How to make slime without making a ton of mess – is this even possible?

Here's a fun activity that your kids will surely enjoy! Check out our easy slime recipes here.

Kids love to play with slime. There’s just something about this messy concoction that makes them happy. It’s also good for imaginative play and sharpening their fine motor skills. 

But as much as we want to please them, the thought of making a big mess in the kitchen (and in the living room) just to make slime feels almost as daunting as climbing Bukit Timah on a hot day.

What if we tell you that there are simpler, easier ways to make slime that don’t include a lot of complicated ingredients and procedures? Does your child think you can’t make slime? Well, challenge accepted!

How to make slime

Making slime is so much fun, and it’s a great bonding activity for the whole family. The best part? It can be done with materials you already have at home, so you don’t really have any excuses to back out from this project.

Making slime is easy! Here’s an easy-to-follow slime recipe we found online: 

Ingredients

First, you’ll need the following:

• 1/2 cup of glue (any kind will do)
• 1/2 cup of water
• Food colouring (optional)
• Borax (found in the laundry aisle at most grocery stores)

Procedure

When you have all the ingredients, just follow this step-by-step guide:

1. Put your glue in a bowl and add the borax. Stir well until the borax has dissolved completely. You should be able to stir it with your hands without trouble. If not, add more borax until it’s completely dissolved into the glue. Wait until it has completely cooled before going on to step 2.
2. Add water and food colouring to your glue mixture, if desired. Stir until blended well—you may use a spoon or whisk for this part! You mustn’t over stir or it won’t set up properly later on! Once blended well enough, pour into containers and let dry overnight before playing with your new slime!

Homemade slime

If you love playing with slime but do not want to buy those pricey tubs from the toy store, we have the perfect solution: homemade slime. You can make it at home, and it’s so easy and fun that you’ll never want to leave the house again.

Here are some of our favourite homemade slime recipes we’ve tried ourselves:

• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup baking soda (baking powder will work just as well)
• 2 teaspoons water (or more if needed)
• Food colouring (optional)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl until they form a gluey mixture (add more water if needed). Then roll it out on a flat surface and cut it into shapes using cookie cutters or other fun shapes.

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How to make glitter slime

Once you have aced the simple slime recipe, you can move on to adding other ingredients that will make your slime extra sparkly and fun. 

We’ve got a quick and easy tutorial on how to make glitter slime using our favourite ingredients.

Ingredients

• Glue (Elmer’s works great, choose the clear variant)
• Borax (you can find it at most grocery stores)
• Water
• Food colouring (optional)
• Glitter 

Procedure

First, get some clear glue. We like Elmer’s Clear Glue because it doesn’t have a lot of extra ingredients that can mess up your slime. You’ll also need cornstarch and water — just enough to make the consistency of pancake batter. Add a few drops of food colouring (we like using red and blue) and mix everything up!

Here comes the fun part: squish it around in your hands until it forms a ball. Now add your glitter! Be careful not to go overboard on the sparkle. The more glitter you add, the harder it will be for your slime to stay together.

Now that you’ve made your slime, how will you play with it? We recommend wearing gloves, so you don’t get glitter everywhere.

How to make edible slime

Edible slime is a fun activity that you can do with your kids. It’s easy to make and can be used as part of a science experiment or for playtime.

How to make slime that is safe to eat (but we don’t recommend doing this!)? 

1. In a blender, combine the following ingredients:

• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• Two tablespoons water

2. Add food colouring, if desired.
   1. Pour mixture into a small bowl and set aside to let it cool down for one to two minutes. (You can also add glitter or another fun ingredient here!)
3. Once the mixture is cool enough to touch, grab all edible items (like candy) and start mixing them in!

How to make slime without glue

Making slime is fun for kids and adults alike, but it can be hard to get started if you don’t have glue on hand.

Luckily, there’s a handy alternative! How to make slime without glue? All you need are cornstarch, water, and food colouring (or liquid watercolour).

First, mix 1 cup of cornstarch with three tablespoons of water in a bowl. Stir until the mixture becomes thick and goopy. Then add more water until it’s the consistency of runny mashed potatoes. This should take about 1/4 cup more water.

Once your slime is ready, add a few drops of food colouring or liquid water colour until it reaches your desired shade. You can also add scented oils to make your slime smell good!

How to make slime without borax

Slime is a fun and easy activity for kids, but it can be hard to find slime recipes that don’t require borax. Borax is an ingredient that’s been linked to health problems in children.

Luckily, there are some ways to make slime without borax! Here are three simple recipes:

1. Cream of Tartar Slime (non-toxic): Mix 1/2 cup cornstarch with 1/2 cup water. Then add 1/4 cup cream of tartar and mix it all up! You can add food colouring if you want the slime to be coloured.
2. Salt Water Slime (non-toxic): Put 1/2 cup salt in a bowl, then add boiling water until the salt has dissolved. Add two tablespoons of glue and stir until it’s mixed up well. Then add one tablespoon of liquid starch and stir until it’s mixed up well again — you should end up with a gooey substance!
3. Corn Starch Slime (toxic): Put four tablespoons of cornstarch in a bowl, then add water until it becomes thick like dough; then add two drops of dish soap and stir until everything mixes well!

How to make fluffy slime

Slime is a great way to get your kids outside, and it’s a fun activity for the whole family. Making slime is also a good way to eliminate all the random stuff in your kids’ rooms — you know, those little pieces of tape or rubber bands that have been lying around since the last time you cleaned up their room?

To make fluffy slime, you’ll need the following:

• 4 cups of water
• 1/2 cup cornstarch (cornflour)
• 1/2 cup flour 
• Food colouring (optional)
• A mixing bowl with a lid (or at least one lid-less bowl)

Mixing instructions: put the water into your mixing bowl, then add the cornstarch and flour. Stir well until completely mixed. Add food colouring if desired! Now put your bowl inside another larger container and mix again until smooth. If there are still lumps, use an electric mixer or blender to smooth out any remaining lumps.

Store it in an airtight container when not in use, so it doesn’t dry out!

How to make slime less sticky

Making slime makes it easy to get stuck in the moment. You’ve got the goo, and the tools, and you’re ready for your next experiment! But how to make slime, and what if you want to make your slime less sticky?

How to make slime less sticky? We have a few tricks that might help.

First of all, if you add more water to your slime, it will be less sticky. Add as much as feels comfortable to you — you don’t want too much moisture, or it will drip away when you try to play with it.

Second, if you want a less sticky feel, try using glycerin instead of simple syrup or cornstarch as a binder. Glycerin is available at most pharmacies and grocery stores. It’s perfect for making slime because it’s non-toxic and doesn’t dry out like other binders.

Third, ensuring your hands are clean before playing with your slime can also help reduce stickiness! If any dirt from your hands gets into the mixture while mixing ingredients, it will make your slime more likely to stick when playing with it later on down the line (and no one wants that).

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Benefits of playing with slime

Playing with slime is a great activity for kids. Not only does it help them develop their motor skills, but it can also help them learn more about science.

• The first benefit of playing with slime is that it encourages creativity. You can make anything you want when you’re playing with the slime! You can make a dinosaur, a snake, or a worm. The possibilities are endless!
• Playing with slime also helps kids develop their motor skills — they must control their hands and fingers to move the slime around. This is also great for practising hand-eye coordination!
• Finally, playing with slime can help kids learn about science in a fun way. They can experiment with different types of food colouring or add things like glitter or sequins to see how those things change the texture of the slime (and if they stick!).

This article was first published in theAsianparent.