What to do when everyone is going a little stir-crazy from being inside too long? Make slime of course! This recipe will give you lots of options for variation of texture, color, and smell so you can make slime again and again.
First mix the borax with the water. Continue mixing until borax is completely dissolved. Depending on where and with whom you are making this, you may want to consider mixing the solution ahead of time as inhaling powdered borax can be toxic and it is powdery.
In a separate bowl measure out 4 oz of white glue, this is 1/2 cup. Add food coloring. We used 3 drops of red and 2 drops of blue to create a wonderful lavender color. Don't add too much or it will dye hands and whatever surface you are playing on.
Now slowly add the the borax and water solution to the glue. For a firmer consistency, add more water/borax solution. For a more pliable consistency, add 1 tsp of solution at a time and mix well. For reference, 1/4 cup yields a very firm consistency (firmer than playdough) with some solution left over in the bowl that cannot be incorporated, 5-6 teaspoons yields a pliable enough consistency that the slime will ooze out of your hand.
Take slime out of bowl and knead slime until no longer sticky. If the mixture is too sticky add a few drops of baby oil. The softer the texture desired, the more the baby oil helps with the stickiness.
In those pictures we added about 2 oz or 1/4 cup of solution for a firmer consistency. We actually then mixed up another batch of glue and food coloring and added that to the leftover liquid from the first batch. That resulted in a softer texture. and then there was still unused borax solution in the measuring cup to make a couple more batches! You can see those results below.
When finished playing store in small plastic container with lid or plastic sandwich bag and store in a cool dry place. This will go bad eventually, but we have had good luck keeping each batch for about a week. Of course, if it starts to smell funky or look like it's growing something, definitely discard the slime!
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Lavender Slime
4 oz Elmer’s glue
½ cup water
1 tsp Borax
1-2 drops Food Coloring (optional)
1-2 drop Essential Oil (optional, but lavender is great!)
1-2 drops Baby Oil (optional)
Large handled spoon
Bowl for mixing
Place glue in bowl; add a few drops of food coloring and mix until you get the color or shade you want.
Add your choice of essential oil (optional). Lavender is one of our favorite oils to promote calm.
Combine water and borax and mix until fully dissolved.
Slowly start adding water/borax solution and begin stirring. The slime should start to stick to spoon instead of the bowl.
Take slime out of bowl and knead slime until no longer sticky. If the mixture is too sticky add a few drops of baby oil. The softer the texture desired, the more the baby oil helps with the stickiness.
For a firmer consistency, add more water/borax solution. For a more pliable consistency, add 1 tsp of solution at a time and mix well. For reference, 1/4 cup yields a very firm consistency (firmer than playdough) with some solution left over in the bowl that cannot be incorporated, 5-6 teaspoons yields a pliable enough consistency that the slime will ooze out of your hand.
When finished playing store in small plastic container with lid or plastic sandwich bag and store in a cool dry place. Discard after a week or if the smell or color looks off.
