We have a new creation to share with you and it is crazy cool!
It all started like a regular Sunday morning. But then I saw this video about WABA Kinetic Sand in my newsfeed. I watched and was intrigued. I was pretty sure I could make something like it (I've never actually touched WABA Kinetic Sand
but I felt like I could make something that behaved similarly), so I set out to do just that. All of my experimenting eventually led to a dough that behaves a lot like slime or gak. But is totally borax-free. It's a great alternative for folks who are concerned about the chemicals in traditional gak or slime recipes. This slime recipe calls for common household ingredients - you could (probably) even make some today! If you're looking to make a traditional slime and you are from the UK or Australia, be sure to check out this post on how to make slime with laundry detergent (with links to UK and Aussie ingredients).
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Why did we not go with something that had sand in it? Well the sand dough I created did behave like the WABA Kinetic Sand
(Woohoo! I love when my crazy ideas work out!), but it didn't FEEL like it. Kinetic Sand is light and fluffy and almost crumbly. Our version moved like Kinetic Sand, but felt more like a slime. Also, when S and I went to add color to it, it just wouldn't take. The coloring kept coming off on our hands. We LOVE color, so I decided to try a batch minus the sand. It took a few tweaks, but I made a sand-free version and it was even cooler!
(Woohoo! I love when my crazy ideas work out!), but it didn't FEEL like it. Kinetic Sand is light and fluffy and almost crumbly. Our version moved like Kinetic Sand, but felt more like a slime. Also, when S and I went to add color to it, it just wouldn't take. The coloring kept coming off on our hands. We LOVE color, so I decided to try a batch minus the sand. It took a few tweaks, but I made a sand-free version and it was even cooler!
It's suuuuper stretchy, and when you let it rest, it oozes just like our Golden Slime did. It's got a beautiful shine to it once it settles. We dyed ours blue using liquid watercolors (I'm pretty sure you could substitute food coloring, though you may get a slight stain on your hands from playing with it if you do).
S figured out that she could make a handprint.
And then we slowly watched it disappear.
It's hard to capture the oozy/melty nature of it on camera, but these shots are all a few dozen seconds apart.
Look at the crazy stretch it has!
S loved making patterns on it and then watching them soften and fade.
And if you take a great big handful and wait, it does this awesome flowy slide down your arm.
And yet, you can still make it into a ball.
S also enjoyed making crazy sculptural art with it.
It does get dry as you play with it. We played with ours for quite some time, and needed to add a little water to rehydrate it (we'd basically get our hands wet and then continue playing). Before I stored it in an airtight container, I just made sure to mix a small amount of water back in (around 1/4 teaspoon was plenty).
It can get messy/crumbly as you go, so either playing with a splat mat or taking the play outside might a good idea.
You want to make your own now? I hope so! Here's our official Slime Dough recipe:
2 and 1/4 c. cornstarch
1/2 c. shampoo
6 tablespoons water
(
A few notes on the recipe:
If you are in the UK, cornstarch is the same as cornflour. As far as the shampoo goes, we used Suave Green Apple Shampoo because it was 99 cents and smelled like apples (yum!) - to my knowledge, any type of shampoo will work. Mix the shampoo and the food coloring/liquid watercolor together before adding it to the cornstarch. Once the color is evenly distributed throughout the shampoo, add mixture to your cornstarch. Mix well with a spoon. You will have little crumbly bits at this point. Add the water one tablespoon at a time. Depending on how much dye you've added, you may need more or less water. Your dough should roll into a ball (if it's too gooey to roll into a ball, add more cornstarch); it should also have a nice shine to it and "melt" in your hands (if it's not melting and not shiny, add a wee bit more water). As I mentioned above, if you are playing for an extended period of time, you may find that you need to wet your hands to keep the dough hydrated.
We have ours stored in a sealed Gladware - the Slime Dough looks like this once it's settled. In the morning I needed to mix in around 1/4 teaspoon more water to get it "melting" again.
And there you have it! We hope you will set off to make your own crazy cool Slime Dough!
For another fun and crazy sensory dough, check out Creative Playhouse's Bubble Dough!
