The Pintertest Files: DIY Glitter Slime ~ A Beauty in the Chaos

Hello everyone and welcome to the Pintertest Files! Where I take a popular Pinterest post, test it out, and report back if it worked as promised, how easy it was, and if it is worth trying out yourself.

January is always a tough month to get through, at least here in Iowa. The big holidays have passed, there isn't any more vacation time to look forward to, and it is frigid outside (today's high was 0). All this adds up to some seriously stir crazy kids that make you realize bears have the right idea when they just hibernate on until spring.

It's with this desperation for child entertainment that I chose DIY Glitter Slime as our next Pintertest. The easy 3 item recipe that is posted on every mom blog the Internet wide, promising a colorful sensory playtime favorite that is not only easy to clean up, but impossible to mess up.

A very special thank you needs to be sent out to my talented helper Gabriel who enthusiastically helped me test out this project and even offered some insight (see below). Also to my husband who helped take photos when things got a little sticky.

What You Will Need:

Items needed to create slime all available at Wal-Mart

Liquid Starch (I could only find at Wal-Mart)
Clear washable glue (with or without sparkles, it doesn't matter)
Water
Glitter
Measuring Cup
Mixing Bowls
Spoons or stick to stir with

All materials are fairly easy to find, save for the liquid starch. I could only find that at Wal-Mart. Not really an issue except that I had looked in two other stores first before heading there.

Step 1: Mix Water and Glue

For glue solution mix 1 container of Elmer's clear washable glue with 1/2 cup warm water

Measure out 1/2 cup of water, place it in the mixing bowl. To the water add a full container of the clear washable glue. Mix until the solution is consistent and clear.

Fully mixed solution will be clear and slightly thinner than the normal glue texture

Step 2: Slowly Add Liquid Starch to Glue Solution

You will need 1/2 cup of liquid starch, add it to the glue solution bit by bit for easier mixing

Measure out 1/2 cup of liquid starch. Bit by bit, add the liquid starch to the glue solution and start mixing like you have never mixed before.

As soon as the liquid starch is added, gel slime starts forming.

Step 3: Mix Until Your Arm Falls Off

Solution is fairly easy to mix at first

Sore yet? Keep mixing. The mixture is going to be the delightful texture of baby snot. Pretty soon it will be impossible to stir with the spoon which is when you are ready for the next step...

As more slime develops it becomes increasingly more difficult to stir with a spoon

Step 4: Ditch the Spoon and Start Mixing With Your Hands

At first the slime is VERY wet and difficult to hold

I should mention that at the exact point you grab the full blob of mucous-y goodness and start kneading it, it is going to stick absolutely everywhere all over your hands. You will doubt the ratio of ingredients, you will doubt that this will work. Hell you will doubt your reasoning skills to involve your 5 year old in this hot mess of a project. Keep kneading and mixing. It gets better.

With continued kneading it gels up but remains very sticky

Keep kneading, eventually it will solidify more and stick to hands less and less

Step 5: Mix in Glitter

I added glitter by piling it in the middle then folding over to create a pocket, no loose glitter touched hands or work surface

If you followed step 4 unabashedly like I suggested, you now have a clear-ish slime that doesn't stick to your hands or hard surfaces. Now is the time to add in glitter. I found the cleanest way to do this was to flatten out the slime, add a heap of glitter in the center and fold the slime over on itself to entrap the glitter in a pocket. Then simply knead and work the slime until the glitter is evenly distributed throughout.

Create unique color combinations by mixing glitter

I should mention that I divided the slime mixture out into 4 individual colors. Gabe decided to mix one giant batch. The only difference is the amount of glitter required to get the full color effect. If the intensity of the glitter isn't to your liking you can certainly add more. You can mix colors to obtain a galaxy or rainbow like effect. It's really up to you.

Finished product - All 4 of these colors were made with one divided batch of slime

Step 6: Storage and Play Precautions:

The peanut gallery didn't partake in the creation of the slime but did play with it afterwards (make sure littles don't eat slime)

We found through playing with the slime, if it comes into contact with any paper products (in this case a paper towel) it will be impossible to remove. Therefore slime shouldn't be used around books or important documents.

Cleanup of any slime residue was very easy with warm water and a little soap. The twins got in on playing with the finished product and got some on their clothes (little scraps they pulled off that landed in their laps). It cleaned up with some warm water.

For storage we placed the slime in some zip lock baggies to keep the air out. As of yet there hasn't been any issues with drying out, although I'm sure with time and continued play the slime will eventually dry out.

Final Grade and Thoughts:

This was a complete and total success! Not only did the slime turn out exactly as expected, but we had a blast as a family making it. There was a period where the mixture was really sticky and I was concerned that perhaps the ratio of ingredients were off, but true to the tutorials word, the more you mixed and played with the slime, the better the texture got.

I asked Gabriel what he thought of the project once we were done, and if he had any suggestions for those of you who are wanting to try this yourself. Here are some of his thoughts:

"Making slime was AWESOME!"

"It's kind of messy, you should use a plastic place mat"

"It's gross but feels kind of good" (when we were mixing is while it was very sticky)

Thank you so very much for stopping by! If you have a Pinterest idea that you would like me to test, leave the idea (and preferably a link) in the comments section below! Don't forget you can also follow me on Instagram (VPNilausen), Twitter (HawkimamaV), or join me on the A Beauty In The Chaos's Facebook page (here) for additional conversations and fun. I will see you next week!