It didn’t feel like summer officially started until my big girl was out of school just a few weeks ago. And now that we’ve passed the 4th of July, summer is in full swing here in the Pacific Northwest. We are having the best time enjoying the warm weather and getting out and about. We wrote out a summer bucket list, and one of the things I’ve been wanting to try is HOMEMADE GIANT BUBBLES! Ever since I saw a guy making these giant bubbles off of the train trestle at Carkeek Park about a year ago, I’ve had the itch to try it myself.
You GUYS. We are having the best time with this! And it’s soooooo easy! You can make string wands from stuff you probably already have laying around your house, and the bubble juice recipe comes together pretty easily with some planning.
My kids love making them but more than that, they love popping the giant bubbles.
First things first, order a bag of guar gum on Amazon. You probably have all of the other ingredients in your pantry.
GUAR GUM GIANT BUBBLES RECIPE
1 cup (8 oz) Dawn Ultra blue dishwashing soap (I purchased the largest bottle since I knew we’d be making this recipe a lot!)
1 T guar gum
1 T baking powder
16 cups tap water
Measure 1 cup of Dawn into liquid measuring cup, then add guar gum & baking powder. Use a whisk to combine well. Pour into large bucket (see my large blue bucket in the photos), then add 16 cups of tap water. Use whisk to incorporate well. Your bubble juice is now ready!
To make the giant bubble wands, you need:
- cotton kitchen twine (the kind used to tie your poultry legs together before roasting)
- 2 sticks (I used big straws or chopsticks)
- metal washer or nut (to act as a weight on your string)
Note: there are more complicated tutorials to make sturdier wands that involve dowels, metal eye hooks, etc. but I am lazy was so excited to make bubbles that I did not want to make a trip to the home improvement store.
Tie the string to your 2 sticks to create a triangle loop, and hang your weight at the bottom. The larger the triangle of string, the larger your bubbles will be. I used shorter lengths of string for the kids, and made one big adult-sized one for me!
Making giant bubbles!
Now you’re ready! Dip the cotton string into the bucket to wet the entire string. Pull it out of the bucket with the sticks together, then slowly pull the sticks apart. Walk backwards to create your bubble. Bring the sticks back together to close off your bubble. Get ready to laugh like a kid again!
Storing your excess bubble juice
One recipe usually lasts 2-3 bubble-making episodes. I just leave the excess bubble juice in the bucket, then use one of those stretchy, shower-cap-like food storage covers over the top of the bucket.
I’d love to see how your bubbles turn out! Tag me on Facebook or Instagram @yiliphoto so I can see your pics! Want me to take the pics? This would be such a fun thing to do with your kids while I document the whole thing! If you agree, let’s chat!
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