[jean shorts - Baby Gap, textured henley - c/o Polarn O. Pyret]
As a kid, were you mesmorized by those glitter wands? Dude. I could flip that thingy (watching the glitter twirl) until the sun went down!
I snatched one up at the toy store awhile back for Bubs (we were headed for yet another long grueling flight). It worked wonders, by the way. Took up very little space, made no noise… Sorry, I’m getting carried away.
I thought it’d amuse Lil’ Mister to recreate a stockier version of a glitter wand (minus the glitter. minus the wand).
Crafts with a twoddler (not a baby not yet a toddler) are almost impossible. I envisioned this craft going a lil’ sumthin’ like this: I’d make it. He’d play with it for 2 seconds. The end.
BOY was I wrong! This was just his speed!
Hi Mom. I’m not sure exactly what you’re doing with all that stuff; but thanks for the bunny snacks while I watch. Eating makes me happy. More please?
It was questionable how he’d manage the materials. So (teacher in me) modeled putting in the pony beads. (plus I didn’t want to chance a 911 “um. HELP! he just ate a boatload of beads! CPR? Heimlich? HURRY!”). Frightening.
The ribbon, dice, and glitter pom-poms were perfect for his tiny hands. I wish I would’ve had the video camera rolling (oh wait, taking pictures & video? who do I think I am? Octomom?). The giggles were so cute! He was tickled he could get them in the little hole & then he’d gooseneck it to watch them float to the bottom.
Not only was it a fun way to spend the morning; but I felt like I was doing something good for him. Sensory, fine motor, and fun. Booya! 3 points for Team, 1st Time Mommy!
Pretty sure it’d be fun even for older kidlets! 
These are just Sooooooo, very, very cool. I love them. And so fun for him to help make. What a lucky little guy to have such a clever mommy!!
Definitely something he can do again with his Mimi… I’m sure at Mimi’s house it’ll be more fun, anyway! Can’t believe the time has already come!!
this one is super cute! lexi would somehow manage to open that top though!
I used hot glue before screwing on the lid. The only one getting into it was LuLu. She managed to pierce a hole through the top of the pom pom one with her sharp snaggle tooth! ha! She thinks his toys are her toys too!
Mommy’s little helper
and of course this is much more fun to play with than anything store bought.
Unless it’s a soft cuddly giraffe (wink wink)
I can’t wait to make these! Looks like I’m headed to the craft store. That is such cute shaped bottle. Could you tell us what it is from?
Thanks for the great idea!
The bottles are kids water bottles. Unfortunately, I don’t remember the brand & they are all gone. I’ll see if I can find the exact brand next time I’m at the store.
It looks like an aquapod, deer park makes some. can’t wait to do this!
That is so smart, so cute, so creative and so lovely!!
Thank you!
Love this! Trying to rack my brain on what to use with my older guys who can open the tops….hmmm…??
Hot glue will work like a charm! Hope you’re enjoying your family vacay! xo
I hope I get to play with them too!
Missy- great idea, we will be making these this weekend! I had a question about your little one’s shirt. I was just looking at them online to get one for my little guy. Just wondering how the sizing of the shirt fits? Sorry that is a bit of a random question. Have a good weekend.
-Amanda
Just sent you an e-mail
These are so very cool! I made an “I Spy” version of these with sand with my kiddos, but I definitely prefer this sparkley version
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LOVE this! We are flying to Hawaii with a 14 month old and and 4.5 year old in November…this will keep them busy!!! Thank you!
You might make sure it fits in a “travel size” container if you’re going to take it on the plane. Never know how big of a stickler the TSA agent will be regarding liquid on the plane.
To the mommy who asked, these are Ozarka Aqua Pod bottles
perfect for little hands! We use them at the day care I work at!
Just tried the glitter pompom bottle with glitter pompoms from the dollar section at Target. The dye used must not have been waterproof because the water turned an insane hot pink color! You must have gotten better quality pompoms. After rinsing the pompoms out a few times they stopped bleeding color and now our discovery bottle looks pretty good.
I love this idea, it’s like a snow globe for toys. Beautiful.Thanks for the idea. I will DEFINITELY be making some. Just need to colllect empty bottles for a few weeks.
we did something similar but used oil and water and made a lava lamp like thing with lots of glittery stuff floating in it.
I was going to suggest half oil too. And put food coloring in. It won’t change the color of the oil. Makes like a wave maker. I’m making this for my 2 year old! Thanks!
Very cool ideas! But am I missing something? My pom-poms are not sinking but staying right at the top of the water.
