TL; DR: I hate store-bought slime. I discovered a super easy homemade, kid-friendly slime recipe. It only takes three ingredients and 10 mins. The kids love it and it cleans easily with warm water; never stain clothes or carpet again. Here is the PDF printout, and I made a quick video tutorial as well. You don’t have to read any further, but I’ll do my best to keep it entertaining.
Covid-19 vs. Mom
Like all horror stories of 2020, mine starts during the first lock-down. I was like most parents of the time; frazzled, mostly sober, trying to log in to four different education programs at once, pulling out my hair, and desperately handing out electronics like candy just so I could hide in the bathroom for five minutes. Ah, the memories!
My kids were obsessed with slime. All they wanted was slime, they watch countless YouTube videos of other kids playing with slime, and they had to have it. I was fooled once by this mystic substance, but I was not going to cave on this. A while back, I bought slime, and it ended up everywhere except for the container it had come in. It was in hair, on clothes, in beds, in the carpet, on blankets, on their poor dolls, and I even found some on my clothes. No matter how much I soaked, scrubbed, and washed, that slime would not come out. I swore, henceforth, never would slime enter my home again.
Alas, the lock-down came and schools closed. I was desperate for a new activity to keep the kids entertained. Slime was the answer. I needed something easy to make and even easier to clean-up, emphasis on the second half. To the internet we go…
Hunting and Gathering
I found an easy recipe that only called for 3 ingredients: glue (didn’t have any), shaving cream (nope, none of that either,) and borax (don’t even know what that is). After searching through the empty shelves of the local grocer, I struggled to find glue, let alone borax; I did find shaving cream, though.
After searching more and more, I could not find borax anywhere. Back to the internet to see what other options I had. Contact solution was the next suggestion, but I couldn’t find any with boric acid in it, which was recommended. I felt like giving up, but my kids gave me those puppy dog eyes; I had to persevere.
Finally, I went to Amazon. They had bottles and bottles of multi-colored glitter glue, added that to my basket. Then I saw (this activator) show up in my suggestions, perfect no more searching for borax or contact solution. Now we wait. Shipping in Ireland during those dark times was 7-14 long days.
Creating Slime:
Finally, the package arrived; the kids were so excited I was forced to drop everything and make slime. Here is how we did it.
First, get a bowl for mixing. Dump in equal parts glue and shaving cream (I used ½ cup of each, yes I actually measured it; I’m meticulously annoying like that). Start with a few drops of the activator and stir it like you mean it. You will stir until it pulls away from the sides and forms a ball. You may need more activator if it seems too sticky, slowly add more drops until it pulls away from the sides.
Now comes the fun part, well, besides playing with it. Take the ball out and knead it in your hands. Stretch it out and fold it in, stretch and fold, stretch and fold; until it no longer sticks to your fingers. That’s it, now the kids will be entertained for hours….or at least 10 mins.
This is what it should look like:
Variations:
The best part about making your own slime is all the creations the kids can make. This slime is so easy; after our practice batch, the kids made their own. In our first batch, we used colored glitter glue. We made quite a few batches, the most recent ones we used plain PVA Glue, glitter, and food coloring. We end up with purple, blue, orange, and pink slime. Be creative and see what you come up with.
(Here are the girls “kneading” their first batch.)
(Now, they get to play)
Final Verdict:
Mom tested and approved. This recipe is super quick and easy. It is a bit messy while making the slime, but clean up is a breeze. A little warm water is all it takes to dissolve the slime. I easily removed it from clothes, hair, and the carpet (always the carpet) with no problems. This is definitely one activity to save and use again in the future. Kids love it, and I love it! Enjoy!
Video:
Oh yeah, the girls wanted to make a video of themselves making and playing with slime. Check it out here (and give it a like); the girls will appreciate it. Happy sliming!
Key words: easy slime, easy slime recipe, homemade slime, slime with shaving cream, simple slime