HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE "FLOAM"

(Without the beads, this also makes Slime!)

 

INGREDIENTS:

1-Tsp. Borax (available in laundry aisle at your grocery store)**
½-Cup Water (Tap water is fine)
¼-Cup White Glue (available in Craft/Department/Discount Stores)
¼-Cup Water (Tap water is fine)
1-Zip Lock Bag (1 qt. Bag is best)
Food Coloring (Optional- but kids like colors)
Styrofoam Beads (about 2 - bathroom 3 oz. cups full for above)

MIXING DIRECTIONS -

 

1. Dissolve 1-Tsp. Borax Completely in ½-cup (4 oz.) water.

 

2. In a separate bowl mix ¼-cup (2 oz.) white glue and ¼-cup (2 oz.) water. (1/2 cup each=1 cup of slime).  Add a couple of drops of food coloring of your choice to this solution.

 

3. Pour the glue solution into a zip lock bag. Then add 1-Tbsp. of the Borax/water solution to the glue solution (Another recipe says add the whole borax/water mix, so let me know which works). At this point you will think that this stuff will never come out of this bag.

 

4. Add Styrofoam Beads to the mixture.   These beads can usually be found at any craft store.

 

5. Seal bag and knead by hand until thoroughly mixed. Let stand about 15 minutes, and then knead by hand again. Take out of bag when the gel separates easily from the inside bag walls. It will have the consistency of dough.

Tips for developing your creativity

Developing your creativity takes a little work here are some tips:

1.  Kick everyone out of the room

It doesn't matter what kind of project it is, we are all influenced by other people.  If you are working on your car or mowing the grass you may hear your father saying "you're doing it all wrong!"
As an artist you may have an old professor, teacher, other artists, critics inside your head giving you all sorts of advice or criticism.  You have to get those people out of the room because it can get crowded very quickly. Creativity is the power to CREATE not Re-create.  When we get caught up in trying to create what other people think we should create then we lose our edge.  You are special and unique.  There has never ever been anyone else just like you.  Don't rob the world of what you have to offer for the sake of pleasing the crowd.

2.  Embrace failure

Failing means you actually tried something.  The only true failure is to do nothing.   I have witnessed several people staring at a blank canvas like they were paralyzed.  I think people have a fear of creating something mediocre.  We all want to create some great piece that people will flock to see.  There is a story in the Bible that Jesus tells about a businessman who trusted his managers with his Talents (money) while he was gone.  Two of them invested the money in other ventures and grew the money.  One guy was worried about losing the money so he hid it.  The businessman was angry with the man who hid the money because he did....nothing.  This story translates into our lives today because we have all been blessed with talents of our own.  It would be a tragedy for us to just hide them out of fear of failure.  Go screw something up and have a ball doing it!  But don't just sit there.

This is what I do: I encourage people to paint on something that they can afford.  Stretched canvasses are expensive.  There are a lot of alternatives out there like different papers that hold up to various paints pretty well.  You can also buy canvas paper or canvesette which has the same texture as a regular stretched canvas.  Doing this allows you the freedom to fail many many times.  So buy and lot of paper and screw up!