DIY Snow Putty

February 4, 2016

Post by Rebecca of Not So SAHM

Have you received lots of snow this winter?! Just in case we didn’t, I’d planned a fun sensory science experiment for the kids that resembled the cold fluffy stuff. But, for better or worse, winter storm Jonas dumped plenty of the real deal on D.C. a few weeks ago. And we’ve just recovered sufficiently to get going on making this DIY Snow Putty! A little bit of science, a little bit of art, and a little bit of sensory mixed together for a great indoor winter project.

To make our DIY Snow Putty, you’ll need (per batch):

2 tsp Borax
3 cups of water
1 cup of white school glue
Some fun snowy accessories, such as sequins, pom poms, buttons, and confetti

First, mix 2 tsp Borax into 2 cups of water. Stir until dissolved. Next, mix 1 cup of white glue with 1 cup of water and stir until combined. Combine the two mixtures and stir with a spoon. You’ll start to see a polymer forming immediately, but keep stirring. When it gets too difficult to stir with the spoon, let your kiddos use their hands to squish the mixtures together, wringing out the water as they go. They love this part!!

When you’ve gotten rid of most of the water, lay the mixture onto a flat surface (we used our Acrylic Table Mat to protect our surface) and let the kids keep kneading it. Soon you’ll have a fabulous putty ready for accessories. Kane and Cam wanted a little bit of everything (shocking) and spent the good part of an afternoon mixing, decorating, and building with the putty. They made snowmen (that “melt” if you let them sit a bit!), snow pancakes, and snowscapes fit for a variety of snow creatures.

Store your putty in an airtight container and it will keep for a few weeks.

Thanks to The Land of Nod for the awesome Color Reference Drawers — they were the perfect fit for all our snowy accessories!

Rebecca is a mom to two young kiddos and, in her spare time (ha!), likes to pretend she’s a back-up dancer, craft cocktails, and run long distances. A relatively recent SAHM, she blogs family-friendly activities, DIYs and celebration fun at Not-So-SAHM.