Category: Activities for Kids

Whats In The Box? All The Basics You Need To Start A Craft Box

Whats In The Box? All The Basics You Need To Start A Craft Box

I did a bit of a spring clean out during the holidays and while doing so ran an “insta-story” on what was in our craft box. I received so many responses to it that I felt it would be worth running a blog on all the basics you need to get your crafting going.

Make it easier for your children to “create” by filling a box that’s just for them with craft supplies. You would have seen that I have one box for “them” that is easily accesible for them to reach and another for mummy which contains things like glitter, the paints; “messy” items that I prefer them to use under supervision. The box is theirs to use however they wish, with no need to ask permission. Another thing I did was to cut a piece of plastic material (or just use a plastic tablecloth), and we use this as our drop cloth. The boys know if they want to do any messy play, rule number one is to put a drop cloth down.

Keep in mind your childrens ages and abilities when filling up your craft box. We still use jumbo sized crayons for easier grip and safety scissors. If they are going to be doing crafts while I’m cooking, I need to know they are safe. I always keep the paper, card and leftover paper plates in their “craft” drawer in the play room, so they can pull it out whenever they need. Larger items from around the house like kitchen towel rolls, empty egg cartoons, bottle tops and other recyclable materials on the bottom shelf in our pantry. My 5 year old gets sudden “mister maker” urges and creates the most unique pieces at the oddest times, so I want to make sure he can reach everything he needs without causing havoc.

To start you off, in “their box”, I keep the following things:

  • Scraps of coloured paper
  • Tissue Paper
  • Pipe Cleaners
  • Felt Scraps
  • Items of interest like buttons, sequins, ribbons
  • Googly eyes
  • Pom Poms
  • Glitter Glue (they dont get loose glitter unless I am around)
  • Stickers
  • Popsicle Sticks
  • Stick Glue
  • Watercolour paints (these tray paints are ideal for less supervision)

Items from around the house to collect:

  • Newspaper
  • Bottle Tops
  • Empty Egg Cartons
  • Empty Yoghurt Tubs
  • Polystyrene trays
  • Toilet Rolls/ Empty Kitchen Rolls
  • Foil

I then keep things like the crayons, paintbrushes and pencil colours in standup tins on their book shelf to easily reach whenever they need. Paint, glitter and play dough can be introduced on days that allow for more time to prepare and clean up, or when you want to provide other hands-on learning opportunities.

Keep the everyday supplies to a minimum so both you and the kids are not overwhelmed.

In “My Box” I keep things like liquid glue, loose glitter, more expensive jewels/beads and sharper items.

We have a tray filled with all our liquid paints. Our favourite without a doubt are KV Dala paints and their Teddy range is perfect for children! For more advanced crafters they offer every colour of the rainbow in acrylics and craft paints and the Teddy range stocks everything from Finger Paints to Rollerball paints perfect for little fingers!

When painting with children remember that young children work best standing up. A wall-mount or free standing easel are great ways to create this space. You could even craft your own temporary one out of cardboard. We use a free standing chalk board that doubles up as an art easel. Dont be afraid to experiment with different materials and encourage process art. In our paint tray I keep empty squeeze and spray bottles, sponges, plastic syringes and tape. When we have a little more time everything is on hand to set up for creative play.

There you have it, everything you need to get your crafting set up. Build up most of these items over time, it wont be something you purchase all at once. Dont be afraid to let your kids create as much as they like! Happy crafting!

Christmas Salt Dough Ornaments

Christmas Salt Dough Ornaments

You may remember from last year that we made Salt Dough Christmas Ornaments. Its something we do every year and it always ties in nicely with teachers end of year gifts and homemade sentiments for family and friends.

This year I was inspired by Sugar and Paper Parties insanely gorgeous sugar cookies, I’m not one to attempt anything like the masterpieces that Liezl creates (well actually I did and they looked like a dogs breakfast), so we decided to make ornaments for the tree with our snow globe cookie cutter. (Because painting is alot easier then icing 🙂 )

Apart from putting in the oven and taking it out again, this is literally one craft the kids can do by themselves from start to finish.

