Learn HOW TO MAKE GLUE with corn starch, vinegar and corn syrup. Great for kids paper crafts and preschool projects, and handy to make in a pinch when your kids run out of glue while crafting.
I love making my own craft supplies here in my home daycare. We’ve made all kinds of homemade paints in the past, and today, I’m going to show you how to make homemade glue.
We go through a lot of glue here in my daycare. Toddlers tend to use way more glue than they need to when they’re crafting, so I thought I’d try making my own for the days when we have very young children at the craft table.
I used a really easy recipe – just corn starch, vinegar, corn syrup and water – and I’m happy to say it turned out great.
The kids loved using it, and we didn’t have to worry about being wasteful when they applied it too liberally to their projects.
Note: Homemade glue does take longer to dry than store-bought glue
Benefits:
- homemade glue can be made for pennies
- you can set out one large bowl that everyone can dip into
- it’s easier for a young child to dip and apply with a paintbrush than to struggle with a squeeze bottle
- being resourceful and thrifty can be oddly gratifying 😉
Note: Homemade glue cannot be used for making slime
How to Make Glue with 3 Kitchen Ingredients
Ingredients:
Get the printable recipe at the bottom of this post
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1/2 cup cornstarch & 3/4 cup cold water (combined)
- food colouring (optional)
- whisk
- container or jar with lid for storing your glue
How to make your glue
In a small pot, stir together your water, syrup and vinegar.
Place your pot on the stove and bring the liquid to a rolling boil over medium-high heat.
While it’s coming to a boil, combine the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl.
Slowly whisk the corn starch and water mixture into the pot of boiling liquid.
Continue to whisk until everything is well-blended.
When the glue is well-mixed, remove the pot from the heat.
Allow your glue to cool a bit before pouring it into a glass jar or plastic container.
Let the glue sit overnight before using it.
Using your homemade glue
Kids can apply their homemade glue to their projects using :
- paintbrushes
- cotton swabs
- craft sticks
And that, my friends, is how to make glue when your kids run out or when they tend to be wasteful with store-bought glue.
Below you’ll find a few extra tips you might find handy when making homemade glue.
If your homemade glue thickens overnight
I will say that I had a moment of fleeting disappointment when I checked my glue after letting it stand over night. It had solidified into a thick gel.
The fix to thin homemade glue:
To remedy this, I added a tbsp or so of water, and gave it a good stir until the glue returned to a consistency I was happy with.
Adding colour to your homemade glue (optional)
If you like, you can stir a drop or two of food colour into your homemade glue before it cools. Adding a bit of colour helps young children see where they’ve applied their glue when they’re crafting.
How to store homemade glue:
Store your homemade glue in a sealed container in the fridge to prevent mold from forming.
Shake before using.
Homemade Glue with 3 Kitchen Ingredients
Supplies
- 3/4 cup water
- 2 tablespoons corn syrup
- 1 teaspoons white vinegar
- 1/2 cup cornstarch & 3/4 cup cold water combined
- food colouring optional
Instructions
- Combine water, corn syrup and vinegar in small pot
- Heat on stove over med-hi until it comes to a rolling boil
- While it’s heating, combine corn starch and cold water in small bowl
- Whisk this mixture into the boiling liquid, stirring constantly until well-blended
- Remove from heat and allow to cool before pouring into glass jar or plastic container
- Let sit overnight before using
- Store in sealed container in refrigerator to prevent mold from forming.
More homemade art & craft supplies:
- Homemade Water Colour Paint Pucks
- Homemade Liquid Water Colour Paints
- Homemade Puffy Paint
- Dyed Rice for Crafts and Sensory Play
- Easy Dyed Pasta for Crafting and Sensory Play
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Jackie is a mom, wife, home daycare provider, and the creative spirit behind Happy Hooligans. She specializes in kids’ crafts and activities, easy recipes, and parenting. She began blogging in 2011, and today, Happy Hooligans inspires more than 2 million parents, caregivers and Early Years Professionals all over the globe.
Online Child Care Training
This is awesome as usual!
Katherine Gallier Kraft
I hear you can leave it in the fridge and last 6 months or more! 🙂
happyhooligans
Good to know, Katherine! Thank you!
Rita
I found small glue bottles with a wide mouth and brush that you pour the glue into at DISCOUNT SCHOOL SUPPLY they work great. All the kids can use them.
happyhooligans
Rita, are the brushes more like little plastic scrapers or spatulas? We used to use those years ago at a playgroup that I attended with my own boys. I loved those!
Gina
Excellent, we go thru so much glue in our little homeschool that I suspect they might be eating it! I don’t like to ration their materials or keep buying endlessly. This is brilliant and fits really well into my ‘let’s make it if we can’ policy. Thank you!!
Rachael Rabbit
We make our own glue from flour & water for paper mache. 1 part flour to 5 parts water… boil about 3 minutes and let cool. It works really well.
Ghazal
hey what kind of flour did you use ?
Jackie Currie
All purpose flour, Ghazal.
Sue Fromm
Googled mucilage ( the glue in those duck beak bottles) and it led to a company in Canada called Avron where you can get a bottle for only .99 cents ! They have a FB page., too.
happyhooligans
You are awesome! Thank you, Sue!
Mary Vasquez-Davidson
Can you use this glue recipe to make Gak? Gallons of glue get expensive after a while! 😉
happyhooligans
I don’t think it would work with homemade glue, Mary. Just a guess though…
Tracy Curley
What is corn syrup in Australia?
Tracy Curley
And by the way. I love your ideas. Thank you for sharing.
Laura Harris
would this work for slime??? my boys love it and we go through tons of glue…do you have to let it warm a bit after taking out of fridge?
Bethany K
Have you ever tried these crafty dab glue tubes? They remind me of those amber sponge top glue I used to use. I saw them on Amazon but haven’t tried them yet. http://www.amazon.com/Crafty-FoamWashable-School-Craft-White/dp/B0042SX2H4/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1404329065&sr=8-3&keywords=crafty+dab+school+glue
happyhooligans
No, but they look verrrry interesting, Bethany!
amanda
Do you think I could preserve a puzzle with this glue?
happyhooligans
No, I wouldn’t recommend it, Amanda.
Lisa
Thank you very much for sharing. I am a paper mache artist and I have been looking for a simple a affective recipe for a long time. I really appreciate this very much. I hate wasting with large recipes.