How Slimes Can Help You Survive a Filibuster
Last week I was at the craft shop to buy the kids Elmer’s glue for a papier-mache project. But to my surprise, it was all gone! I wish my handmade soap sells as easily as this. It’s like an Agatha Christie mystery that is waiting to be uncovered.
Who bought them? And the most important question of all – why? What will they do over those bazillion bottles and gallons of glue at school anyway? Do they make as many mistakes on crafting like I do with my soap making supplies?
People are just crazy about slime these days. It’s gooey, yucky, color-filled, and liquid… just the way the youngsters want it. It’s time to turn a soap making kit into something crazier that would 10/10 create an absolute mess in your kitchen (but is safer than candle making and your candle making supplies). Let’s get slime-ing!
The Science behind slime: What is it made of and why is it addicting?
A DIY Fluffy Slime is tacky and doughy. It’s likely not going to be made from leftover soap making kits. The magic of slime begins when you mix sodium borate with water. (Okay, that’s a new addition to the soap making supplies shelf). It then makes an anion that is the negatively charged compound, which creates a magical shape. Wow! This reminds me of my Chemistry class back in high school.
The glue comes in next. This white liquid substance is made of polymers. Borax is then added which gives the glue a thick and less runny texture. That’s exactly how slime comes to life.
Another scientific fact: slime is a non-Newtonian fluid like swamp and ketchup. Non-Newtonian are fluids that act like solids and sometimes move like liquids, depending on the force applied to them. Try slamming the slime onto the wall, and it would clout like a solid. However, pour slime on a bowl, it will flow like a liquid.
Slime is an amazing experiment. Maybe that is the reason why slime is so fun to play with! It’s magical compared to other liquids.
Creative and Hands-on Play with Slime
Slime can be played with other toys that will definitely encourage creativity and fun interactive learning. Here are some of the games we tried with my kids using our DIY fluffy slime:
- Magnetic letters to make imprints over slime. You can have your child spell their names or some sight words. Instant spelling activity right?
- Practice drawing shapes and pre-writing skills. You can use the slime to draw lines, shapes and more. As you know all these are a prerequisite for handwriting skills.
- Find hidden objects inside the slime. We used all natural dried flowers for soap making kit confetti for this. First, we counted how many were hidden inside as my child pulls them out of the slime. Next, we sorted the flower confetti by colors. See? You can do a lot out of this.
- Fun slime discovery bag. Since my toddler can’t really play with slime yet (since it’s not edible and should not be played with kids who are still putting objects in their mouths), I placed the slime inside a zip-lock plastic bag for him to play with.
- Oh, and for more colors and texture, you can also include pretty much the same add-on materials we used from the handmade soap.
Slime-play on a Holiday!
Just for safety (Yes! I am a safety freak like that), I used two zip lock bag, one inside of the other. Put on some tape around the edges to ensure no part is torn. This toy was a winner for me! Especially during road trips and long-hour flights, it kept my boy busy for a good hour or two.
- Scented Slime for an additional sensory experience. If you have fragrance oil, you may consider adding a drop or two while making the slime for an added sensory input. Fragrance oil is amazing for kids too!
- Bubble blowing with Slime. This is overly cool! Plus it puts a refreshing spin on an old favorite playtime habit. You can blow big bubbles way bigger than those ones you blow from a bottle. Don’t worry, the kids cannot suck the slime up through the straw and get poisoned because the goo is too thick. It’s one safe and fun activity to spend your afternoon with.
These are clever ideas, right? It makes me wonder what other cool activities can be done with slime. It’ll really keep the kids entertained for a long time.
The Slime and Messy Play: What kids get out of DIY Fluffy Slime?
Notice how the youngsters sometimes go crazy, jumping into muddy puddles like cute little piggies? Children find joy in getting messy, that’s a fact. Messy play is vital in every child’s development, pretty much the same with learning their letters and numbers. When we let them play with raw messy objects in an unrestricted manner, we encourage them to discover and explore the world around them.
Come to think of it, it also gives us the much needed “me time” isn’t it? It stalls the kids for a bit and lets us to do chores on the side, prep meals, and the grocery shopping list among others… Hopefully long enough to finish something… nope. Nevermind.
DIY fluffy slime is an ultimate messy play activity designed for those little hands. It’s simple to prepare with common soap making supplies that are readily available at home. I understand how difficult it can be to do damage control with our kids. “Please don’t put it inside your mouth”, “don’t drop on the floor”, “don’t stain your clothes” and so on.
However, to get the most out of messy play, kids must be engaged with the object without being distracted by the adults’ way of handling things. We must leave them alone, and let them be. We can support them by providing a washable surface and floor (not the carpet for the love of all stains); you can let your child wear an apron or maybe an old shirt.
Playing with slime is also another helpful activity for sensory play. Sensory play lets the children use and understand all five senses. When these senses are stimulated all at once, children get to practice creativity and learn through meaningful exploration. It further encourages the fine motor skills development and coordination.
Come to think of it, it also gives us the much needed “me time” isn’t it? It stalls the kids for a bit and lets us to do chores on the side, prep meals, and the grocery shopping list among others. Hopefully long enough to finish something… nope. Nevermind.
