Thursday, July 2, 2009

Summer Fun - Making Bubbles - Homemade Bubble Solution


Everytime someone gives my daughter bubbles from the store, I think, "I should check out how to make refills for these. It can't be that hard." Finally, I have gotten around to it. My good friend, Hannah, recently visited us from Colorado. She is a artsy craftsy girl, whom I have had lots of fun with over the years. She has experience in bubble making so she gave me the following link to some good homemade bubble solution recipes. They are on a site called The Bubble Blowers Museum. Check it out, it is super fun! Everything you ever wanted to know about bubble blowing...


I decided to use the first recipe in the link. It is very simple to make bubble solution and my three year old had fun helping. We used Sunlight dish washing liquid, although Hannah insists that Joy is the best, I couldn't find any. The Sunlight works well. And my daughter loves that the bubble solution is colored instead of clear. I found 100% vegetable glycerin at my local health food store for about $6 for the bottle, which should make many many more batches of bubbles. I cut this recipe in half, since a gallon of bubble solution is A LOT. I need to find a gallon jug for the future. Bubble solution makes a nice small gift for the kids in your life. In a future post I will explore making homemade wands for blowing, as well as packaging for gift giving. These bubbles work great! My only complaint is that they are not completely non toxic. I want to explore bubbles made from natural soaps. That way if a little one gets some in their mouth or eyes all will be ok. If anyone has any experience with this please leave me a comment...

Exploratorium Bubble Formula
from the Exploratorium web site
2/3 cup Joy dishwashing soap
1 gallon water
2 to 3 tablespoons of glycerin (available in pharmacies or chemical supply houses)

The photos below were part of the inspiration for my finally making bubble solution. We just returned home from a visit to see good friends and family. While there, my daughter was taught by her little friend, E, some of the joys of making bubbles with increased wind power! E's daddy brought out a fan and they spent a ton o' time making jet propelled bubbles. So sweet!


Yesterday my husband actually pointed out a sale on "bubble making fans" in a store flyer. We will never look at a fan in the same way again...



Images by Tiffany Teske

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