I found you via Pinterest! What a great idea. I must do this with my little one.
i love this idea and i don’t even have little ones (my youngest is 17)! i’m thinking that using mineral (baby) oil would be a cool option. it would make the goodies move more slowly like a glitter wand. (hm, maybe i should have another baby just so i could do this?…nah.)
linked in from pinterest.
what a great idea! bonking my head for not thinking of it me-self! lol I have 2 yo twins that want the same of everything, so this is in the making! Would love to try what another poster mentioned, mineral oil? to make thinkgs move slower.
Baby Oil will work to move things a little slower, I just did this in my preschool classroom and the kiddos loved it! Thanks!
i love this size and shape of the bottle you used. Do you know what brand of water it was.
thanks, its such a cute simple idea.
I found this whilst looking for magic glitter wands to make. Now I’m going to make these too and even better, I can use up a whole lot of *crap* lying around the house to fill the bottles. I have pinned from here as well. thanks.
I loved the craft! My son did too and I posted our on my blog, with a link to your post here: http://morganbubble.blogspot.com/2011/10/water-bottle-craft.html
Great idea! I also like to fill bottles about 1/2 way with sand and then add a few small toys. It’s a shaker-discovery bottle. For the older ones, I write a list of what’s in the bottle and have them look for each item, then mark it off as it’s found.
Another water-based idea is to simply add glitter and a bit of food coloring.
I’ve tried blue hair gel with fish gummies as well, but didn’t like it as it doesn’t actually move. (I worked 5 years with toddlers in childcare, so I’ve tried all kinds of bad and good ideas!).
I esp. like the small bottles. I may have to buy some just for this!
I also have tried hair gel and used marbles to move around in the smaller bottles. It is perfect for the 3-4′s mostly.
found this on pinterest, darling! perfect for the plane out to gramma’s in 2 weeks! of course in a zippy bag.
The Arrowhead Aquapod bottles look like this. Great idea! Definitely going to try! Thanks!
Love this idea! Shows boys can have fun with glitter too! And as a Mommy to two boys, I like to sneak it in when I can.
I also want to use this idea for work. I am a behavioral consultant for children with Autism and this is a great sensory idea!
Thanks!!
Love this blog! How long would this little toy last do you think? Probably a dumb question but do the little things inside the water go rotten after a while?
these are super cute so i made some for my daughter but my pom poms just float at the top in a cluster!?
Just wonderful–have made other bottles before but will try your ideas with kids in school. K.
I think they’ll love making them. I’d even suggest having the kids bring in their own items and bottles… that way as groups they can compare/contrast/sort objects based on their properties (size, shape, texture, etc). What a great science lesson!
corn syrup would be a great add-in to make the objects move slower. just like a tablespoon full would be enough! super cute idea
What a great idea!!! I was looking for something for the kiddos to do at my son’s 1st Birthday party!!!!
If you add some glycerin to the water it will thicken it a bit more like a snow globe or s lava lamp.
This is amazing! I’ve been looking for a craft that will peak my 2 year old niece’s interest for more than a few seconds. I think I will be heading to my local craft store to pick up some supplies tomorrow! So excited to try this.
When I make these, I use baby oil, things move slower.
Do you use all baby oil or a mix of oil and water? If a mix, how much of each? Thanks! I want to make these with my daughter, one for her and one for her little brother. I think she would like it more with slower moving objects.
I use straight water. The baby oil won’t mix with the water. The water moves the objects slow enough.
I should have realized this was you. I follow you on Twitter and love the stuff you post. I cant’t wait to make these! Thank you!
i have been making these for years but without the water. sequins, glitter, beads, rice, etc. i just called them shakers. little ones love the noise. with definitelt try this with the glitter pom-poms and water.
This would actually be really cool for a child with Autism too. A lot of kids with Autism could care less about the toy itself but really into the sensory stuff. I am a behavior interventionist, and will definitely share the idea with my families.
I teach preschool. (3 and 4 year olds) We make all kinds of sensory bottles like this to put in our science centers. The kids love them!!
I LOVE this idea! Especially the water bottle size. It’s just perfect for my little guy. By the way, I spent the last two days reading every post on your blog over the past two years! I can’t believe I didn’t discover it sooner! I adore your fashion sense, recipes, photos, and your family. You have so much cute spunk in your writing
Fab idea – we do the same without the water for a floating swim / bath toy
How old is the little boy in the pictures? My daughter is 10 months and puts everything in her mouth. I’d like to do this with her, but I’m not sure…..