Three Things We Love about Slime
Here are my thoughts and reflections on my experience with DIY fluffy slime:
- The scent is just right. Ideal for kids and moms who are sensitive to different smells. Admit it or not, the smell is minimal and not as strong as Play-doh. Oh, and by the way, it’s a lot easier to clean too.
- It’s very easy to make. I can prepare slime with my two eyes closed! Just kidding, okay with my two eyes half open. The materials are all child-friendly and nothing toxic. Well just make sure not to use Borax.
- It’s highly motivating! Even better than using gadgets, only in my experience.
I hope you have the same sentiments as mine. Do you know what else you’d love? Giveaways. Click here to find out how to claim it!
Slime Recipes Kids Will Surely Love
This time, we will be sharing with you a handful of easy DIY Fluffy Slime recipes the kids will surely go crazy for. All these slime concoctions are guaranteed fun to whip with the kids. Master the art of slime-making by using soap making supplies that are easy to find and use, like with the handmade soap we’ve been making.
Make sure to do it with your kids to double the fun and excitement. Try out all these fun and crazy combinations we have prepared and collated for you.
Fluffy Unicorn Rainbow Slime
Who doesn’t love unicorns? They are colorful, fun and sparkly, which reminds us of this awesome DIY Fluffy Unicorn Rainbow Slime. Just like a DIY bath bomb, these fun slimes are made with all the colors the kids will love. So try this easy recipe and start squishing!
What you will need:
- 4 drops of liquid dye for every color you will use (get them here)
- 1 ½ cup of clear glue
- 2 cups of starch
- ¼ cup of glitter
- 1 ½ cup shaving cream
- Prepare 6 bowls that will hold the different rainbow colors.
- For each bowl, put in drops of each color- red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple.
- Then, put in the ¼ cup of glue and ¼ cup of shaving cream into each bowl.
- Mix each bowl well until the colors have blended evenly.
- Sprinkle some glitter and spread in each bowl. Stir well.
- Add the starch slowly per bowl. Make sure to gradually add the starch in small amounts in order to control the texture. Once the slime is not as sticky, this is good to go.
- Here comes the fun part, once all individual colored slimes are done, combine them up to form one big sparkly rainbow slime.
Winnie-the-Pooh’s Honey gold Slime
Let’s go a little magical and try this super DIY fluffy slime inspired by Winnie-the-Pooh’s honey-gold pot. Get a touch of gold in all its shiny and sparkling glory. The best part is, it doesn’t cost like one. You’ll just need four easy-to-find soap making supplies for this DIY recipe. Here’ how.
What you will need:
- ½ cup liquid starch
- ½ cup of clear glue
- Gold glitter
- 1 tablespoon of lime citron gold mica powder
- Pour the liquid starch into the bowl, and then add the gold mica powder and gold glitter. Stir well until mixture is evenly distributed. (Word of caution: make sure no glitter and mica powder gets in your eyes)
- Add ½ cup of clear glue and make sure to stir well since the consistency may become a little lumpy.
- Start squishing and mixing it using your hands to form one ball of golden slime.
Purple Puff Slime
Who says therapeutic properties can only be found in cosmetic products like soap or DIY bath bomb? Make slime time soothing and calming by adding an essential oil everybody loves – lavender! Known for its calming benefits, we are turning this purple favorite into a fluffy slime, the kids surely won’t get enough of.
What you will need:
¼ cup water
2 drops of lavender essential oil
¼ cup liquid starch
5 drops of lavender purple liquid dye
½ cup Elmer’s white glue
¼ cup dried lavender flowers
- Mix the white glue and water in a mixing bowl.
- Put in the purple liquid dye for color, the essential oil for added scent and the dried lavender flowers for texture. Mix until everything is evenly distributed.
- Now, pour the liquid starch into the bowl. Stir well.
- Once formed, take it out from the bowl and start kneading by hands.
Slime me up, Buttercup
Here’s an easy recipe on how to make butter slime. Don’t be fooled Mommas, because we won’t be using butter bar here! Now, why did we even call this butter slime if butter is not even included in the recipe? I don’t know either. My guess: this slime is going to be silky smooth and scented plus, its soft like butter.
What you will need:
- 1-2 teaspoon of vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup of cornstarch
- ¼ cup of shampoo
- Citron Yellow Skin Safe Colorant
- Mix the cornstarch and shampoo in a bowl.
- Add drops of Citron Yellow Skin Safe Colorant. Stir.
- Add the vegetable oil and mix well.
- Pour some more cornstarch as necessary.
Crystal Clear Slime
Google has been searched far and wide for “how to make clear slime” recipe. Look no further, it have the secret with me. It’s super easy and really quick to prepare.
This is the ideal recipe to use if you’d like to put emphasis on the elements that you want to put in the lime mixture. There’s a lot of variation to try out with, from large glitter mica powder, all natural dried flower from our candle making supplies ( how about some rose petals perhaps?) and mini treasures from your child’s little toys.
For this recipe, we will be using borax powder because it will make the slime to look like liquid glass.
