These DIY bubble wands made with pipecleaners and beads are a fun kids craft project. Plus the finished bubble wands are beautiful and work great!
We made some gorgeous DIY bubble wands yesterday! Aren’t they just beautiful with the beads catching the sunlight? Plus they worked remarkably well.
As a DIY project, this didn’t take much in the way of materials—simply pipecleaners, beads, and wooden dowels (although popsicle sticks or natural sticks from the backyard would work, too).
If you’ve been wondering how to make a bubble wand, here’s how we made them…
DIY Bubble Wands with Beads
MATERIALS
- Pipe cleaners
- Wooden dowels
- Assorted beads (or here are some other assorted beads which would be cool)
- Hot glue gun (optional)
Testing Various DIY Bubble Wand Ideas
We had the pipecleaners and dowels on hand already and the beads were on sale at A.C. Moore for about $1.50 a bag of assorted shapes and colors which I thought was a great score. I may have to go back and get more…
I don’t usually do this, but I tested a few variations of the diy bubble wands first before introducing the activity to the kids.
The wand on the left, with the beaded handle, is what I had planned for us to do. I found the idea via Pinterest, of course. I was inspired by both a blog post by Kleas and by a Flickr photo by ladylucente.
Unfortunately the wire I bought was too thick or the beads I chose had holes that were too small to fit easily over a doubled up strand of my wire (I managed to force them on for this wand but it wasn’t easy and I didn’t think the kids would be able to manage it with a smile on their faces). So… I quickly came up with a plan B (beaded wire for the circle of the wand) and a plan C (pipecleaner for the circle of the wand).
I tested each with some bubble solution to see which head made the best bubbles. The best was the simple pipecleaner head! Followed closely by the beaded head. The plain wire strand was a rather distant third place. Good to know.
How to Make a Bubble Wand
We ended up stringing beads along pipecleaners to make the bubble wand heads. I was too attached to the idea of beautiful beaded bubble wands to settle for the plain jane pipecleaners.
This was a wonderful fine motor control activity for little Daphne, by the way!
The finished wands are lovely. The pipecleaners are twisted around the dowel ends, but I added a bit of hot glue from the glue gun to make sure they stayed in place.
We took the wands out to the garden with a bowl of homemade bubble solution.
And blew bubbles! (Daphne insisted on using the one wire wand and managed to get a few bubbles out of it.)
Here you can see the gussied up pipe cleaner wand (we added beads to the top of the handle with hot glue) make lots of great bubbles.
And one of the many extra big bubbles made with one of the beaded wands.
Ah… What would summer be without bubbles?
More Bubble Ideas for Kids
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28 Comments
Rashmie @ Mommy Labs
May 25, 2012 at 7:05 amGosh, breathtaking pictures! Maia did fantastic bead-work!
You girls are so inspiring!
Now, I’m totally itching to make with Pari :-)
Sarah M
May 25, 2012 at 8:16 amThis is really good to know! I also saw these on pinterest and thought they would make a really fun birthday party craft…I’m so glad the easier and more kid-friendly version is the way to go. Looks like the girls had fun. Thanks for sharing.
Sarah M
Amanda
May 25, 2012 at 8:47 amFantastic!!
Beth
May 25, 2012 at 9:23 amThese are so cute! I think I’ll have to hunt down some beads!
Julia Deering
May 25, 2012 at 9:37 amHow pretty – love it!
Carly
May 25, 2012 at 10:06 amWe have a big jar of giant pony beads and Mama just doesn’t need any more homemade bracelets! We’ll definitely be doing this!
Nichole
May 25, 2012 at 10:40 amThose are lovely! I’m planning a bubble-themed birthday party for my daughter. These will be a great activity!
Erin Blanton
May 25, 2012 at 11:24 amThose are great!
peacemama
May 25, 2012 at 12:16 pmthank you for the morning inspiration–we just made them and they were WONDERFUL! you bring a lot of joy to the world, lady!
