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).
Here’s how we made them…
DIY Bubble Wands with Beads
MATERIALS
- Pipe cleaners
- Wooden dowels
- Assorted beads (or here are some assorted beads which would be cool)
- Hot glue gun (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
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.
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
Pin It for Later ::
Gosh, breathtaking pictures! Maia did fantastic bead-work!
You girls are so inspiring!
Now, I’m totally itching to make with Pari :-)
This 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
Fantastic!!
These are so cute! I think I’ll have to hunt down some beads!
How pretty – love it!
We have a big jar of giant pony beads and Mama just doesn’t need any more homemade bracelets! We’ll definitely be doing this!
Those are lovely! I’m planning a bubble-themed birthday party for my daughter. These will be a great activity!
Those are great!
thank you for the morning inspiration–we just made them and they were WONDERFUL! you bring a lot of joy to the world, lady!
Oh 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.
You 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!
Oh yes! These would be perfect as a birthday party activity!
Thank you! So glad you made them!
Yes!
Thanks Rashmie! Let me know if you try it!
Yes, I’m glad I tested the different versions! The plain wire just doesn’t hold enough bubble solution, I guess.
These are beautiful. Did you make your own bubble solution as well? I’ve been trying to find a good recipe for ages.
Thank you.
Thanks! 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.
Yes! Absolutely!
Yay! So glad. Btw, I I owe you an e-mail…
Hi 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
Oh 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.
My kids are going to flip their lids when I tell them about this one! Can’t wait to try it — thank you!
Jean
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 http://pinterest.com/fingerpprojects/.
Warm regards
Trudy
My 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).
Ah! 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