Popping Bubbles
Day after day, I labored over mixtures, one almost as awful as the last. I just couldn't get it right.
I tried mixtures of 2 different ingredients: detergent and water. I changed the proportions many times, but still failed.
I added corn syrup. I added honey. I tried different detergents. I bought glycerin and tried that too.
I was trying to make bubbles, and no recipe had the results I wanted.
Finally, I gave up and I tried a new tactic, thanks to Soap Bubble Wiki. Off I went to the shoppette to buy KY Jelly.
Yes, KY Jelly.
It turns out that KY Jelly is perfect for creating great bubbles. I'm not an expert on making soap bubbles like the folks on the wiki, but I've got a good enough mix down.
Here's what I used:
- A clean oval casserole dish
- 1/4 cup of KY Jelly (apparently you can use J-Lube from farming stores)
- 1/4 cup of of hot water
- 1/4 cup of dish detergent. I used Ajax and it worked fine.
- A hanger made into a wand.
Put the KY Jelly in the dish, they slowly add the hot water, mixing it slowly. Add the dish detergent, and s l o w l y mix all the ingredients. Try to avoid creating foam, because that will waste your mixture.
Let it sit, for at least 30 minutes. Then voila! Bubbles!
Kit has some difficulty using the wire wand, so she mostly uses a plastic wand that came with a set of bubbles. The bubbles aren't as big with the plastic wand, but they last longer than store bought bubbles and are more durable.
One tip I heard from someone was to tape the bubble bottle to a surface of some kind. It's helpful because Kit can use it independently (she hates it when I hold the bubbles solution for her!) but she is not able to spill it either.
And yes, that is her water table with a bunch of dirt in it. She got a hold of a pot of dirt and dumped it in. :/
And voila! Big, durable bubbles make a happy kid!!
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