The Recipe has 3 ingredients and is SUPER easy:

4 cups flour

1 cup salt

1.5 cups water

  • Preheat your oven to 100 degrees Celsius.
  • Combine all of your ingredients and knead. If your dough is too dry add a little bit more water.
  • Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1.5 cm
  • Using a cookie cutter of your choice cut out your shapes, if you are making handprints, use a side plate to cut a circle first and then have your child place their hand on that circle.

  • Using a straw, make a hole in the top for where you want to hang your salt dough ornament.
  • Bake for about 2 hours. If your ornaments are still soft to touch, put back in for another hour. (It will depend on your thickness how long you need to bake for. The thinner ornaments will take less time but thicker may take more).
  • Once cooled, decorate as you wish. We used our favourite Dala paints, the acrylic works best and lots of  glitter, especially at Christmas time.
  • Finish with a varnish.

I normally do this over 2 or 3 days. The first day we roll and make bake our ornaments, on the second we paint and on the third day I spray it with a coast of clear varnish.

To end off our homemade gifts we made simple cards. Christmas Trees easily painted with plastic forks.

Remember to head on over to :

Justamamma for more easy christmas cards for kids

Ali from Earth to Ali Photography for her utterly gorgeous salt dough foot and handprints 

This.is.bentleys.world for her ridiculously cute toilet roll crafts

Minimatissediaries for dreamy pine cone painting

Michelle from Mayalief for her exquisitie homemade wrapping paper

Our Favourite Family Board Games {GIVEAWAY}

Our Favourite Family Board Games {GIVEAWAY}

Holidays are a time for family, food and fun. When I asked my 5-year-old son what is favourite part about Christmas was, he said “the games mama”. It’s about long leisurely meals with lots of hearty fun afterward. Well, it was and is for me anyway.

I agree with my son, my favourite part of family holidays is always the afternoon or “after meal” games. The boys are getting to the age now that they have started to grasp a lot of board games (well at least they think they do). Almost every week they will drag out the entire monopoly set to play ( I think its more about them getting all the money to be honest), but its creating memories, and its bonding. It also instills a little bit of healthy competition 🙂 Snakes and Ladders is one of the best entry points as a board game for kids, its easy to comprehend and my boys are really enjoying it at the moment.

Heres a list of some of our other favourite games:

 

From Top Left to Right:

Mouse Trap from Prima Games. this variation is available from R199 Makro

Snakes and Ladders is the perfect introduction to board games R91 from Takealot

Monopoloy has long been a family favourite. My sister and I would play one game that would last the entire weekend! R399 from CNA

Its Junior Scrabble for us, as the boys are still learning letters, and when we are tired mum and dad’s vocabulary is not too hot either. R399 from Takealot

Pictionary is a hoot in our house! Trying to figure out what the boys have drawn sometimes requires a teeny bit of imagination.

30 Seconds – This doesn’t need much explanation. Except, my team ALWAYS wins @ R249 from Takealot.com

Uno Cards are the perfect entry kit into the world of group games. R89.90 from CNA

Pie in your Face – We got this a few months ago, if you have seen my insta stories it is an absolute blast! My boys are suckers for punishment 🙂 (Or they really like licking cream off their faces) R459 from Takealot

Last but certainly not least one of our absolute trending favourites is Boom Blast Stix. Think of a combination of pick up sticks meets Jenga. The aim is to pile your clips as high as you can without them snapping and flying everywhere! This had an entire room full of adults in stitches of laughter earlier this year! R319 from Takealot

GIVEAWAY:

I’ll be contributing to your family memories this holiday, together with Prima Games, by giving away one “Boom Blast Stix” Game.

To Enter:

Tell me about your favourite memory when it comes to playing board games. Its that easy!

Please remember to be subscribed to “In these Stilettos” or to “LIKE” my Facebook page so I can contact the selected winner!

