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.
Just made some with my 4 y/o and he is having a blast. Thank you for the recipe 😊
Made this at my sleepover (added shaving cream) one of the best slimes I have ever made!
After using it for about a half hour it started getting harder and won’t squish back together anymore. I have a very disappointed daughter. Is there a way to soften it back up so it will work again?
My daughter bought a slime kit last week and it was a terrible disaster. Found this recipe to make slime with her and I was worried at first because the mixture was still very glue-y after we added the baking soda. I bit the bullet and added the saline solution and was astounded by how quickly it reacted and actually made slime. It was “magical science”
I’m so glad it worked well for you :)
Finally, a simple yet very detailed recipe. Love the exact details to help when introducing a toddler. Thank you!
I’m glad this recipe worked well for you, thanks for your review!
This turned out fantastic! Great recipe. Thanks!
This is a fun one but can be kind of tricky to get it just right! Glad you had success :)
Best Recipe ever! My Grade 3 Daughter is now the coolest kid with the best slime out there😂. This stuff is amazing thank you.
Love to hear this! Thank you for your comment and review Bobbi :)
Works wonders and onto our 3rd coloured batch with 2 happy additional needs children and momma. Thankyou so much.
We are so glad to hear it has been such a hit. Thanks for your comment and review, Leanne :)
It was cool I will use it the next time
Does it have to be the White Elmer’s or can it be the clear Elmers?
You can use the clear, I just find it works best with the white.
Definitely doesn’t work with dollerstore glue!
Very affordable & easy to make I used saline solution nose spray
Glad you liked it, Amanda!
What is the baking soda for? Because I’ve seen a cider where they just use water, glue and the contact solution but I don’t know what the difference is with and without
The baking soda helps the slime have more form and firmness.
Thanks i am making slime for my barbies
Took a while to make but other than that it’s perfect
Could you substitute wood glue?
Hi Natalie! I don’t think that would work, but check out our No Glue slime recipe!
Me and my brother LOVED making and playing with this! Great recipe!
I’m so happy to hear that!
Even more simple recipe that I invented, not perfect but you can get there. Simply add glue and laundrey detergent to a bowl and mix. It will be not very stretchy so add more glue. It also feels way to liquidy when you dont add more glue. Havent tried this recipe so im just gonna rate it five star. I think its better than my 2 ingredient recipe but mine is simpler.
Nice slime! Tried different contact solutions that we had in the house. Opti-free brand didn’t work, but Acuvue did.
I used opti free and it worked for me however mine expired in 2018? tho I put blue food coloring in and now we are all smurfs…..