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Bubble wands come in a large variety of shapes and sizes and may not be wand-like at all. A variety of common household materials can be used to create bubbles from tiny to whale-size. Making your own wands can be edifying and a great project for kids, parents or parents and kids together.
Most people find that their homemade wands work better than manufactured wands -- and they are considerably less expensive. You can make a tri-string wand wand suitable for creating 20 to 30 foot long bubbles tubes for only a few dollars -- less if you have the materials on hand.
The DIY and How-To categories have articles detailing some great Do-It-Yourself wands and bubble tools.
Contents
- 1 Types of Wands
- 2 Tri-String
- 2.1 Garland Wand
- 3 NoDip Wand/System
- 4 Hoops
- 4.1 Wire Wands
Types of Wands[]
Wands can be traditional plastic wands that come in bottles of commercial bubble solution but they can be made from just about anything -- even your hands can be used to blow bubbles (if they are wet). Great wands can be made from drinking straws, string, wire hangers, and even paper. Paper cones can be made to blow basketball-sized bubbles and bubble domes (as demonstrated in the videos below).
Some common cheap bubble toys that are often included in the purchase of a bottle of commercial bubble juice.
A homemade tri-string wand made from cotton twine, two bamboo garden stakes, duct tape and a washer.
Two homemade tri-string wands (one with a 48-inch top string and the other with a 24 inch top string.
Homemade wands made by bending a coathanger. They are wrapped with twine to help them hold lots of bubble juice.
NoDip Wand: Bubble Solution feeds from pressurized container to establish a soap film and/or feed the growing bubble.
Ric Merry writes: "I call this a "snare wand". Not sure if there is another term. It's a single pole and the lower ring slides freely. It works well on windy days." EDITOR'S NOTE: This seems to be a DIY version of David Stein's wonderful Bubble Thing -- the invention that started the giant bubble sport.
Paper Cones. The soccer ball size bubbles in the video below were created with paper cones like the ones documented at Bubble Town.
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[MORE INFO AND PICTURES NEEDED]Please help this page grow -- and add pictures of your favorite wands!
Tri-String[]
Tri-string wands are the most popular type of wand for making giant bubbles. A super simple (yet effective) one can be made from just a couple of sticks and some suitable string, yarn or material. Fancier tri-strings can be made with clips and swivels that optimize the bubble-making experience.
They can be used to make bubbles from small to whale-size depending on the size of the loop.
Find out more. Read all about them in the article: Tri-String Wands
Garland Wand[]
AGarland Wand orBubble Garland is a variant of the tri-string design. It consists of two handles that are attached to a series of looplets. Find out more about garland wands.
NoDip Wand/System[]
TheNoDip Systemis a simple and effective setup for feeding asoap solution & establish a soap film on a Tri-String (or other sort of) wand. NoDipping frees strolling bubblers from their buckets & much, much more. See theNoDip Systempage for more information including instructions on building your own.
Hoops[]
Hoops from small to large are a popular bubble-making apparatus that can be purchased or made at home. See Hoops.
Wire Wands[]
Hoops can be easily fashioned from hanger wire in a variety of shapes and sizes. Clothes-hanger wire is a great material for making wands as you can bend it into a large variety of shapes and sizes. Simply unravel the hanger. Bend one end of the wire to make some sort of closed shape. Bend the handle with an angle convenient for dipping into a tray. You can use a pie tin as a dip tray. Lastly, wrap the looped part of the wand with cotton twine or cotton yarn. The string/yarn makes it much easier to make bubbles with this type of wand than if you leave the wire bare. Aluminum rods can also be used; aluminum rod is inexpensive, strong, easy to work with and can often be found at the local hardware or home improvement store.
See the Hoops category index for more ideas and fun projects.