Open to residents of South Africa Only.

Competition ends December 19th 2019.

The Ultimate Festive List Of Entertainment Ideas For Family’s in Gauteng

The Ultimate Festive List Of Entertainment Ideas For Family’s in Gauteng

You can see it on the horizon, the December holidays are right around the corner and you are dying for some quality time to spend as a family. By day 5 however, you are all ready to rip each other’s hair out and you desperately need some external stimulation for the kids. Sounds familiar right?

If you are looking for activities to do at home with the kids, have a look at my “Activities for Kids” tab on the website. I have endless activities and ideas to entertain your kids (these are focused on preschool years as that’s what I know).

For a full list of my favourite places to take kids (of all ages), have a look at my Keeping Kids Entertained in Joburg Article.

Now onto December specific events and places:

Festive themed events

Christmas Fairytale Festival 

Saturday 1st December

Into the forest venue is a firm favourite and they have various events running throughout December.

Come for a family day out and tip-toe through the magical Faerie Trail, twinkling with little Christmas lights. Fairies, elves, pixies and Tinkerbell & Peter Pan shall be there as well as a very special visit from Santa Claus !

Garden of Lights – Emperors Palace

30 November 2018 – 2 January 2019
Open daily from 19h00 – 22h00

Gautengs’ biggest Christmas festive celebration is back! Garden of Lights is an epic celebration of all things Christmas. It’s a winter wonderland, light extravaganza and yuletide adventure all rolled into one and its jam packed filled with adventure for kiddies! This is a must see!

Every weekend from the 9th December through to the 22nd.

Held at the Lipizzaner Centre in Kyalami, these beautiful “dancing” horses are historic in Joburg. A wonderful outing for the whole family, this is a magical morning.

Christmas Village at Montecasino

Wednesday the 12-17 December 2018

There’s a R10 Entry Fee (which is donated to 94.7’s Christmas Wish List), Kids under 12 free.

Montecasino’s 5th annual Christmas Village will once again transform our Outdoor Piazza into a magical European-style Christmas market. Kids can enjoy the twinkling lights and movies on a big screen whilst you browse through over 60 vendors!

Walter Sisulu Picnic & Market under the stars

Saturday December 15 at 5pm

Pack a picnic blanket and basket or just come support out local vendors that will be ready to quench your thirst and fill that stomach with delicious foods for every taste

Fourways Farmers Market

They have two Christmas Night markets set up from the 7-8th December and again on the 14th-15th.

Shows

If your in the mood for something a little more cultural, why not take in one of Joburg’s holiday shows?

Cinderella – The Ballet

Whats Christmas without a little ballet? The Joburg Ballet brings you this family favourite at Monte Casino from 14 December through to Sunday the 23rd December.

This is one that’s definitely on my wish list!

Billions of Bubbles Show –  Times Square South Africa

From December 20th To January 7, International sensation and bubble scientist, Fan Yang, brings his world-renowned bubble show to South Africa for the very first time and will literally blow you away!

My boys are so excited for this one . Bring the whole family to watch this breathtakingly beautiful bubble magic show!  The show involves spectacular displays of lights, lasers, smoke and bubbles thousands of tiny bubbles and enormous ones, bubbles within bubbles, as well as bouncing, floating and mega bubbles.

Janice Honeymans magical Pantomime

Running until December 23rd join Joburg Theatre and Bernard Jay as they present Janice Honeyman’s Snow White, The Fairest Panto in All The Land !

National Children’s Theatre presents Gogga’s

Running from 6 November – 23 December 2018.

A family musical that will delight both children and adults alike. Its a feel good story of friendship and responsibility. For bookings call the theatre on 011 484 1584 or bookings@nctt.org.za

Mall Entertainment 

I know everyone always makes fun of Jo-burgers and their love of malls, but seriously, there are some epic line ups this festive season.

Silverstar Casino (yes I know, its not technically a mall) is hosting its annual beach festival.