Nicole
June 2, 2020 at 4:40 amI made something like this with my preschool class and they did not work that well blowing bubbles with the pipe cleaners what is the trick to making them work??
Veronika
May 25, 2012 at 4:21 pmOh my! Just as I was looking to find how to make bubble wands I visited your blog. 15 minutes of quiet craft time lead to an afternoon of fun. Thank you so much for the inspiration.
Jessica
May 25, 2012 at 5:07 pmYou could make beautiful Fairy or Princess Wands with this too. Paint the dowel and perhaps tie ribbon on to hang down. I think we may have to give it a try at my Princess Power camp this summer!
Thanks for all the great ideas Jean!
Jean Van't Hul
May 25, 2012 at 1:28 pmOh yes! These would be perfect as a birthday party activity!
Jean Van't Hul
May 25, 2012 at 1:28 pmThank you! So glad you made them!
Jean Van't Hul
May 25, 2012 at 1:29 pmYes!
Jean Van't Hul
May 25, 2012 at 1:29 pmThanks Rashmie! Let me know if you try it!
Jean Van't Hul
May 25, 2012 at 1:30 pmYes, I’m glad I tested the different versions! The plain wire just doesn’t hold enough bubble solution, I guess.
Aunt Cindi
September 3, 2018 at 3:30 pmI think you need friction to hold the solution (the little fur on the pipe cleaner and or the bead edges)
So much fun!
bread and buttons
May 29, 2012 at 5:51 pmThese are beautiful. Did you make your own bubble solution as well? I’ve been trying to find a good recipe for ages.
Thank you.
Jean Van't Hul
May 29, 2012 at 6:27 pmThanks! I didn’t make the bubble solution this time, but I have in the past. Here’s the recipe we’ve used (from Sharon Lovejoy’s “Toad Cottages & Shooting Stars”):
2 cups water (distilled water supposedly works best)
1/2 cup blue Dawn dishwashing detergent (not Ultra)
1/4 cup light corn syrup or glycerine
Mix, let sit overnight, then blow your bubbles.
Jean Van't Hul
May 29, 2012 at 6:27 pmYes! Absolutely!
Jean Van't Hul
May 29, 2012 at 6:28 pmYay! So glad. Btw, I I owe you an e-mail…
Betsy
June 1, 2012 at 8:24 amHi Jean,
Thanks for the great idea. It was our last art project for the year in my Pre-K class. Photos can be seen on our FB page at https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.325719070838287.75233.110253785718151&type=1
Basbusa's Mama
June 9, 2012 at 10:32 pmOh my goodness, what a wonderful idea! Thanks so much for the description and for going to the trouble of bubble-testing all the various kinds of bead-and-wand options :) I think this will be great for my daughter’s birthday party next week, if I’m as lucky as you are in finding the beads.
meg
June 14, 2012 at 8:56 pmMy kids are going to flip their lids when I tell them about this one! Can’t wait to try it — thank you!
Trudy
October 27, 2012 at 8:53 pmJean
Just a courtesy note to let you know I have pinned your “Make Beaded Bubble Wands” post to a pinterest board with a collection of learning resources to complement the “Bubble Mania” app. You will find lesson ideas, learning activities and reviews for a range of apps on my boards. You can view my boards at https://pinterest.com/fingerpprojects/.
Warm regards
Trudy
Mrs. P
November 14, 2012 at 7:55 pmMy children were so disappointed when the beautiful bubble wands we made off of pinterest didn’t work (plain copper wire and glass beads). so wasn’t mom! I am SO glad I found your post! Now we can rebuild and try again! I also have plans to do these with my art students as a Calder-inspired lesson (I’m going to have them make the wands during the last class before Christmas break and hand them each a container of bubble solution for them to take home). So glad I can redesign them and have the children make bubble wands that are beautiful AND work! Thanks you! Mrs. P (www.createartwithme.blogspot.com).
Kim
July 19, 2013 at 11:03 pmAh! A great one for a quick activity for a gang at the campground! I will definitely pack some of these supplies when we hit the road! Thanks, Jean! Kim