DIY Starch Glue

Mila Myk
by Mila Myk
2 Materials
$3
15 Minutes
Easy

DIY starch glue

2 easy to follow recipes. Cheap and eco-friendly substitutes to store-bought liquid starches and glues.

If you love crafting with your kids, but you're afraid of harmful ingredients in glues (and you hate the messy aftermath of crafting), you can switch to no-mess & non-toxic homemade glues! They are super easy to make and involve ingredient you probably already have in your pantry.

Recipe no.1

Starch glue.

2 ingredient starch glue. Homemade, non-toxic glue for crafts. Perfect for crafting with children.


Ingredients:

  • 200ml of cold water,
  • 3 tablespoons of corn starch or corn flour (corn starch works better)


Instructions:

Use a medium sized saucepan and whisk in 1 tablespoon at a time of corn starch into the cold water. Stir it well, make sure there are no lumps, and cook it on a small fire (stirring continuously) until mixture gets smooth and creamy.

Let it cool off. You can use your glue immediately or store it in the mason jar, in the fridge.


Recipe no.2

Sticky liquid starch.

Great for paper mache and yarn crafts.


Ingredients:

  • 100ml of water
  • 1 heaped tablespoon of corn starch or corn flour


Instructions:

In a plastic (or glass) bowl, mix ingredients together. Mix it well, so there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. Let your mixture stand for 10 minutes, stir it, and use it straight away. Please note, starchy water gets 'stickier' with time, so use it as fast as you can, if you don't want it to become too slimy. This kind of liquid starch is not too messy and does the job perfectly. There are no glue lumps to spoil your crafts and, as it's not too sticky at first, you can adjust paper or yarn if you mess something up. When using liquid starch, always let your crafts properly dry. The only con to it is, that it takes a long time to dry.

During crafting, you can spread starch using a brush, or you can put it in a spray bottle (remember to shake it real good before use).

I will need starchy glue for my new craft, so please, stay tuned to see what I've made. :)


Happy Crafting!

Suggested materials:
  • Corn starch   (grocery store)
  • Water
Mila Myk
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 6 questions
  • Liz Liz on Jul 30, 2017

    Mila, did you know that you can divide the first recipe into small batches after it's made, add a few squirts of craft acrylic paint and it makes a nice finger paint? Store in small jars with tight lids and it will keep for weeks.

  • Suzanne Suzanne on Jul 30, 2017

    Does it draw pests after it has dried?

  • Doris Simpson Doris Simpson on Aug 02, 2017

    Can this recipe be used to starch clothes before ironing?

Comments
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2 of 12 comments
  • Juli Juli on Jul 31, 2017

    I just used this the other day as a quick fix to fill a few small nail holes before painting my laundry room.

  • Gorky Pal Gorky Pal on Jul 31, 2017

    I agree salt to be added to the corn flour to make the paste

    1. There will be no smell 2) No insects

    very quick and bright idea, thanks a lot,

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