Thursday, 13 December 2018 to Sunday, 6 January 2019.

Day time activities for kids include:

  • Sand castle building competitions
  • Tug of war competitions
  • Hoola hoop competitions
  • Ice-cream eating competitions
  • Inflatable waterslide
  • Face painting
  • Beach volleyball

Cradlestone Mall

Running from 12 December 2018 to 06 January 2019.

This December, Cradlestone Mall will be bringing youngsters plenty of wild, fun and thrilling themed holiday activities to keep the boredom at bay. Their holiday fun programme will be available throughout the mall along with a jungle playground.

Mall of Africa

From the 8th to the 23rd December

Mall of Africa is hosting their ever popular Beach activation again this year. My boys had a blast last year on the gigantic inflatable slides, sandpit, peddle push boats and so much more. Take your hats and sunscreen and enjoy a family day out!

They also have the EPIC Pop-up Kit Kat special edition store, a must visit for every chocolate lover. This runs until the 22nd of December.

Family days out

Gautrain and Pretoria Zoo have coupled together with a great promotion.

Ride the Gautrain to Pretoria Station between the 14th and 28 December, collect a wristband from a promoter available at the Pretoria Station and receive free entrance into the Zoo.

Over this period there are a number of activities available including a market in the picnic area, A gaming area at the Flamingo restaurants as well as Bakwena Day Spa treatments at the top of the cable car. Complimentary cable car rides granted to all Gautrain passengers.

National Military Museum

OK, it may not take a whole day out but when paired with the Joburg next door it can be! This is one of our favourite places to take the boys and it doesn’t cost a fortune. The history is incredible and the kids will love playing on the old plane and jeep in the play area.

Gold Reef City

Still one of Joburg’s top family attractions. 16 thrill rides, 14 dedicated rides for the kiddies, Jump City Trampoline Park, there’s fun for all ages here!

Hartbeespoort Dam

Opportunities are endless here. Whether it’s a trip up the cable way, sipping coffee in “Paris”, to feeding an elephant it really is a jam-packed day out.

This year I’m targeting the Strawberry farm, and picking season is officially open. A great option throughout December! The fields usually open at 8:00 a.m. and close at 4 p.m.

Sun City

Always a life saver when it comes to holidays and close enough to go for the day. Spend the day at the Valley of the waves or book in overnight. There are a whole range of kids activities from mini golf to a bird park and steam train rides.

Animal related

Lets face it, these are particularly popular with little kids and toddlers. They’ll be delighted to be given a chance to touch and feed the rabbits, goats, chickens, ducks and more. Be sure to take some animal feed with or you may purchase at the venue as well. For a full comprehensive list check out our favourite activities to do in Joburg.

Bird Garden – Monte Casino 

We have been going here since the boys were small. The only bird park of its kind in Africa and perfect for all ages! Take a stroll through the gardens and aviary and see a wide variety of bird life, reptiles, and other exotic animals. It also has a café and a cute kids play area.

A diamond in the middle of a bustling city. Crazy Kids has also recently had a bit of a refresh with some new animals (including another pony and a friendly pig). It is literally smack bang in the middle of a residential area in Randburg. It has a huge variety of play equipment for kids, a ton of bikes to ride around and an epic sandpit. This is a winner, everyday of the week.

The Johannesburg Zoo

A timeless classic and always good for a family day out. They offer day and night tours, children’s farmyard, tractor rides, kids party venue, school tours and more

