Make Your Own Glitter Slime {For Kids}
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Sensory play is a simple and fun creative outlet for the little ones. And the squishy kind of things used for sensory play are often so simple to make for yourself. We’ve made homemade Moon Sand, and homemade Play Snow, and now we we’ve learned how to make our own glitter slime too. I wish homemade glitter slime had been around when my kids were little, it was so much fun!
Ingredients For Making Homemade Slime
It turned out to be super simple to make your own glitter slime and it was something my little grandson could help with too. All that was needed was a bottle of Elmers Glitter Glue, some baking soda and a little bit of contact lens solution.
One thing to keep in mind is that any contact lens solution that you use in a DIY slime recipe should have “Boric Acid” in its ingredient list. Apparently that has some of the same chemical make-up as borax, which is why it works in the homemade slime recipes. It sounds like a super strange ingredient for contact lens solution, and yet, there it is. I used the Re-nu brand in the 2 oz size.
Making Our Own Glitter Slime
To make your own glitter slime, you’ll begin by emptying the contents of the 6 oz bottle of glitter glue into a mixing bowl. This is a step the little ones will love to help with.
Next, we stirred in 1½ teaspoons of baking soda, and again, little ones can help because there’s not much change to the glue yet in this step.
Finally, you will add in 3 teaspoons of the contact solution. As soon as you start mixing it you will see the glitter glue begin to form a ball. Once it starts forming into a ball, you’ll probably want to finish the mixing with your hands instead of a utensil. See, the grownups get some squishy sensory fun in this project too!
You will probably see some of the contact solution still in the bottom of the mixing bowl. Every so often, I would squish the glitter glue slime ball back into the remaining solution in the bowl as I was kneading, until most of it seemed to be incorporated into the ball of slime.
If your glitter slime still seems sticky as this point, just squirt in a tiny bit more contact solution, until you are happy with the consistency.
And then it’s ready for the kids to start stretching and playing with it! Again, it’s fun to see what creative ideas they come up with. My grandson had the most fun making lots of “worms” in different shapes and sizes. It kept him busy a long time!
The glitter glue is fun to use for this project because there’s no need for you to worry about adding the color or glitter. It’s all in the glue already and all you have to do is dump the bottle of glue in the mixing bowl. It’s a handy shortcut and we were able to make glitter slime in red, green, and blue just by purchasing those colors of glitter glue.
Homemade Glitter Slime
Equipment:
- Mixing Bowl
- Stirring Utensil
Materials:
- 6 oz bottle Elmers glitter glue
- 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3 teaspoons contact lens solution (see notes)
Instructions:
- Begin by emptying the bottle of Elmers Glitter Glue into a mixing bowl.
- Add the baking soda and stir it into the glitter glue.
- Add the contact lens solution to the mixture. The glitter glue should begin to turn into a ball as you stir.
- Begin kneading the ball of glitter glue to incorporate the contact lens solution. If there is still some contact lens solution in the bottom of the mixing bowl, squish the ball of glitter glue back into it from time to time to keep soaking it up as you keep kneading the mixture.
- If your ball of glitter slime still seems sticky, you can add more contact solution, in just tiny squirts at a time, until you are happy with the final consistency.
Notes:
Hi Bev- I think I would be able to use the glitter slime (without the glitter) for cleaning out the cup holder in the car, computer keyboard, and most recently the hand ‘indents’ on my new refridgerator. I love the new fridge but it has a flat finish with no handles. Just inserts below the door, & I can’t get the crumbs out of the corners. What do you think? Could you please tell me the quanty of borax I would use to make the slime, instead of contact lens solution? Love your monthly newsletter & always look forward to receiving it.
Thanks for your help! Wendy Green – Alberta Canada
Many recipes use 1/2 tsp of borax dissolved in a 1/2 cup of water, and sometimes they add a little bit more water to the glue before mixing the two as well. You’re right that slime can be used to help pick up crumbs when cleaning. I often use a piece of tape for picking up stubborn fuzzies or crumbs. Perhaps that could work in your frustrating refrigerator handle too!
Thank you so much for your post. My head has been spinning as there are so many slime recipes on the internet, but your page cleared a lot of it up for me. Looking forward to having my daughter’s slime party now 🙂
I’m so glad you found the recipe helpful!