If you want to try out the best homemade putty recipe ever, it’s this one. We thought the last one we made was the best, but this one IS THE BEST! The kids can’t get enough of it, and I must say I love it too. So whether you are looking for something for therapeutic reasons like therapy putty, or something to help the kids while they work or a stress reliever for yourself, you’ll want to make this therapy putty recipe.
How to Make Putty
The Best Therapy Putty Recipe Ever
Don’t get me wrong the original homemade putty is still great, and we’ll continue to make that recipe too. But, this one is even stretchier and squishier than the last one 😉
If you are looking for a homemade putty for your kids or yourself this one is amazing. It is tough enough to work stress and hand muscles but still perfect for kids to enjoy working with and holding throughout the day.
Here you will see how easy it is to make your own putty.

Therapy Putty Recipe
Your kids will love this homemade putty just for them. It’s also great for improving hand strength so if you or your children need to work on hand or wrist muscels a DIY putty might be just what you need.
We store therapy putty in magnetic spice jar containers or closed containers near our schooling area. It’s perfect for the kids to play with any time.
Plus, it does a great job strengthening their hand muscles which are important to use now and as they grow.
DIY PUTTY for Kids
Your kids will be enjoying this DIY thinking putty while they squeeze it, flatten it, stretch it, snap it, poke it or whatever else they want to do with it.
Therapy Putty
The Putty Recipes we share here are for kids and adults are are a super easy way to create silly putty and Therapy Putty using common household ingredients.
This DIY Putty recipe takes less than 5 minutes to make and kids LOVE squeezing, pulling, stretching, and playing with their Putty.

Creativity and endless amounts of inspiration will come from playing with this awesome homemade putty.
The Best Therapy Putty Recipe
What’s Needed
4 oz. Elmer’s white glue
1/4 cup Cornstarch
1/4 cup hot water
1/4 Tsp. Borax
2-5 drops food color
Directions
1. Pour glue into bowl
2. Add cornstarch in with glue and Mix.
3. Add the food coloring and mix again.
4. In a separate bowl, mix very hot water and 1/4 Tsp Borax until it is dissolved.
5. Add it to the glue mixture and stir again.
6. Get your hands in there and knead the putty until it’s no longer sticky
7. Pour out excess water, and you’re ready to use.
Pin This Therapy Putty Recipe for Later
Therapy Putty
PUTTY RECIPE
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How to Make Putty (DIY original)
How to Make Edible Putty – Easy 2 Ingredient Recipe
Silly Putty Recipe

- 4 oz. Elmer's White Glue
- 1/4 cup Cornstarch
- 1/4 tsp Borax
- 1/4 cup Very Hot Water
- 2-5 drops Food Color
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Pour glue into bowl
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Add cornstarch in with glue and Mix. Add the food
-
Add the food coloring and mix again.
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In a separate bowl, mix very hot water and 1/4 tsp Borax until it is dissolved.
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Add it to the glue mixture and stir again.
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Get your hands in there and knead the putty until it's no longer sticky
-
Pour out excess water and you're ready to use.
I usually let the putty sit for a couple of minutes to dry before giving it to the children.

The putty is amazing! It is really fun and stretchy and it only took about 10 minutes to make! Thank you for sharing this putty recipe!
OMG!! That was so much fun! If you feel like wasting a 4 oz bottle of Elmer’s Glue, you’ve got to try this, the science of it is amazing! Actually, it’s not a waste, you just saved me $16 on therapy putty for my hand – thanks so much!! The putty is stretchy and squishy and doesn’t separate or crumble, or stain my hands. And it bounces, fun!!
Yay! I’m so glad you loved it!
I’m looking for a recipe that students can shape that will hold its shape. Will this one work or is there another that you would recommend?
Thanks!
I would go with playdough or salt dough if you want the shapes to hold well. https://www.naturalbeachliving.com/homemade-playdough-recipe/
I really like the consistency of the finished putty. It’s great. Thanks you!
Oh. My. Goodness. I have literally tried so many slime recipes it is ridiculous, and not a single one has ever worked. I tried this recipe and it worked first try! I am so happy, the putty is a gorgeous pastel pink colour and it is so relaxing. The consistency is perfect, it’s not too sticky but not too hard, and it stretches perfectly! Thank you so so so much! You have made one teenage girl very happy! 🙂
YAY!!!! I’m so happy to hear that.
I really like the consistency of the finished putty. It is not sticky at all -although I did need to make a 2nd mixture of hot H2O and borax in order to get it to firm up. Once the dough congealed, I poored off the extra liquid and spent about 5 minutes kneading it. Amazing stuff!
Thank you so much for sharing!
Can I use this as a product for my business?
as long as you’re not making it to sell
How much putty would you say this makes? I’m considering using it for a group of about 5-6 kids.
Thanks!
4 people would have a good amount but you could definitely separate it out for 6 kids (as long as you don’t mind giving them a small handful to play with)
Am I able to add essential oils to this or does it change the consistency?
You definitely can add a few drops of essential oils.
Do I need borax or is there a other thing that can activate it?
I have shared several different putty recipes, but this one is with Borax. You can find a different recipe here: https://www.naturalbeachliving.com/how-to-make-thinking-putty/