If you’re looking for some good old fashioned fun, making homemade Silly Putty has to be one of the easiest ways to make fun happen fast, easily and very affordable. You’ll be amazed at how easy it is to make it and have it available for any time play. Start out by putting on some old clothes and cover your kitchen table with newspaper to catch any errant spills, then grab the basic ingredients to make homemade Silly Putty.
You’ll need to the following supplies:
- some white glue (like Elmer’s®) and liquid starch (if you aren’t familiar with liquid starch, you can find it with the laundry supplies at your local grocery store)
- a fork
- a small glass bowl
- a tablespoon measuring spoon
- some food coloring
Making Silly Putty at Home
How to Make Homemade Silly Putty
Making silly putty at home begins by measuring out two tablespoons of the white glue into a glass bowl.
- Using the same tablespoon, add one tablespoon of liquid starch. Take the fork and and fold the ingredients together over and over. The mixture will begin to clump together quickly. When it begins to look like a large wad of shapeless chewing gum, pick up the gooey glob in your hand and begin to knead it back and forth. The mixture will be a little stringy at first, but eventually you’ll see it gaining a smoother consistency as the warmth of your hands help it gain the rubbery feel you’re familiar with, with the store bought Silly Putty. It should really have a smooth, dough like consistency to be on the mark. (If your homemade Silly Putty isn’t working out so well, you can add a little bit of glue, or a little bit of starch if you need to adjust the consistency, but add only about 1/8 of a teaspoon of either item at a time to make sure you don’t overdo it either way.)
- Once you have the clump of Silly Putty at the consistency you like, spread it out almost flat in the palm of your hand and drop one drop of your preferred food coloring into the middle of it. Spread the color out using the putty itself against the open surface, and then fold it inside itself, once again kneading the putty, this time to infuse the color throughout the entire mass.
- Within a few seconds you should see your homemade Silly Putty turn the color you choose. If you want it a little brighter, just add another drop of food coloring and repeat the process until you get the desired results.
- Homemade Silly Putty develops the desired properties of elasticity and durability after it’s been left to sit for a little while, so once the Silly Putty has the color you want, put it in an airtight container or plastic bag so it can sit in the refrigerator overnight.
- The next day, you should have a great glob of wonderfully bouncy Silly Putty that can pick up impressions from the newspaper and stretch like crazy! Remember that some of the ink processes have changed with newspaper printing since the inception of Silly Putty, so some of the colored funny pages may not transfer over so well onto the surface. But! Black and white images should transfer over quite clearly, and you can really pull them into some hilarious angles!
You’ll be able to make all kinds of shapes and sizes with it, or watch it bounce like crazy! The great part is that once you’re ready to put it away, you just roll it up in a ball, return it to it’s container & throw it back in the refrigerator overnight. Tomorrow, it’s ready for another round of stretchy Silly Putty fun!
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