Old MacDonald’s Farm Yard (The Fat Olive Restaurant)
This is a true hidden gem. Home to the Fat Olive restaurant and a Beach bar, Old MacDonald’s has free roaming Zebras, geese, duck and a whole mini farmyard for kids to feed/interact with. Hop on a Canoe and row around the lake with the kids.
Holds a nice variety of crocodiles, predator birds and of course lions/ leopards – though I do feel for the bigger cats as their enclosures are very, very small.
Crocodile & Reptile Park where the visitors interact with a variety of reptiles. The boys got an educational talk on crocs, on how thick their skin is and got to hold and observe their eggs. They also house a number of reptiles and much to my horror my boys lined up to hold the snakes. When you are done why not zipline over the crocs?
Originally started off as an Indigenous tree farm, Willow Feather now hosts a nursery, tea garden and awesome Farmyard for kids. They have a number of interactive activities for kids and the number of animals in the Farmyard is exceptional. Alpacas, pigs, bunnies, cows. Kids can get up close and personal to the animals and of course participate in feeding. There’s also a wonderful kiddies play area to keep little ones busy while mums’ can enjoy hot tea and scones.
Joburgs’ nearest”far away” place. The Rhino and Lion Park is a fantastic family day out. Take a “safari” through the nature reserve (Its actually a proper reserve unlike some other lion parks in the area), try and spot their newest baby Rhino or visit the baby cubs at the breeding center. Enjoy a leisurely lunch at the Thatch Cafe while the kids ride up a storm on their incredible bike track. End your day with the ever popular feeding of giraffes for some special family memories.
Shew have I given you enough idea’s? I hope this list provides you with some inspiration. There are a whole lots more places featured in my keeping kids entertained article such as Roll Egoli, Acrobranch and Bounce, so be sure to check that too.
Happy Holidays!
Festive Fizzing Trees – The Perfect Christmas Science Experiment

Festive Fizzing Trees – The Perfect Christmas Science Experiment

We are starting our festive season with a little Christmas cheer! Holidays are the perfect opportunity to create simple sensory themed and STEM play ideas for the kids and science is always one of my favourite things to do with the boys. The simplest of experiments’ that can be redone in a dozen ways.

The festive period offers endless opportunities for science and with sparkles and magic its our favourite “season”. Whats more, you can literally tip this whole “after mess” down your kitchen sink, you have basically made a drain cleaner (its bicarb and vinegar! I used edible food sprinkles so no harsh glitter).

If you’re looking for more science inspiration for kids, you can have a look at some of my favourite toddler friendly science experiments here.

You will need:

Paper plates to make into a cone shape

Baking soda

Vinegar

Water

Food colouring

Sparkles and Glitter as you wish

Squirters/ eye droppers or syringes for easy spraying for little hands

Method

Mix Baking Soda and water into a “wet sand” consistency. Slowly add enough water so that you can pack it together tightly and it doesn’t fall apart, like a sand castle. I add my food colouring into the water to turn the baking soda mixture green, and then add in your sparkles and sequins. You still want your baking soda to fizz so be careful it’s not too wet.

Roll your paper plates into a cone for your tree mold. Tape it down to secure.

Little Bins for Little Hands freezes her trees overnight but I didn’t bother with that step. I packed my sand mixture into the cones tightly like a sand castle and then removed the paper. Set out a bowl of vinegar and your dropper or squirt bottle of choice and let the kids play away. Once their trees had all dissolved, they turned their magical sparkly mixture into a potion and mixed away!

This is such a fun way to introduce younger kids to science and you can literally play on this experiment a thousand times over. One of our favourites being a traditional volcano of course.

Keep an eye out for weekly festive themed fun that you can do with your children over the holidays. Kids love nothing more than spending time with their parents, and by doing simple activities like this you are creating a beautifully curious mind and spending one on one time with them.

Happy Learning! 

How To Make Frozen Oobleck

How To Make Frozen Oobleck

Hot Summer days are the perfect excuse to be outside with messy play. Frozen oobleck is such a perfect activity for this and it literally doubles the fun and play time of normal oobleck. “Oobleck” is just a fancy term for good old cornflour and water and with the help of some silicon moulds this is one super fun activities and absolutely safe for younger babies and toddlers to experiment with.

