May
01
2010
Making Gak
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Did you play with Gak as a kid?
Have you ever made any?
It may be one of the funnest things to see transform into a semi-solid substance. Just as much fun for me to make it as for my kids to help pour and watch as I mix……
……and then squish their little fingers into.
(and much more fun than just buying.)
I found this recipe here.
Then gathered all of my supplies.
(I bought the liquid starch at Wal-Mart over by the laundry detergent.)
(I bought the liquid starch at Wal-Mart over by the laundry detergent.)
Mixed the food coloring in with the glue…
Then started adding the liquid starch a little at a time.
Make sure to just add a bit of the starch add a time. Soon you’ll have to knead the Gak to incorporate more of the starch. Just keep at it……it’ll work. (and I didn’t even use all of the starch it called for…..so just see how it goes.)
Then let those little chubby hands test it out.
And figure it all out.
And play and giggle their little hearts out.
soo cute. i have to file this one away for those rainy summer days.
That looks like a great project for my kids, but what is liquid starch and where do you find it?
Rebekah, I bought the starch at Wal-Mart in the laundry detergent aisle. It was next to the static cling and scotch guard type stuff, way down on the bottom shelf.
Good luck!
very vibrant color! absolutely love it! i'll try it out soon!
thx 4 sharing.. :)
so fun! i have this in my summer fun file..love it!
I've never used starch to make this. We always use Borax. We'll have to make this again sometime trying your method!
Oh how fun! I need to do this! My kids would love it!
This is genius!
I like this because it is less toxic than the recipe with the borax.
Is it really messy? If i made it at home would nursery kids be able to play with it without wrecking their church clothes? Don't want any mad mamas :)
I'm going to make this with my 3 year old. It looks like so much fun!!!
Does the food coloring stain anything once it's been mixed in?
Thanks so much! What fun your blog is! Just love it and hope that you will love mine just as much as I love yours! Also I left you an award on my blog! :)
My boys are gonna LOVE this!!! THANKS YOU!!! :)
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I always made "GOOP" using powdered starch, but I cannot find powdered starch anymore. I have taught Kindergarten Sunday School for over 20 years & I always make GOOP at the beginning of the new year. I was so sad that I wouldn't have it anymore. I hope this will turn out similar – I can't wait to try it. We also "paint" with liquid starch using 1 inch squares of tissue paper.
Ashley! What is your table top in the last pic. I love it! And GAK! HOW FUN! Might have to try this! Are you crazy about them not getttin it on the carpet or fabrics… my mom distinctly remembers us messing stuff up with our fun GAK!
My two (at 11 and 14) would still love this stuff. Thanks for the recipe…
I had to smile when I saw the Sta-Flo starch…since I work for the company that makes it.
I love this recipe and am always impressed with the polymer interaction between the glue & starch!
that looks so fun! we're definitely doing this if it's still rainy tomorrow!
I have made this but using Borax. I love it because it does not make a mess like playdogh does. Its easy to clean up (just dont get it in your carpet). my kids like to put a straw in it fold it over wait for a few seconds for it to seal itself then blow huge bubbles.
We made some flubber last week!
Check it out:
http://pharescausey.blogspot.com/2010/04/remember-gak-get-recipe-here.html
Yes, it can stain because it has food dye in it. And the gak stuff can get stuck in fabric if smooshed into it. But it doesn't come off on their hands. I only let the kids play with it at the table….and stay around while they're playing with it. But it sure is a lot of fun….even for me to sit and play with. It's just a gooky, smooth, rubbery, ball of fun.
Thanks for sharing! Definitely one to save for a rainy day when you can't take the whining anymore! Thanks for sharing!
IT IS A VERY NICE SUGGESTION, THANK YOU LOTS! ........................................
I wasn't going to get the stuff for this tonight but I was looking for some other stuff on the cleaning/detergents aisle and spotted the liquid starch! We made oobleck today so I'll save the Gak project for a day next week where we need something fun. Thanks for the info! :)
That's so cool! I loved Gak!
My daughter just made this at preschool and we made it at home too! It was so fun. Borax does work really well. That's what we use. Fun!
My son made something this at Science Central when he was young and it was around Dr. Seuss's birthday and they called it Oooblek.
If you have kids and have never tried it I highly recommend and I love the pictured step by step tutorial that will make it easy for younger kids to understand – they get so much more excited when they "make it all by themselves" then have to have Mom or teacher intrepret the instructions for them.
Thanks for sharing this with all of us!
I think my kids would love this. I'll have to try it.
Hi,
I wanted to let you know that I have chosen you as one of my top ten blogs via The Trendy Treehouse! http://robertapm28.blogspot.com/2010/05/its-seems-im-trendy-thank-you-so-much.html
Saving this recipe for future use!
I have never even heard of this, but I think its what in Australia we call 'sludge'. Fantastic!
OMG, it reminds of what happens to a giant laffy taffy bar when it sits in the sunny car for a few hours. Goo!
Please feel free to link it up tomorrow to Talented Tuesday with My Frugal Family!! And don't forget to enter the giveaways I have posted at the top of my blog!
my son made some of that at school earlier this year. great stuff. he said you have to be a really good squisher for it to come out right!
I'm so excited for this! I featured you :)
http://www.rebecca-youcandoit.blogspot.com
I need to make this with my grandchildren! Thanks for the demo!
I'm a preschool teacher and we've made this a couple times, but please be careful. It can get stuck on clothing and we had a little girl who got it stuck in her hair and the only way to get it out was to give her an impromptu and very uneven haircut. Just make sure you use with supervision if you have little ones.
Just wanted to let you know i showcased this idea and also your interchangeable flip flops on my summer to do list post at
kimboscrafts.blogspot.com
Thanks so much for all the great ideas! Don't tell anyone but your my favorite!
Do you know how long this stuff will keep and what best to store it in?
Rochelle, I have had mine for over a month stored in a ziploc bag and it got a little stickier over time. But I just added more liquid starch to it and let the kids play with it again. And then it was fine. hope that helps!
Thanks Ashley!
I too had crazy kids that got this stuff stuck on their clothes. Mix equal parts of vinegar and water and it basically dissolves the stuff!! My heart breaks for the little girl that had to get her hair cut!!!
As I posted on stumble, this is actually ooblic. Gak is different and can also be made easily with different household things (borax, water, and elmer's glue). http://www.ehow.com/how_4987667_make-gak-borax.html tells you how. ooblic is more liquid, turning solid in motion while gak is more solid and a bit bouncy.
Let the kids draw on it with markers, really cool!
Can you store GAK? If so for how long?
Una idea genial, yo lo hice con lavavajillas en vez de almidon, y borax, pero no me salio muy bien.
Un saludo y os sigo desde ahora
Azucena
i don’t have a walmart in my town.
I actually found the Sta-Flo at my local Kroger.
I love that this doesn’t use Borax, since I’ve always avoided the gak recipes with that in it (it’s toxic, after all!). The color is fabulous too. :)
I just made this with my 2 year old. She loves it! Thanks for sharing!
gonna do this with letter g..thanks for showing the pictures :)
Gak! Love it!!!!
I have featured it on my blog.
You can see it here….
http://allysonadeney.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/handmade-gift-ideas-with-tutorials-kids-little-boys-little-girls/
… if you like.
Thanks for taking the time to put it together and for sharing it with blogland.
Ally on harrysdesk
what is a good way of getting out of cloths?? the gak not the food coloring?
Someone above said equal parts of vinegar and water… Hope that helps!
hey love it!!!!!!!!!!!! it is an awesome way of making gak
ur awesome