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Homemade Bubbles Recipe {For Big Thick Bubbles!}

06/08/2013 By Charlene 39 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.

Homemade Bubble Solution for amazing bubbles!



I posted this one last year but it is just so fun and so easy I had to mention it again.  If you have little people you probably know how much they love bubbles.

Well you can actually make bubble solution at home in just seconds with 3 ingredients.  These bubbles will be thicker so you can use a much larger wand and they last longer in the air before they pop.

Now we have purchased more then our share of bubble solution in my day and nothing I have ever purchased compares to this solution.

So give it a shot and see what you think!  I like to buy the larger bubble wands from the Dollar Store and you will get bubbles about the size of a basketball.

If you have a larger bubble wand,  you can get them even bigger!

Last week we had about an hour to kill before heading out for a weekend away from the girls and so I whipped this up and we took it outside to play.  I had a terrible time getting decent photos of the bubbles because I was watching the expressions on the girls faces.  They get so much joy from chasing these bubbles so worth every second to mix up a batch.

Homemade Bubble Solution

And whatever is left from your bubbles you can just pop into a jar and save for next time.  I think this would be a really adorable little party favor to give out or an addition to a birthday gift.

how to make bubble solution

Here is how to make this solution:

Add 1 cup of water to a bowl
Mix in 4 tablespoons of dish soap (Joy and Dawn work best)
Add 1 tablespoon of corn syrup or glycerin*

And that it is! I usually double this recipe and put it all in a big mason jar.  Then just give it a shake and it is easy to pour into the little tray for the bubble wand.

A quick note on the dish soap– really you can use whatever you have on hand.  Just a tiny note though that clear dish soap is prettier.  If you use something that is not clear- like Dawn Hand Renewal- you will still get a nice bubble but in the jar the solution will be cloudy and not clear.  I used these bubbles as a party favor recently and so the cloudy solution did not work for me.  No biggie though because I used the cloudy solution with my kids later to just play.

Homemade Bubbles Recipe {For Big Thick Bubbles!}

*You should get good results with corn syrup or glycerin but I notice the very best bubbles come from glycerin. It can be a little hard to find.   You can find Glycerin on Amazon or I have seen the Wilton Glycerin for about $5 at Michael’s in the cake baking supply section for 4oz.   With a store coupon it is pretty affordable.  Amazon actually tends to be a little cheaper for the Glycerin and you can skip the store.  If you use corn syrup either light or dark works fine.  I prefer light just because the color comes out a little prettier :).  One important note– I usually use Glycerin.  If you decide to use corn syrup be very, very careful as corn syrup attracts ants.  I have personally not had an issue at my home but if there is any chance at all that you might leave this out in the yard or something, I would personally recommend using Glycerin.

And if you are having a party, you can get a cute little drink dispenser like this one for just $9 and put the solution in for the kids to pour out themselves.  So fun!

Homemade Bubbles Recipe {For Big Thick Bubbles!}

And I think this is such a simple and cute little gift for children’s birthday parties or take this as a hostess gift to your next summer BBQ.

Here is the solution in a little mason jar and tied with a small bubble wand.

Homemade Bubble Solution A perfect children's party gift!

And here is the same mason jar of bubble solution with a larger wand from the Dollar Store and tied in a cello bag with ribbon.  So fun!

I did these little jars as favors for a birthday recently.  I found 3pks of normal bubble solution in the Dollar Spot at Target and used the wands inside to tie to my jars.  It was interesting because I didn’t want to dump out the bubble solution I bought so some jars had the store bought solution and some had my homemade solution.  When the kids were excitedly ripping into the bubbles, you could instantly see who had store bought!  The bubbles didn’t work- were small and just popped right away.  The homemade solution was dramatically different.

Homemade Bubble solution for children

And here are some other fun ideas for the kiddos:

green slime

How to Make Slime (any color you like)

How to dye tennis shoes

Fun Dyed Tennis Shoes

How to Make Homemade Bouncy Balls - very fun children's craft!

How to Make Bouncy Balls- that really bounce

Filed Under: Children's Activities

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Comments

  1. lili says

    06/08/2013 at 8:21 PM

    Where did you buy those wands?

  2. lili says

    06/08/2013 at 8:24 PM

    Sorry, for the previous question. I just read about where you bought the wands. Please disregard the question.

  3. Sara says

    06/09/2013 at 11:14 AM

    Thank you for the idea they worked great! We just made these when we got home from church and both my girls had a blast! I think I will be making these for one of the idea for my girls birthday party favors! Thank you.

  4. Jamie Gramley says

    06/10/2013 at 8:30 AM

    Thanks for such a simple and FUN recipe! My toddler boys loved it! I actually found a larger bottle of Glycerin at Hobby Lobby in the soap section for only 3.99 and then used the 40% off coupon. Not sure if there’s a difference between food grade and soap grade glycerin, but our bubbles turned out great! Thanks for your great blog!

  5. Vicky @ Mess For Less says

    04/27/2014 at 7:55 AM

    This would be a great way to save money! Thanks just pinned and stumbled this.

  6. kjb says

    05/24/2014 at 3:27 PM

    sorry, i am confused(does not take much)…i read dawn and joy are the best…then i read clear works best….i have never seen a clear in dawn.. is there?

  7. kjb says

    05/24/2014 at 3:33 PM

    oops!!! sorry….i just goggled it….should have done prior to posting comment. there is a clear dawn…at least on “Google” .

  8. Charlene says

    05/24/2014 at 4:49 PM

    KJB,

    Actually that is my fault. I use blue Dawn which is translucent. If you use something like Dawn Hand Renewal which has that milky appearance the solution was cloudy for me :). Sorry that wasn’t clear.

  9. Ruth Hower says

    07/16/2014 at 7:56 AM

    I made this bubble stuff for my now 18 year old granddaughter when she was 3 or 4. I don’t remember where I found out about it, but there was this idea along with it – make a big bubble wand with plastic coated wire clothesline and pour the solution into a wide bowl or basin that will accommodate a large ring (bend the handle up a bit so the ring will go into the solution. I think I made the rings at least 8 inches wide. It made HUGE wonderful bubbles. In fact, one day I took it all with me to work in a steel mill where we “grownups” blew bubbles on break time!

  10. Rebecca says

    07/26/2014 at 10:22 AM

    Hi, we made a trial batch of these because we wanted to make them for my daughter’s birthday and we can’t get them to not pop immediately. They don’t even release from the bubble wand before they pop. Any tips? Are we doing something wrong?

  11. Charlene says

    07/26/2014 at 10:30 AM

    Rebecca- what are you using? I have never had that problem so I am sure we can figure it out. Can you tell me exactly what you are adding?

  12. Jessie says

    08/25/2014 at 9:31 AM

    Hi – I love the idea of homemade bubbles since my girl could blow bubbles all day and you can just guess how much solution we go through! Just wondering if these are just as easy to blow with a small wand as the store brought? O is not even two but a champ bubble blower. I’m a little worried about her limited air capacity being able to blow thick bubbles and her getting angry with it. Thoughts?
    Thanks so much!!

  13. Charlene says

    08/25/2014 at 10:57 AM

    Jessie- these are not too thick for a small wand. You will be fine :). You might be surprised at how much they like using the big wand though- it is fun to pull through the air.

  14. yah yah says

    08/27/2014 at 8:55 AM

    i followed direction and solution was so bubbly( just from mixing solution together!!) it didnt subside, so it was frustrating for the kids and me..what did I do wrong? I used the blue dawn and caro light corn syrup

  15. Charlene says

    08/27/2014 at 10:31 AM

    Yah Yah-

    I have never had that happen. Did you shake it up a lot? I just gently mix the ingredients together and the solution is smooth. Try just letting the solution sit until all the bubbles stop foaming- it might be overnight- and then try using it :). Sorry that didn’t work out the first time – the only thing I can think is that you shook it like crazy making it pretty foamy.

  16. annemarie says

    04/02/2015 at 11:26 PM

    Where can I buy the wands?

  17. Charlene says

    04/03/2015 at 12:21 PM

    Hi Annemarie- I mentioned the larger wands I buy at the Dollar Store. They usually have them year round and for sure in Spring and Summer.

  18. Michelle says

    07/01/2015 at 3:17 AM

    Does it matter if the dawn is regular or concentrated ?

  19. Charlene says

    07/01/2015 at 3:20 PM

    I don’t think so Michelle 🙂

  20. Ginger says

    07/10/2015 at 1:22 PM

    i have a tub made 3x and have the smallest hula hoop do u need to let the bubbles settle in the mix from pouring into tub we cannot get the bubble to stay in hoop to get it out of tub any suggestions

  21. Denise says

    09/07/2015 at 5:45 PM

    Hmmm…trying to figure out why this didn’t work for me…I used Dawn and vegetable glycerin I bought on Amazon. Is that the right kind of Glycerin. it worked ok for the larger bubble wand, but when i used a small wand, they popped right away, and i only got a few bubbles. Was expecting more. Please let me know what I did wrong. Trying to use this solution for favors for my son’s party this weekend.

  22. Charlene says

    09/08/2015 at 10:49 AM

    Hi Denise,

    This is the Glycerin I used from the craft stores:

    http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?sku=708-14

    I have made this recipe countless times for smaller bubble wands or large wands and actually did these as party favors one year as well.

    You can substitute corn syrup for the glycerin and see if that makes a difference. They definitely don’t pop immediately for us with large or small wands.

    Hopefully the second time works out better for you 🙂

  23. Lisa says

    04/09/2016 at 9:19 PM

    I was just wondering. If you purchased the bubbles at the dollar store, and like you said” didn’t want to throw the store solution away, could you just mix it in with the homemade solution? Or would it “mess up” the homemade solution?

  24. Charlene says

    04/09/2016 at 9:24 PM

    Hi Lisa- I don’t think it will mess it up. It might dilute the better stuff but won’t ruin it for sure 🙂

  25. Natasha Bragg says

    11/04/2016 at 8:29 AM

    Can you tell me if or which ingredient can be added to already made store bought bubbles to make them thicker & more bubbly? We’ve bought some from the Dollar Tree & the liquid is literally as thin as water! Can’t seem to get but maybe 1 or 2 bubbles out at a time… Ridic! Thanks so much!!

  26. Charlene says

    11/04/2016 at 1:51 PM

    Sorry Natasha not sure on that. Maybe the glycerin?

  27. Stephanie says

    10/29/2018 at 5:56 PM

    I added dish soap to my store bought bubbles and a couple of days later they smelled like mildew and had slim in it. So I thought it was because I added dish soap to the solution , so I decided to make it with just dish soap and water and the bubbles came out great. However, a few days layer they also smelled like mildew. Can you tell me what I can do to keep that from happening?

  28. Charlene says

    10/29/2018 at 7:18 PM

    Stephanie that is so odd. I have never had that issue with dish soap. Can I ask what kind you are using?

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I'm Charlene- thank you for stopping by MY FRUGAL ADVENTURES! I am a Mom to two little girls living in gorgeous Northern California. This is a fun place to find simple & affordable inspiration for everything from gifts to home improvement to travel to children's crafts to what's for dinner tonight! READ MORE >>>

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