You’ll Need:

  • cornstarch
  • water
  • liquid watercolors or food coloring (optional)
  • ice-cube trays, silicone molds, or a container to place in the freezer

How to Make the Frozen Oobleck:

  1. Add about 1 cup of cornflour to a bowl.
  2. Slowly add about 1/2 cup of water. I found with this you want to almost double the amount of cornflour to water, because your freezing it, to make sure it melts into a proper gooey oobleck. Less water is better!
  3. Add food coloring or liquid watercolors. Obviously for younger kids you would want to use food colouring as its non-toxic.
  4. Pour the oobleck into molds. We used our favourite Mickey shaped moulds, because someone turns 90 on the 18th of November!
  5. Place the molds in the freezer for at least a few hours.

Take it outside! This activity was perfect and the boys banged about trying to break up the frozen moulds for ages before getting stuck into the gooey mixture afterwards. it goes without saying its messy, but that’s why we were in our swimming suits ready to rinse off in the pool afterward. Interest was held for much longer. Once melted, It has properties of both a solid and a liquid depending on the amount of pressure applied. When you press down, the cornstarch and water mixture acts like a solid, but when constant slow pressure is not applied, the mixture acts like a liquid.

The perfect activity for summer holidays coming up!

Spiderman Slime

Spiderman Slime

Any Spiderman fans in the house? As I sat watching episode ten thousand and something with the boys on Sunday morning, It suddenly occurred to me that the famous “V-252” black goop from the earlier episodes would be pretty darn easy to make. Given that we are in full swing of superhero time in our house, and my eldest got lots of spidey memorabilia for his 5th birthday, the timing was perfect!

I used a new slime recipe for this, and to be honest, it may be my new “go to”. It’s so easy and a lot less temperamental than mixing with borax with water before hand! For a slightly more fluid slime I may add a tiny bit of water to the solution, but I loved the fact that this was not sticky at all.

Here’s how we made it:

1 100 ml bottle art and craft glue (1 cup glue, make sure its PVA glue)

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 tablespoon of contact lens solution (containing borax, most saline solutions have it, but just make sure)

Black paint and glitter

Empty the bottle of glue into a bowl and mix in the teaspoon of baking soda. Next add in the paint and glitter. Once its all incorporated add in your tablespoon of contact solution and voila! Slime in under 3 minutes!

The boys loved turning red Spiderman into the more aggressive version and it adds a new dimension into play. You could have so many variations of this slime, and it would make a gorgeous night sky theme, or even firework slime with today being Guy Fawkes!

Happy playing, I would love to hear your feedback!

No Cook Pumpkin Playdough

No Cook Pumpkin Playdough

I’m always a little envious of all the pumpkin festivities that happen over in the Northern hemisphere during the autumn months. How I would love to take the kids pumpkin picking on a farm somewhere. Alas, we will have to settle in creating our own fun and cheer, and I thought what better way than to make up a batch of “Pumpkin Play Dough”.

For this I used my all time, go to, no cook, play dough recipe.

It’s literally ready in 5 minutes and I’ve even mixed up a batch for the boys before running to work in the morning. You’ll need 4 ingredients:

  • 2 cups plain flour
  • 1/2 cup salt
  • 2 tablespoons cream of tartar
  • Between 1 and 2 cups warm water (you keep adding until it feels right)
  • food colouring (optional)

There are several variations on this I’ve seen but this one works for us, every time. If stored correctly, it will literally keep for about 4 to 5 months. The container must be airtight otherwise your play dough will start to dry and form a crust. At the end once you have combined everything, I add a tiny bit of oil to my hands to rub on the outside of the playdough, not more than a teaspoon.

I usually do the initial mixing here while the water is still a bit warm, and then I hand the bowl over to the kids and let them get stuck in there. Add the food colouring into the water before you start to mix as well to ensure an even colour.

All I did for the pumpkin playdough was add in a little cinnamon for smell, its heavenly. You could also create an invitation to play by giving your kids cinnamon sticks, cloves or star anise to play with.

And thats it! Easy right? Now we can create our own mini pumpkin patch.

