Homemade Silly Putty (or Flarp)

Silly Putty.  If you’re anywhere in your 30’s or 40’s you remember silly putty.   I remember being in 3rd grade and my best friend’s dad used to work at night and sleep during the day.  We used to sneak inside the house during the day and she would say “we don’t have to be too quiet, he has silly putty in his ears.”  I know, totally weird memory.  I would wonder why he would put silly putty in his ears and wondered if it flattened out and got in his brain when he slept.  

I saw this over on Pinterest and knew we had to make it.  We’ve made homemade bouncy balls which were pretty cool.  I wasn’t sure how different these would be until I looked at the ingredients.  Different so I figured this “science experiment” would be different.  
We gathered our supplies and headed to my work.  It’s a great place to do crafts and then the kids play until they are red in the face and exhausted.  (I work in a school so it’s empty on the weekend.) 
Homemade Silly Putty
Equal parts Elmers Glue-All (multi purpose glue) and Sta-Flo liquid starch
Food coloring
It’s important that you don’t substitute another brand or type of glue for this one.  We tried with Elmers School Glue and it was a sticky gross mess.

 

Measure out your glue.  Add the food coloring to the glue and stir.

Add the same amount of starch to the glue mixture and stir.  It instantly starts to turn into a gooey mixture.  So cool and gross.  At this point you want to let it sit for about 5 minutes so the glue can absorb the starch. 

 

Pour the excess liquid out and plop the goo on a paper towel for a minute or so.

 

Now this is the totally gross part.  Kneed the goo for about 5 minutes.  It’ll be gooey and sticky and slimy at first.  Push through it and keep kneading it.

 

Voila – homemade silly putty!
It even copies the newspaper.  Remember doing that???

But even cooler… it’s also Flarp.  Have you heard of Flarp?  If you’re a kid you have.  It’s Flubber that farts.  (I know – totally childish.)  But my kids thought this was sooooooo cool!

Get a small cup and push the goo down to the bottom of the cup.  It farts.  And my kids laughed for about 45 minutes while doing this.  Perhaps it’s gross and a tad inappropriate.  But 45 minutes of hard laughter?  Totally worth it! 

I’m linking to the parties on my sidebar.

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Comments

  1. Hi! Hopped over from the Southern Institute. I’ve seen this project floating around too – I’ll have to try it now! Looks like too much fun.

    jess @
    tupelocreative.blogspot.com

  2. I’ve seen the homemade playdoh, but never Silly Putty. This is great.

  3. This looks so fun! The kids aren’t having fun, are they? 🙂

  4. This is so cool! You are amazing!!

  5. Imprinting the comics was my favorite thing to do with silly putty:) I hope your kids know how lucky they are to have you!

  6. Your kids must be the happiest kids around getting to do all the fun things you do with them. Thanks for sharing the silly putty at Your Cozy Home Scenes.—– Shannon

  7. my boys love silly putty, yet we always seem to lose it. Now we can double the fun by making our own! Thanks for the inspiration 🙂

  8. What a great activity. I loved silly putty growing up. I would love if you shared this post on my linky party http://www.funfrugalmommy.blogspot.com

  9. how fun

  10. I can’t wait to make this! So much fun!!! Thanks for coming by–my creative food juices are nothing compared to yours 🙂 I am your newest linky follower

  11. So much fun!! thanks for sharing at Sharing Saturday.

  12. How COOL!! I can’t wait to try this!! I shared it with my readers here: https://www.facebook.com/LivingLifeIntentionally – Thanks for linking up to TGIF! See you tomorrow =-)
    Beth

  13. It’s funny you mentioned that the Elmer’s School Glue didn’t work for you. We made it yesterday with School Glue and it turned out great. But our glue to starch ratio was 2:1 instead of 1:1. Either way my 4 yr old is LOVING IT, such great, squishy, stretchy fun. 🙂

  14. In the package, putty adhesive will remain fresh and ready to use indefinitely. Out of the package, it will eventually lose some of its adhesion and dry out. Most brands maintain their stickiness for at least 10 years while in use.

  15. Broken hearted in Canada….I can’t find the Sta-Flo liquid starch anywhere. :o(

  16. Awesome. Silly putty is the best. Thanks so much for sharing your great “Winter Bucket List” ideas at the link-up!

    Thanks,
    Holli @ Full Hands, Full Hearts

  17. What a great recipe! I’ve been looking for a good one, and by the photos your consistency is the best by far!

    One question, though: How many equal parts make a “serving?” I’m doing a project for one of my classes and I need to give a piece of Silly Putty to each kid in a 30-kid class. I’m wondering how much of the supplies I need to order.

    Thanks!

  18. I would use about 1/4 cup of each for one serving.

  19. I will have to try this for my grandson. I think he will have fun with it. Sure better than buying it. Thanks

  20. I tried it with my kiddos. Total fail. It looked more like alien intestines. Kids loved it, though.

  21. I’ve never thought about making our own before. Looks like fun! I know my grandson would like to get his hands all gooey!

  22. I love it, I think my kids would love calling it flarp LOL.

  23. Does anyone know the UK equivalent to these ingredients?

  24. thanks for sharing this recipe with us i have wanted to learn how to make this and my son would love to play with this thanks so very much for shring…

  25. I found that if you pour the glue in first, then the food coloring and mix THEN add in the starch you will get a deeper pigmented puddy. Otherwise the food coloring and liquid starch separate a little and you get a more pastel color.

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