Homemade Paste Recipe
Make this easy homemade paste for a cheap alternative to glue sticks!
This homemade cornstarch glue is great for collage activities, and especially good for little hands as it’s a little thick and not so drippy!
We usually use a glue stick for collage as they are quick and easy to get out and pack up, don’t need a brush and easy for small hands to manage. But for some collage materials you need something with a bit more sticking power, that’s when we make corn flour paste.
If you are doing paper mâché try this homemade paper mache paste, and older kids will love making these gorgeous little paper mache birds from Red Ted Art!
This homemade glue is taste-safe, and super easy to make.
Get the kids involved with making glue for their art and craft projects. With only two ingredients kids can easily measure and mix ingredients, and even help cook it on the stove with some adult supervision.
How to Make Homemade Glue
This homemade glue is non-toxic, taste-safe and perfect for lots of collage activities.
Materials
- 1 part corn flour – 1/3 cup
- 3 parts water – 1 hot cup
Tools
- Saucepan
- spoon
- measuring cups
- container to store your glue
Instructions
- In a saucepan, mix the corn starch/flour with a little cold water to form a paste.
- Then add the hot water (the hotter it is the less time it will take to ‘cook’ the paste) a little at a time, stirring vigorously to get rid of any lumps.
- Once all the water is added cook the paste, stirring continuously, over a medium heat until it thickens and becomes opaque.
- Allow to cool before use and store in an airtight container in the fridge
Notes
Add some extra water and food colouring or paint and this makes great fingerpaint!
How to use this homemade paste.
This paste is thick and gloopy so it doesn’t drip off brushes or run down pages. That makes it perfect for lots of collage activities like these:
- Autumn/fall leaf mosaic collage
- Shiny foil collage.
- Simple strip collage.
- Easter egg mixed media collage.
- Letter collage.
This paste also makes excellent finger paint. Increase the quantities to 1 cup of corn flour and 3 cups of water and add food colouring or paint after you have cooked the paste.
If you require a little more sticking power, add some white school glue (pva wood glue) to the mix.
You can even use this recipe to make some ‘sludge’ for some epically messy sensory play!!
More easy art ideas for kids!
If your kids love doing ‘arty crafty things’ they will love these easy art ideas!
Sounds like a lovely, gloppy fun time. I assume that corn flour is what we call corn starch in the U.S. (a fine, white powder often used as a thickener in foods)?
yep corn flour is the same as corn starch…. I might add that in somewhere for all my US readers :)
I made a similar recipe recently, but used it in ziplock bags with food colouring for some squidgy fun (it had sugar in the mix as well). But, I’ll have to make this – our glue sticks have dried up and our clag has gone walkabout.
It is quite lovely and squishy isn’t it. I am tempted to make up a big batch and just use it for sensory play!
Hi There
Just wondering if this paste will work for paper mache.
Loving you blog!
Kyla
Yes it should work perfectly for paper mache! If you want it runnier you could stop cooking it a little sooner or add more water, but it should work fine as is, and being thick it is less drippy and messy for little hands to use.
just like the stuff we used to make papier mache with… covering balloons, trying to make planets :)
Fun :) I reckon Annie would love the gluey gloopy play.
oh this sounds like a great idea – i am going to try it :) thanks.
That is awesome – thanks so much for sharing.
This is awesome Kate. We ran out of Paste ages ago, and our glue sticks get used up in one sitting. This was easy and quick to make, and sticks wonderfully well. I am curious to see if things stay stuck when dry, and how long it stores for.
Both kids had a ball sticking things today, thanks to you!
Just wondering how long the homemade clag takes to dry. We have just made some for our paper mâché and curios as to how long before we can do our next layer. Thank you
Like any paste, drying time will depend on how much you put on and how thick you make it. I hope your project is a success!