Halloween Sensory Bin

Halloween Sensory Bin

We always have fun making themed sensory bins. Its one of my favourite things to put together and often creates hours of fun for the boys. It’s often the simplest ideas and activities that are the biggest hit in our household.

Set up for this sensory bin was easy peasy:

I coloured some rice with a perfect pumpkin orange (you can click here to find out how)

I had some creepy crawlies lying around the house from last years sensory slime tray

Plastic Storage bin

Some cups/ containers/ plastic tongs to dig with

Turn it into an activity

Usually sensory bins are about open-ended play, exploration and curiosity. With some of the more simple ones I turn them into a task. To encourage fine motor skills, there is nothing better than scooping and pouring. I gave my youngest an empty cup to fill in and encouraged him to pick up the crawlies with the tongs and transfer them to the bowls and jars.

We used it as a scavenger hunt – I hid the bugs in the rice, and to encourage counting, told the boys they had to find : 5 spiders, 3 centipedes, 5 cockroaches (you get the picture.)

 

Have you ever made sensory tray’s with your children? Whats your favourite “theme” or base to use? Id love to hear your feedback.

 

Halloween Slime

Halloween Slime

Halloween is not something we traditionationally “celebrate” as a family, Ive spoken about it before but I really am against all the blood an gore it represents in todays world. But I can never resist jumping on board with the arts and crafts. You may remember the ooey gooey slime filled sensory tray we did last year. This year we have found a family event thats more than just your traditional “trick or treating” and the boys are a little excited that they have the opportunity to dress up. (You can see more about that on my facebook page).

That being said I wanted to move away from the traditional “sweet giving”. I came across this idea last year on Best Ideas for Kids and I couldnt wait to try it. I turned the “ghost” into a mummy, but there are so many options to do. You can make a large batch of one kind or make them all! Either way, kids will love receiving these adorable Halloween slime jars.

I tried a new slime recipe for this one, though I do prefer my original recipe, which you can find here, as it yields a larger portion of slime but uses the same amount of glue. For gifts however, this is perfect.

Ingredients you will need for Halloween Slime

This will make one batch, so repeat three times, one for each colour.  

  • 1 bottle of liquid glue (I use Bostik arts and crafts glue). 100 ml. For Frankenstein I used a clear craft glue. So you will need 3 bottles of glue
  • Orange food colouring , Green food colouring. Glitter (optional)
  • Just under 1/2 TBSP of Baking Soda
  • 1/2 TBSP of Contact lense solution – Make sure your brand contains boric acid. As with my original recipe with borax, the activiating agent is the boric acid
  • Optional: add 1 TBSP of water to your glue before adding baking soda if you’d like a stretchier slime.

To make the jars

  • Glass mason jars
  • Black Felt
  • Glue Gun
  • Googly eyes
  • Old bandage

Directions:

  1. Get a 3 bowls to mix your slime into
  2. Pour the bottles of glue into each bowl. Use white glue for the ghost and pumpkin slime. Clear glue for Frankenstein.
  3. Place a drop of orange food colouring into one of the white bowls and a drop of green into the clear
  4. Add in your 1/2 TBSP of baking soda and mix in thoroughly. If you want a slightly stetchier slime , add 1 TBSP of water here.
  5. Now add in your contact lens solution. I always eye ball this part. Start by using half of what the recipe calls for and mix. If your slime is not forming enough, add in the rest. If you find it is still too sticky you can add a bit more.
  6. Mix until your slime forms and begins to harden. Knead for quite some time with your hands.  If it’s not the desirable consistency keep kneading.
  7. Create your little mason jars. For the pumpkin slime I cut out the pumpkins face out of black felt and used the hot glue gun to stick it on. For Frankenstein I used black felt and googly eyes for the Frankenstein jars. The mummy was just google eyes and cut up pieces of bandage.

Now have fun and play! Of course once my boys finished playing, all 3 of the colours were mixed up. We will be giving out one bottle each so hopefully that wont happen to our friends 🙂 Happy playing!