What you will need:
- a cup of Elmer’s clear glue
- one cup of tap water
- ½ teaspoon of borax powder
- 1 cup warm water
- Measuring Cups
- Large glitter mica powder (optional)
- Natural dried flowers (optional)
- Small toys (optional)
- Pour 1 cup of clear glue into a bowl.
- Mix 1 cup of water to the glue. Stir well to combine. Set aside.
- Combine ½ teaspoon of borax powder with 1 cup of warm water.
- Add the borax slime solution to the bowl of glue mixture and stir.
- Continue stirring until the slime has formed and immediately transfer to a dry bowl.
- Knead with your hands for few more minutes to improve the desired consistency of the slime.
Shampoo with a Chance of Slime
Aside from using fragrance oil as the scent for your homemade slime, another variation that you can explore is by using it as shampoo. It’s equally fragrant and works well with hair. Kids will love playing it with its lovely smell too. Before you know it, you’ll be buying more and more bottles of shampoo from the groceries. You may need some leftover ingredients from last week’s soap making kit…
What you will need:
- ½ cup of any shampoo (but for this one, we used baby shampoo)
- ¼ cup of cornstarch
- 3 drops of your desired skin safe colorant
- 6 tablespoon of water
- Fragrance oil of choice (optional)
- Pour ½ cup of shampoo with ¼ cup of cornstarch in a bowl. Mix well.
- Add 3 drops of your desired color from the skin safe colorant.
- Mix 1 tablespoon of water and stir. Then little by little, add 5 tablespoon of water. Stir well after the other.
- Knead the slime for a good 5 minutes and you are good to go.
Want to explore more kids friendly activity? Check out these Unicorn Salt Bar Recipe!
Sparkly Blue DIY Fluffy Slime (A Borax Free Slime Recipe)
Just because you cannot have enough of slime recipes, we are sharing another DIY fluffy slime concoction.
What you will need:
- White Elmer’s Glue
- Saline Solution
- Baking Soda
- Shaving Cream
- Blueberry Skin Safe Colorant
- Mixing Bowl
- Measuring Cups
- Blue Large glitter mica powder (optional)
- Blueberry fragrance oil
- Prepare 1 cup of white glue and 1 cup of shaving cream.
- Measure 1 teaspoon of baking soda, blueberry skin safe colorant, fragrance oil, and 2 teaspoons of saline solution in separate bowls. Set aside after.
- Pour the glue in the mixing bowl and add the baking soda powder. Mix properly.
- Mix the shaving cream and stir until the desired consistency. It should be thick and fluffy.
- Put drops of blueberry skin safe colorant and stir to blend until you achieve your desired color.
- You may also add some blue large glitter mica powder for some blue sparkly effect.
- Mix the saline solution. (this is helpful to remove the stickiness of the slime)
- Knead with your hands until it is formed and dense. You can add a little more saline solution as necessary.
Quick Fix and Tips on How to make Slime Less Sticky
Since we are already armed with lots of fun and crazy recipes for these DIY fluffy slime, it’s time for me to share with you some quick fix and tips on how to make the slime less sticky.
Our main goal is to make this goo fluid and played by children with ease and just the right amount of slushiness.
Here’s a list of things that I have gathered from slime experts (who have tried and have vouched for these as they claim to be):
- Knead, knead and knead. The slime is sticky at the beginning; it is a must to keep kneading. Observe that the slime starts to attach to it and not on your fingers.
- Mix a little more contact solution as necessary. (Only applicable if you are working on a slime recipe that requires the use of contact solution, if not don’t bother!)
- You can also add a teaspoon or more of baby oil.
- Let the slime breathe! (Yes, it has its own life, my dear!!!! It needs air too.) We have discovered how little air exposure is good to lessen the stickiness. This trick works best for crystal clear slime recipes. We leave the slime alone for an hour or two and when we went back to check and knead, the stickiness is gone.
Make Money Out of Slime
Did you know that you and your kids can make a business out of this slime-making craze? It’s never too early to ignite your child’s entrepreneurial skills. Cliché as it may sound, “starting them young” is the best way to go. Let them learn how to earn their keep as early as now. They’ll appreciate the value of work and value for money early on.
My middle-school-aged niece earns dollars from selling slime. She was inspired by this girl she saw on Instagram. On weekends, she makes her slimes. She then keeps them in small containers and sells them at school on the weekdays.
Alternatively, you can also start with a small business by creating slime that you can sell online for children’s party giveaways.
Take advantage of the very low-cost capital that you need including the materials and candle making supplies that you can conveniently access here.
So, Who’s up for Clean-up?
So there you have it loves! Aside from the traditional handmade soap that you have been doing for quite some time, these DIY fluffy slime is something that you can add on to the list of your favorite DIY crafts.
You’ll definitely get the hang of the basic slime-making process and the intricacies of improving the mixture by adding color, scents, and other available touches. For more DIY kids ideas using our colorant, head to our resource page here.
So, just like the handmade soap and bath bomb recipes, try to experiment on what you have at home and surprise yourself with the combinations that you can possibly make from your candle making supplies. Share and comment down your creative work