Why Amazon Activator is not Awesome…
My daughter has become quite the slime expert - even launched her own slime factory. For the first year I was buying quarts of activator from Amazon to mix with school glue. Why did I ignore all of the recipes that you had to make yourself? I wanted a quick fix. I didn’t want to get into customizing slime recipes and feeding into this very messy, and potentially destructive, hobby. Turns out I was just delaying the inevitable, and I eventually embraced it because it was consuming hours of her time, she was being responsible with it, and she stayed so excited about her craft.
Moment of discovery - Borax was the key.
As a novice slime maker, Kyla experimented with her proportions, and we had consistent success in small batches. As her interest grew, and her experience widened, any time she tried to make more than a cup of slime, the activator didn’t work at all. Her solution? Dump the whole thing in… $$$…
This year, in the height of her slime making as she was preparing for a vendor event in town, we ran out of activator. Kyla suggested using some borax, which I surprisingly had on hand from stripping my laundry a year or so ago. Right now you can get a 5lb pack of Borax Powder for around $20. You need a teaspoon of powder to make a cup of activator. This will make hundreds of batches of slime. The Amazon activator gets you around five cups/batches of slime for $14 when it works.
Game changer!
We also learned that tempura paint makes excellent color and doesn’t stain your hands, and that soft clay makes amazing butter slime.
It’s been a nerve wracking journey but a fun one!
Kyla’s Slime Factory - Butter Slime Recipe
1/2 Cup of School Glue
1/3 Cup of Shaving Cream
1/4 Cup of Water
1/4 Teaspoon of Baking Soda
Slime Activator (1/4 tsp borax and 1/4c warm water - mix well and set aside to cool)
1 Cup of White Soft Clay
Make Slime Activator and set aside
Mix first four ingredients together thoroughly (school glue, shaving cream, water and baking soda.)
If you want any color, this is the time to add some food coloring.
Add 1 tsp at a time of activator until you get a firm, but wet and slightly sticky consistently. You will need around 2-3 tsp but wait around 5 minutes between each to allow for the reaction time.
Add your clay 1/4c at a time. This should be roughly equal parts clay to slime, but you be the judge.
Play!
