
I love that!! Thanks for sharing!