Sunday, May 9, 2010

sunday kids' craft: making gum

My oldest is a HUGE fan of gum!  If there was a fan club, she would be the president . . . or at least the vice-president.  Typically, she gets to chew about two or three pieces of sugarless gum a week, but I think she would chew a piece of gum from morning till night if I let her.  A while ago, I heard that it's possible to make your own bubble gum at home.  So I found the various supplies needed and waited for the right night for us to experiment.  Tonight was the night . . . we added bubble gum making to our list of Sunday kids' crafts.  It took us a while to find the right recipe and technique, but this is what we came up with.

You can find the following supplies at Michael's, Hobby Lobby, you local grocery store or commercial food supplier or on the web (this is my favorite option because they are delivered right to your door):
--gum base pellets**
--corn syrup
--flavoring** - watermelon, grape, strawberry, mint, etc.
--powdered sugar



1) Put 1 Tbsp of gum base pellets in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 50 to 60 seconds or until pellets melt.  (You might want to use a disposable bowl because it takes an amazing amount of persistence to get the melted gum off.)  Stir until smooth and sticky.

2)  Add 1 tsp of corn syrup to sticky gum base.  Microwave for 15 seconds until easy to stir.  

3)  Add 3/4 tsp of flavoring.  (This measurement is for powdered candy flavoring.  You can also use liquid but start out with only a drop or two and add more according to taste.  Another GREAT option is powdered kool-aide mix.  We did watermelon.  Yum!)  Add 1 1/2 Tbsps of powdered sugar.  Stir until partial blended.  Then knead together with your fingers.  My daughter had so much fun with this part!  As mixture gets too sticky and stuff, add more powdered sugar to make less sticky and a few drops of warm water to make less stiff.  Knead until smooth and stiff.  

4)  Taste.  Knead more powder sugar or flavoring in if necessary.  Knead lots and lots.  The more you knead the chewier the gum will be.  

5)  Roll gum between hands until you have a long cylinder.  Flatten.  Cut into small pieces.

6)  Put powdered sugar in a bowl and rolls the pieces of gum in the sugar until they are covered.

7)  Cut rectangles of tin foil.  Place one piece of gum into one piece of tin foil.  Wrap and twist ends.  Put into airtight container until ready to chew.

We had so much fun with this activity.  My daughter is five and had no trouble helping with all the different steps, so track down those supplies and . . . 

craft on! 
**UPDATE**
I've had a number of questions about where to get gum base pellets.  Ahhh . . . let your search begin.  I found them locally - well, locally as in two hours from where I live.  However, I also found a site where I will buy them from in the future so that they are delivered right to my door . . . laziness at its best.  The first product on this site's page is for a gum making kit . . . if I had only known.  I'm actually not sure if this is worth it.  I'm not sure what their recipe is, and the other products included in my recipe can be found at my local stores.  So that brings me to the second item on this site's page which is gum base pellets in one pound bags.  Buy this bag and you will have enough base to make gum for your child's entire class . . . for the next five years of school.  Go for it! 

Also, I tried a batch using plain old kool-aide for flavoring - perfect!!!!!!  Just use your own measurements to taste and you are ready to chew.  I recommend trying to find the dye-free, clear kool-aide mix though unless you are ready for a catastrophic color clean-up.


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31 comments:

Sandi Linn Andersen said...

I think my grandson would love to do this. We've tried lots of projects but this would be fun to do the next time he visits. Thanks!

Miss Crafty Pants said...

Really? Homemade gum? Ooohhh man! I'm so excited to blog stalk all your past post!
You're amazing!
-Erika
{www.misscraftypants.com}

Brit @ Esbe Chic said...

I'm a new follower!

Brit @ Esbe Chic

Mad in Crafts said...

Very cool! Is the flavoring just regular candy flavoring in the tiny jars?

elizabeth @ twelvecrafts said...

