Cloud Bubbles (I know some people call things like this bubble foam or cloud foam) are simply the best.
I think bubbles in general bring instant joy to most people and especially to toddlers! Making cloud bubbles to pour into a water table outside or a bath is a sure way to bring a bit of magic into your day!
We love to play with cloud bubbles using different kitchen ladles, spoons, bowls and measuring cups. We pretend to cook something good and mix together the different colors of bubbles we made!
Plus, when looking for messy fun it’s by far the cleanest messy you can be!
So fast to whip up (literally) and with two ingredients you always have on hand!
Another favorite easy outdoor activity is DIY chalk paint! So simple and taste-safe for little ones!
Ingredients
- Shampoo/Dish Soap
- Water
That’s it!
How to Make
Making cloud bubbles is just as easy! Simply mix with the whisk attachment in your mixer or use a handheld mixer.
Mix for a few minutes (longer than you would think to) until it’s all foam and can form a stick peak.Â
Add food coloring here if you want! We love to color our bubbles. I find that food coloring gel works really well. It’s a great way to talk about colors, what different colors mix together to make and to just add a bit more fun to the mix!Â
That’s it! Could not be easier to make!
I have never tried whisking this by hand (other than to bring it back together during play). With how long you need to whisk it in your mixer to really form a thick foam I would advise against trying it by hand. But let me know if you try it and it works!
Variations of Cloud Bubbles
Dish Soap
Now, I used to make this with my normal dawn dish soup. But I didn’t like using my dish soup as much because it wasn’t something that I wanted to waste. It’s more expensive than cheap shampoo and one of those items that you hate running out of.
So I went to the dollar store and got some cheap shampoo! I did a little experiment and whipped up two different patches of cloud bubbles. One with dish soup and one with cheap shampoo.
The results were the same! They both formed a great foam and both turned more watery in about the same amount of time. I had assumed maybe the dish soup would have more of a bubble staying power but only by a minute or so did it win out.
Flour
Something else that people add to things like this is flour (ÂĽ cup in this case). The flour acts as a stabilizer and helps the foam to stick around for longer before becoming watery again.
I don’t typically add flour to cloud bubbles for a few different reasons.
Flour is not something that should be going down your drain. If you are doing these bubbles inside or in your bathroom tub you are going to want to avoid flour. Water and flour together can act like glue (think of paper mache!) on your plumbing.
Even when we do cloud bubbles outside I usually don’t add flour because my kiddos are playing on the deck or coming in the house a lot. Cleaning up soapy flour once it dries from the floor is not something I want to do! I’ve cleaned up soapy flour before from my kitchen floor…I don’t recommend. Yikes!
The last reason I don’t add flour is because, at least for my kiddos, they won’t be playing with just the bubbles for long enough that I feel like we need it!Â
How Long Do Cloud Bubbles Last?
This last time we made cloud bubbles I timed it. At around seven minutes the foam started to break down slightly. Which is totally normal!
A quick stir or whisk brought them right back together. After about 20 minutes of active playing the foam has definitely started to separate some but I could easily whip it back to mostly foam again.
I tell you this so that you know the bubbles don’t stay all together forever! But by the time the bubbles have created some water I usually feel like my kiddos are ready for the play to transition anyway. Then it just becomes a soapy, slightly bubbly water table time! Which is equally fun!
Cloud bubbles are such a fun way to add some magic into ordinary play. With how easy and fast they are to make, we fill out summer with them!
