Homemade slime recipe made with only 3 ingredients! Only takes a few minutes to make and will entertain your kids for hours!
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How do you Make Homemade Slime?
When it comes to kid’s crafts, homemade slime is one of the best ideas! It’s easy, quick and super inexpensive. My kids always have SO much fun playing with it!
Do you remember Gak? I remember playing with that stuff as a kid and LOVED it. I recently came across this slime recipe and knew I had to make some for my kids. It is very similar to gak. They literally played with it all afternoon and had so much fun!
This is a fun craft to do for an indoor activity. I know we will be making this slime recipe plenty of more times throughout the year. The best part is, it only cost about $1 to make! Seriously, my kids couldn’t get enough of this stuff. It is a little messy, so make sure to lay down a plastic tablecloth (a trash bag works too) so the slime doesn’t get on the table.
This is the best slime recipe because it comes together so quickly and only takes 3 main ingredients (plus food coloring if desired). Have fun with it!
Slime Ingredients
- 8-ounce bottle Elmer’s white school glue
- 1 1/2 – 2 Tablespoons contact saline solution, more as needed (or slime activator)
- 1 Tablespoon baking soda
- Food coloring, optional
How to Make Homemade Slime
Add glue and food coloring to bowl. Squeeze the bottle of glue into a bowl (photo 1). Add your food coloring if desired, and stir until combined. Then mix in baking soda (photo 2).
Mix in saline solution. Add 1 1/2 Tablespoons saline solution and mix until combined (photo 3). If it’s too sticky, add 1/2 Tablespoon more solution at a time. The more you add, the thicker it’ll be. The less you add, the slimier it’ll be (see texture in photo 4).
Knead the slime. Using your hands, knead the slime until it holds together. It will be wet and gooey at first, but just keep kneading until it all comes together.
Store slime. Store slime in a container with lid, or in a zip top bag. The slime is best to play with on a place mat.
Tips for Making Slime
- Use plastic bowls and spoons to make clean up easier.
- Make sure to get the color correct before adding the saline. It’s harder to mix in when it begins to thicken.
- For thicker slime, add more saline solution. For a slimier texture, add less saline.
- Slime is best to play with on a place mat, plastic tablecloth or even a trash bag.
- Can add in extras like glitter, scented oils or even mini styrofoam balls.
- Recipe makes about a cup of slime. Can double or triple based on how many kids there are.
- If you have long hair, make sure to put it into a pony tail. If a little slime gets in your hair, simply rub some coconut oil or olive oil on top and comb it out.
Frequently Asked Questions
To make homemade slime, combine a bottle of glue, a Tablespoon of baking soda and slime activator or saline solution. Knead until smooth and stretchy.
1. Bottle of glue
2. 1 Tablespoon baking soda
3. 2 Tablespoons of contact solution or slime activator
Variations
This slime recipe is perfect for making fun variations like a fluffy slime or my butter slime recipe! It’s super easy to customize and add mix-ins like different food coloring dyes, glitter, scented oils or even mini styrofoam balls.
It’s especially fun to make different holiday variations, like the orange and green Halloween slime below. We put it in these hefty quart size bags and drew monster faces on for a fun Halloween activity. My kids loved the different colors and are already begging to make blue and pink!
More Slime Recipes and Kids Activities
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Slime Recipe
Video
Equipment
- Plastic bowl and spoon.
- Ziptop bag for storing.
- Place mat for enjoying slime.
Ingredients
- 8 ounce bottle Elmer’s white school glue
- 1 Tablespoon baking soda
- 1 ½ – 2 Tablespoons contact saline solution or slime activator , more as needed
Optional: Food coloring
Instructions
- Place glue in a bowl. If you're adding food coloring, add it now until desired color is reached. Then mix in baking soda.
- Add 1 1/2 Tablespoons saline solution or slime activator and mix until combined. Add 1/2 Tablespoon more at a time if it is too sticky. The more you add, the thicker it'll be. The less you add, the slimier it will be.
- Stir until you can no longer stir and then kneed with your hands. It will be sticky at first, but keep moving it with your hands until it is no longer sticky and desired consistency is reached.
- Pull apart and have fun playing. Store in a covered container or ziptop bag. Best to play with on a place mat.
Notes
- Use plastic bowls and spoons to make clean up easier.
- It’s best if your saline solution contains boric acid and sodium borate
- Make sure to get the color correct before adding the saline. It’s harder to mix in when it begins to thicken.
- For thicker slime, add more saline solution. For a slimier texture, add less saline.
- Recipe makes about a cup of slime. Can double or triple based on how many kids there are.
- Food coloring
- Scented oils
- Glitter
- Mini styrofoam balls
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: DIY
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
Probably a silly question. Does it matter what kind of contact solution you use? Are there any ones you recommend? Thank you – First time slime maker :)
I just use the generic brand :)
It worked out great the first time trying to make this slime!
My 6-7 year old had a blast making it and playing with it
Yay! So happy to hear that :)
Its really good i used it for my school project :)
So glad you enjoyed it :)
it was great thanks
So glad you enjoyed it :)
I tried it and it turn out so well because of you i love you
That is so coollllllll🤭🤐
How much does this recipe make?
It makes about a cup of slime :) You can double or triple the recipe based on how many kids there are.
Should we specially use Elmer’s white school glue?
You can use any white school glue, I juts prefer Elmer’s :)
Love it. Slime
It was fun to make but it stuck to us like crazy lol I think next time I’ll make it in a bag from the start lol
I got the ingredients from target and my kids made it . It turned out great ,I added shaving cream to make it fluffy.
Yay, I hope your kids had a blast! :)
This was the easiest and successful slime making.
Yay! So happy to hear that :)
You almost know how to make everything!!!!
This is the easiest I’ve found online! And I had all three ingredients just in my cupboard. Unfortunately, I missed the baking soda in the first step and kept adding solution waiting for it to thicken up haha. The end result wasn’t too bad but I will remember for next time! Thanks
Glad it still worked out for you :D
It gud and very easy to make with easy available resources.
I’m glad you enjoyed it, Maryann :)
Fabulous! Worked perfectly.
So glad you enjoyed it :)
Thanks for the easy and fun recipe! I have 3 boys that loved making this slime that even my 17 yr old daughter joined in. It was superb!
Hi, I am trying this with my kids today and are wondering when we mix it altogether is it supposed to thicken quite a bit? Because ours is really wet.
Thanks.!