If you use liquid candy flavoring in little jars with a dropper, don't start out putting 3/4 a tsp of it in the batch. The liquid flavoring is much more potent, so you would probably need less. I would just put a drop or two in, knead it a bit, taste and then add more until you get the taste you want. I used a powdered flavoring which I found needed a lot more in the batch than I expected.

Tara said...

Very cool my kids love gum too. This would be fun to do with them. Thanks for linking up.

chris said...

What a fun idea. I'll have to bookmark this for summertime when everyone is home. :)

Jocelyn Christensen said...

This is awesome! I can tell we're gonna need to come back and do this this summer sometime! Love it!

Anonymous said...

How cool is that?! My kids will love this! I'm adding this project to my recipe tab on my blog! Thanks so much for sharing and linking to my party!

tere
pony tails and fish scales
terelauritsen.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

This is something I have never even thought of doing.
wonder what flavors we could come up with!

Anonymous said...

Elizabeth, I had no idea you could make homemade gum. Thanks, and linking to you from my blog today!

Ashlee Marie said...

My daughter started this last year and just loves it. It's a great craft! Thanks for reminding me about it, I've got to get it out again!

Yo-Ann said...

I'd like to make this for my little girl's best friend, but her mom usually buys her sugar free gum. Is there an alternative to the corn syrup?

Geek+Nerd said...

This is such a cool project - I love it!

Kenzie said...

Great idea! My daughter goes through gum like it's water, we might have to try this!

Erin said...

How much fun would this be!!!

www.makingmemorieswithyourkids.blogspot.com

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming said...

Wow this is super cool! Thanks so much fro sharing the recipe. I need to try this! Thanks so much for joining the Sunday Showcase! I greatly appreciate it. Hope you have a wonderful week! ~Stephanie Lynn

Stephanie Lynn @Under the Table and Dreaming said...

Hi Elizabeth! Just wanted to let you know I'll be featuring this too today! Stop by and grab a featured button if you like. Thanks so much for joining the Sunday Showcase! ~ Stephanie Lynn

Tiffanee said...

One word: BRILLIANT! My kids would absolutely love making gum! Thanks so much for sharing!!

Debbi Does Dinner Healthy said...

Interesting idea! my kids would love to make this, thanks a lot!

Unknown said...

It Doesn't get much more fun than this! Thanks for linking to Tuesday Tastes! Polls just opened for the People's Choice Award! Stop by and and vote when you get a chance -just click on your fav recipe!

Happy Day,
Jasey @ Crazy Daisy

http://crazyjayzplace.blogspot.com/2010/05/tuesday-tastes-8.html

Mary Elizabeth said...

I have got to try this with my kids!! They LOVE gum and will think this is awesome!!

Carpenter's said...

Oh my boys are going to eat this up! (Okay lets hope not) but they are really going to love making their own gum. Let the fun begin! :)

Thanks for sharing this recipe!

Jocelyn Christensen said...

I just ordered my gum pellets!

Jocelyn Christensen said...

WE did it! But it was messy, like you said and I have blue fingers... We'll try again another day though, cuz it was pretty fun!

Unknown said...

where did you get your gum pellets

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

This is totally cool! I am featuring this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com
Grab my "featured" button.

Julie said...

Oh I'm so addicted to gum and my daycare loves it, this is something we will really have to try. Thank you for the information and also for trying it first so we know what to expect.
Take care and have a blessed weekend.

Tammy @ she wears flowers said...

I LOVE this! I found you at Delicious Ambiguity tonight, although I have seen your blog mentioned in several places in the last week or so. I finally had some time to stop by and I am loving everything! The gum, though--WOW! Can't wait to try it with my gum-obsessed children. Thanks!!

RedTedArt said...

Oh wow! I have never seen homemade chewing come before! This is brilliant!!

Thank you so much for linking up with Kids Get Crafty!!

Maggy

Cindy said...

Oh My! I cannot wait to try this thank you for posting!

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