Making Silly Putty

My favorite granddaughter, KC (OK, so she's my only granddaughter) offered to teach me how to make slime for my blog readers.

KC first collected all her supplies. Borax, glitter glue (any kind of glue will do, I think), warm water and hand lotion.

She added the Borax to the warm water and then sprinkled it onto the glue.

She mixed it until she got the consistency she wanted and then made it into a ball and coated it with baby lotion. Again, I think any lotion will do.

In the end, I think it's more Silly Putty than slime. I looked online and there's a ton of websites that give you directions for Slime. I'm adding one below. Just clink on the link.

I got this more careful explanation from the Home Science website.

• School glue
• Borax (Sodium tetraborate)
• Food coloring (optional)
• Water
• Two bowls

WHAT YOU DO:

1. In one bowl mix 1 oz. glue (about ¼ of the glue bottle) and ¼ cup water. If you want colored slime, add food coloring to the glue and water mixture. Lift some of the solution out of the container with the stir stick and note what happens.
2. Add ¼ cup of Sodium Tetraborate (Borax) Solution to the glue and water mixture and stir slowly.
3. The slime will begin to form immediately. Lift some of the solution with the stir stick and observe how the consistency has changed from Step 1.
4. Stir as much as you can, then dig in and knead it with your hands until it gets less sticky. This is a messy experience but is necessary because it
   allows the two compounds to bond completely. Don't worry about any
   leftover water in the bowl; just pour it out.
5. When not in use, store the slime in a plastic bag in the fridge to keep it
   from growing mold.

WHAT HAPPENED:

The glue has an ingredient called polyvinyl acetate, which is a liquid polymer. The borax links the polyvinyl acetate molecules to each other, creating one large, flexible polymer. This kind of slime will get stiffer and more like putty the more you play with it. Experiment with different glues to see if they create slime (e.g., carpenter glue, tacky glue, etc.).

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody! 

I'm so very grateful for all the wonderful people in my life of which you are a big part and wish you all a very fabulous Thanksgiving celebration!