He’s 16 months here. Definitely supervise closely. I’d think 10 months is a bit too young.
Thanks, that is what I thought. She is very advanced, but still loves to eat everything.
Did something like this years ago with my niece on a car trip. Of course we just used what we had in the car. Which ended up being a soda bottle we took the label off of and some change. Worked wonders but was LOUD! Brilliant idea!
I love this idea. Your bottles are so colourful!! I tried one with pompoms, buttons and googly eyes… unfortunately the colour from my pompoms died the water… which was pretty at first but as the colour got more intense you could hardly see the objects
will try again with a different brand of pompom… Wish we could get those lovely shaped bottles here in the UK.
I have blogged about your idea and refernced your site. My blog is about rasining my daughter to be bilingual and your discivery bottle idea gave us a great language learning opportunity – here’s the post if you’d like to see it ://non-nativebilingualadventure.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/sensory-play.html
I was wondering if anyone knew where to find those bottles – ive looked everywhere but cant seem to find that shape
i want to make this as party favors for my sons birthday in a few weeks but i cannot find these in stores and im afraid it wont come through the mail in time for me to make them for his party 
(ps: i live in saint pete florida) thanks!!
Love this idea! Can’t wait to give it to our nannies.
I made 3 of these today with my 18 month old. She LOVED putting the items in…hated it when I glued the lid on and she couldn’t get the items back out. Just wondering if anyone else had this experience.
DO NOT USE OIL INSIDE BOTTLES!!! If a child gets the oil into their lungs it can be deadly. Supervision is always wise with little ones with store bought toys as well.
I think it is a fun project, will try it with my grandbabies.
What kind of Dice did you use for the project? I have the same bottles you used but the dice kept getting stuck in the top… Other than that my kids love the idea!!
Love this idea! Was wondering where you bought the glitter pom poms
All supplies were purchased at Target
You are a flippin’ genius!! These are so cute and I know my “twoddler” would love them!! My daughter has an obsession with water bottles so she’s going to love having one her size with pretty things floating around inside! Can’t wait to try it out!
for the people wondering where the bottles are from… I just bought an 8 pack of them for $2.00 at sweetbay!! very cheap! i made them for my sons first birthday party as favors… i hope the kids love them! thank you for this!!! they look so fun! even my brother in law (hes 25) thought they were cool lol!!
What a great idea – I especially like the tip about hot glueing the lid on!
I’m putting together the supplies for my grandson to make these when he and his mommy come home for a visit this fall. Gathered small seashells at the beach yesterday, plus have lots of brightly colored items. I was definitely thinking of using glycerin. Isn’t that what’s used in glitter wands?
I just made one of these for our quiet bag for church and my daughter loves it! She pulled it out for the first time last Sunday and was completely fascinated! Thanks for the idea.
Adorable! Thanks for the great idea…hadn’t thought of using dice or ribbons!
I love these bottles. I live in S.Australia… we have nothing over here like this. I’ve even looked on ebay. I think some of you lovely ladies who can get there hands on these bottles should list some on ebay… maybe under craft bottle???? Hint hint..
Did you use regular water or distilled? also, depending on the colorfast issue with some of the items do you think that mineral oil would work?
I am just wondering if you have any suggestions on how to safely remove stickyness from the paper cover on a water bottle? Thanks.
I am using this idea as gifts for my toddlers.
I always use hot water – keep the bottle submerged in hot water and remove with a warm washcloth. Goo-gone also works.
For younger kiddos I take apart a lei (the kind with fabric flowers and tiny straws inbetween each flower). I put several of the flowers into the bottle along with a few of the straws. It makes a fun clicking sound and is pretty. If you do it without the water even very young children can manage it without bonking themselves on the head. i still superglue the lid on, though.
Can some one please tell me where I can get my hands on these water bottles? They are the right size for little hands and I can not locate them. I’ve exhausted my searching. Thank you….
amazon.com
They are called Aquapods
Here is the direct link where you can buy them.
http://www.amazon.com/Deer-Park-Natural-Spring-Aquapod/dp/B004ZY827K/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1367731556&sr=8-4&keywords=aquapod+water
I work in a nursery in the uk and we make these often. I have found the best bottles are the lucozade bottles (the fizzy ones with quite big lids) or the fanta bottles that are all bumpy! I have tried adding glycerin but ever sure how much I should add!
Love this! I will be making this for my 6 year old daughter. She has autism & sensory processing issues. She will love this too. Thanks for sharing.