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All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children. As your child's parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family. I always encourage contacting your child's pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies). Observe caution and safety at all times. The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.
definitely want to see your kinetic sand as well! :)
ReplyDeleteYour upcoming sand dough is probably much cooler than what I came up with, Kat!!!
DeleteThis looks like a lot of fun! Cornstarch is amazing stuff!
ReplyDeleteLoooooove cornstarch! We can't wait to have a go at your Bubble Dough!
DeleteI just made this for my 13-month-old daughter today, and I'm not sure if she had more fun, or if I did! I love how simple this was to make. We used baby shampoo, because that was on hand. I added a bit more water to get it right, and then it was perfect. This is great for all of the rainy days we have been having here in Florida. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAwesome, Kimbobolini! That's so great to hear that baby shampoo works (since we all have tons of that on hand - smart!) and SO glad to hear you both are enjoying it!!! I love how cornstarch moves - so crazy, right?!?!?
DeleteI expected it too have a very different structure and behaviour then goop, thanks to the dertergent/shampoo. But actually no, it was like a scented version of goop. We had much fun. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHmm, could you still roll it into a ball? If not, I suspect you added too much water. If you add too much water it turns into goop again. I'm so glad you had fun either way! :)
DeleteHi,
DeleteWe played again with it today. One month later and it still looks and smells good. But after seeing again your pics I realise it is absolutely different. Our breaks and stretches not at all. It is like faux icecream dough. We can roll it in a ball (it doesn't ooze too much) and scrape ice with an icecream spoon. I wonder if I used conditioner instead of shampoo... I think not but since it is a month ago I don't remember well. Could shampoo vs. hair conditioner give another dough? And this time it didn't behave like goop; it didn't behave differently with force/gently. (Sorry for my English. I am a bit too tired to write in a foreign language).
Oh awesome! Yes, we probably added a little more water than you did - with less water it is much more like a slow moving dough! I'm so glad you've been enjoying it!!! :)
DeleteThank you so much for a Borax free recipie! Bought some borax and was really freaked out by the "Danger: avoid exposure" :\ trying this now, will post a link up to how it went if anyone's interested!
ReplyDeleteGlad we were able to help you out with our recipe!
DeleteWhat was the first recipe you used for the homemade kinetic sand?
ReplyDeleteHi Amber! It's been so long - I didn't keep a record of it. I do remember that it was equal sand and cornstarch and that I had to add slightly more shampoo to it as well. I realized that I didn't explain well in the post originally (I just edited to make it clearer), but though the stuff I made moved like Kinetic Sand - it did not feel like Kinetic Sand. It was more like a sandy slime. I have done lots of experimenting since, and I have yet to find anything available in stores that I could use to make Kinetic Sand. I just can't crack that recipe!!!
DeleteSounds awesome!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Kayla!!!!
DeleteWe made this today for a fun after-lunch activity with my 6, 4, and 3 year olds. We even happened to have an old Suave green apple shampoo in the back of the cabinet :)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, my kids are having SUCH a good time right now. Thanks for sharing!
YAY! This totally puts a smile on my face - thank you!!! :)
DeleteHi! I recently just found this website and can I just say THANK YOU!!! you are so awesomely amazing! I am a teen girl who just started babysitting two boys, 3 and 5 years old, and this website is going me so many amazing ideas!!! Thanks so much :)
ReplyDeleteAwesome! What a fun babysitter you are!!!!
DeleteHi, I was going to tell you, I babysit and one of my kidd made kinetic sand with flour and baby oil... It was pretty messy but had a sand texture and was exactly like kinetic sand!! I think it was like 1 cup baby oil to like 3 cups flour! Hope it works for you!!
ReplyDeleteWe call that cloud dough - isn't it awesome? It does feel just like Kinetic Sand, but unfortunately it doesn't move the same. Darn.
DeleteHi! I'm just asking but do you have to use shampoo?
ReplyDeleteYou might be able to use something else, but you'd have to change the other parts of the recipe to get it to work, I suspect. :)
DeleteJust tried your recipe with my kid. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYay!!!! So glad you tried it. :)
Deletei made it and it works!
ReplyDeleteYAY! :)
DeleteThis is awesome for summer time! my kids would love it. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDelete