Simple Saturday: The Incredible Pyramid-Shaped Bubble Maker

 Those Egyptians ain't got nothin' on us! We'll show the them the 8th wonder of the world - The Simple Saturday Pyramid-Shaped Bubble Maker! Look out, Pharaoh. Your days are numbered (Well, I guess that's sort of an empty threat, isn't it?). 

I have to confess to you, my dear friend, that I am making this post in the wee, dark hours of the night. I'm telling you this because, in order to make my Simple Saturday early morning posting deadline, while I have made the Incredible Pyramid-Shaped Bubble Maker, I am not able to demonstrate its bubble-ishious splendor in the moon-light. Trust me, though. It's cool.

Have you made the Monster Bubble solution yet? Just click right HERE for the recipe. I tell you, once you've used Monster Bubbles, the store stuff becomes very disappointing.

Behold! The 8th wonder of the WORLD!You did gather the yarn and straws, right? I decide to use only 6 straws instead of 8. It worked out just fine this way. 

Cut 2 longish strings of yarn. Find the middle of the strands and knot them. Now slip 2 straws on each string and fashion your pyramid. Tie knots at the points...and there you have it! Submerge it into a bucket of Monster Bubble solution and you've got bubbles for days!

I do wish I could give you a nifty, swifty demonstration. Alas, it is just too dark out there to see anything at all.

I know! The next time my granddaughter comes around we'll give it a whirl. She's a bubble blowing fiend!

Yawn....Good night.

Simple Saturday: Bathtub Soap Crayons

Hey, Simple Saturday pal! Look at my box of Ivory Snow nestled up in a bank of real, true-to-life, super-deep Vermont snow. Isn't that awesome? Can you believe it? Remember I'm a Texas girl, and traipsing around in snow deeper than the soles of my shoes this is a pretty big ding-dang-deal!

Enough about the winter wonderland I just left behind, ready to make some soap crayons? All we need is soap flakes, hot water (and I do mean HOT), a mixing bowl, and some kind of mold to have the soap crayons. I decided to use a muffin tin. John had the great idea to line the tin with muffin cups...good idea. Optional, but good.

Here we go. Dump the soap flakes in a mixing bowl. Gradually wet the mixture with the hot, hot, hot water. Stir like the devil to thicken the soap crayon mixture. 

Pour mixture into smaller bowl add a few big squirts of food coloring and keep stirring.

 I drafted John to help me stir. Enthusiastic, isn't he? 

Next, pour your colored soap mixtures into your mold. Place your mold in the freezer for a few hours.

Go to a movie or maybe out to eat, and when you return...BAM...you'll have some awesome soap crayons waiting for you.

Now fill up the bathtub with some cozy warm water. With your nifty soap crayons in hand, climb on in and simply draw on the tile to your soggy heart's content. Talk about good clean fun, eh?

See you next week!

Simple Saturday: Monster Bubbles

I thought I'd post a bit earlier this week as, perhaps, you might enjoy this activity during your Labor Day family BBQ's. Nothing could be easier and more fun than making Monster Bubbles in the backyard!

Your simple supply list includes: two plastic drinking straws, one 2 ft. long piece of string (this can be modified by cutting it shorter to fit a tiny hand), one bottle of glycerine (I bought mine at CVS, as you can see), liquid dish detergent (Dawn works the best, in my opinion), a rubber bucket or dish pan, and water.

To begin, let's make the most-perfect-yet-super-simple bubble wand to enhance the thrilling Monster Bubble making experience. Simply thread the string through the straws. Knot the ends of the string together and squeeze that knot inside one of the straws. Trust me. This works.

To make the ultimate bubble solution get the rubber dish pan or bucket. Pour about 3/4 cup of Dawn in it and about 1/4 to 1/2 bottle of the glycerine in. Actually, start with 1/4 of the bottle of glycerine...you can always add more later, if need be. (This solution is TONS better than that crummy stuff in the plastic jars. The only thing good about those jars is the fancy wand inside.)

Use the outdoor water hose or a pitcher of water to s-l-o-w-l-y fill the bucket 3/4 full. Let the stream drizzle out the nozzle or you're going to have to wade through a mound of bubbles to get to that burger waiting for you on the grill! Gently swish your hand in the solution to blend the Dawn, glycerine, and water together. The solution should feel wonderfully slimy!

Now, submerge your string wand in the solution. Take one straw in hand and, once again, s-l-o-w-l-y lift it out. The solution should look like a piece of plastic wrap stretched between the strings. If the bubble bond breaks...so what? Do it again. Now wave that dangly bubble wand carefully from one side of your body to the other. Be bold. Hold it out like a banner and let the wind help you. After a few easy tries, you'll make a bubble bigger than the size of your head! Maybe even as big as a basket ball...or a beach ball...or maybe even the planet Pluto! (Oh yeah, Pluto's not a planet anymore. Sorry.)

Well, that's it for this week. Have a simply delightful Labor Day holiday! If you make Monster Bubbles, I know that you'll be squeaky clean all day long.