Here is a super fast and easy craft to put together with the little ones. I made these for the girls to play with in the bath tub and also outside in the sprinklers.
You can make these little bath jellies which are fragrant little gooey blobs. They are mostly soap so you get the added benefit of extra clean kids.
You can do these in fun shapes and in bright colors and it creates bubbles so you can use it as a bubble bath or as a fun alternative to regular soap.
I haven’t seen these jellies in very many places but I know Lush sells them for about $6-11. My Target has something like this for $9.99 and that is for just 2 jellies.
You can make a bunch for just a few dollars and this seriously just takes a few minutes to do. Here is the recipe:
- Water
- Plain Gelatin
- Essential Oil (optional)
- Food Coloring (optional)
- Bubble Bath or Body Wash
- Heat ¾ cup of water over medium-high heat. Bring it just to boil and remove from heat.
- Empty the contents of one package of gelatin into a bowl.
- Add the water and stir until thoroughly mixed.
- Set aside and let cool (about 10-15 min)
- Add ½ cup of bubble bath or body wash or liquid soap (use a clear variety)
- Add 5-8 drops of essential oil of your choice (I used lemon).
- Add 2-3 drops of food coloring.
- You can also add a little glitter if you like.
- Stir well and place into a mold or a jar.
- Put into the fridge for about 4 hours until nice and solid.
I bought the plain gelatin in the baking aisle at Target for $1.27. You will get 4 packets so just one box should make at least 24 of these.
I poured the mixture into a measuring cup and poured into little ice cube trays, mason jars and little Tupperware. You can get the ice cube trays in fun shapes at Dollar Stores, Ikea or the Target Dollar Spot or the little tiny Tupperware containers I used to make the shapes above were 8 for $1.00 at Staples.
If you really want to get fancy you could insert a small plastic toy inside or add glitter to your mixture.
And in case you are wondering, my girls played with these in the little outdoor water tub as well as the normal tub. I did not have any issues with staining. The water was slightly colored and I didn’t notice any discoloration on my tub or the outdoor pool.
PS: If you want to make several colors, just mix a package as directed above but hold off on the food coloring until you put the clear gelatin into your containers. Once you do that add 1-2 drops of food color in each container and stir.
You can scroll down here to see more fun craft ideas for the kiddos.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
So do they just dissolve or what?
Ashley, yes eventually. They are the texture of Jello and the more the kids play with them, the more they bubble and then they will ultimately dissolve.
Sounds fun! Thanks for posting this!
looks like a lot of fun, I will try it. thanks
we tried this last night – easy and fun! BUT, burning question – do we need to keep them refrigerated? We had 2 left over, and I’m not sure how to store them… help!
Jen, mine have stayed solid like Jello at room temp. They can get a tiny watery if it is warm or they get sudsy so just keep them in a container. I have a little Tupperware by the tub and there are a bunch stacked in there.
We just finished making 2 batches, can’t wait to play with them! My daughter put some little plastic animals inside a couple so when they do melt it will have a surprise! We used silicone cupcake & ice cube molds and some soap molds as well. Thanks so much for the idea!!