Foolproof Slime and Play Dough Recipe

OK parents this one’s for you, because I’m pretty sure you’re in need of as many ideas as you can possibly get to entertain your precious darlings when the weather has been as pants as it’s been!

Last week I had a go at making both Slime and Play Dough with my daughter and it was a huge success, so I thought I would share them with you. There are literally tons of recipes out there on the web, but all I know is that these ones work, so have a go and let me know how you get on.

Slime

Slime is all the rage at the mo and you can really go to town pimping it up with glitter, scents and orbeez if you really want to. We’ve kept it nice and simple, because until you master the basic slime recipe you’re likely to end up with a sloppy mess!

What’s In It?

  • 1 Cup of PVA Glue
  • 1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
  • Approx. 3 drops of Gel Food Colouring
  • 1 tbsp Contact Lens Solution (must contain boric acid or sodium borate!)

How Do I Make It?

Pour the glue into a bowl and mix in the bicarb of soda. Now I know I’ve gone all American with my cup sizes but if you get your ratios right you’ll be fine – as a point of reference I used a kids plastic cup.

Add the gel colouring – a few drops less = a lighter colour, a few drops more = a more intense colours, but whatever you do DON’T use standard liquid food colouring as this is too runny and won’t make your slime, well….slimy!

Mix together until the colour is evenly distributed.

Next stir in the contact lens solution. Don’t worry if it starts to get stringy, that’s perfectly normal and will look a little bit like when you scramble eggs. Just keep stirring until you reach a point that it would be better to use your hands.

Get stuck it!

Knead the mixture together – it starts off very, VERY sticky, but trust me. Keep kneading and kneading and kneading until eventually you’ll have super, stretchy slime!!

As long as you keep it an airtight container and don’t drop it on the carpet too much, you’ll have perfectly stretchy slime for a looooooooooooong time 🙂

Play Dough

I remember my mum making play dough for me when I was a child and I’ve just never got round to making it with my own children, up until now that is! It’s soooooooo easy and again you can go crazy with the glitter to make sparkly varieties, hey there are even some recipes that are edible – but this one is NOT!

It’s not quite as vibrant as the stuff you buy in the shops and it is ever so slightly softer, but it is play dough none the less and the kids will have just as much fun making it as they will playing with it.

What’s In It?

  • 8 tbsp Plain Flour
  • 2 tbsp Salt
  • 60ml Warm Water
  • Food colouring (gel or liquid)
  • 1 tbsp Sunflower Oil

How Do I Make It?

Mix the flour and salt in a large bowl. If you want to make different colours I would suggest splitting this mixture into three and placing in three separate smaller bowls.

In a separate bowl mix together the water with the oil and a few drops of food colouring – again the more colouring you add the stronger the colour. Repeat with the other colours.

Pour the coloured waters into the flour mixes and stir with a spoon.

Use your hands to bring the mixture together and give it a good old knead.

And that’s it!

We also added rose essence to one of our doughs to give it a nice smell, so try experimenting with lots of different essences, or why not add some cocoa powder to give it a delicious chocolate smell!

I hope you and your kids have fun making and playing with these recipes, please share a picture with us on our social accounts as we’d love to see your creations.

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