A little while ago I posted about some things I had made up for Chloe to help her wind down from school as she was struggling a little and was over tired. One of the things I made her was a sensory bottle, much like the ‘time out jar’ filled with glitter that I had seen on pinterest. Chloe’s is filled with pretty little beads and gems, sequins and glittler for her to shake and watch everything settle back down while chilling out.
When I made Chloe’s I thought I’d make one for Noah as well so he could use it for winding down at the end of a busy day. But after also seeing some awesome sensory bottles a friend of mine made {she is super clever and runs amazing sensory classes for children called Caterpillar Kids- check it out here} I decided to make some for Owen, too.
They are very easy to make and last for ages. We haven’t had any of ours break and my kids play with them every day!!
I used plastic milk bottles from the reject shop, these are fairly large and perfect for bigger kids. I thought they’d be too big for Owen but he loves this size as he pushes them around and crawls after them. Go for smaller plastic bottles though if you’re worried these are too big.
We have 6 sensory bottles and they are
– Frozen themed bottle, with snowflake sequins, blue leaves and white gems etc
– Moon and starts bottle, with blue glitter and tiny star glitter, moon and star sequins
– Rainbow water bead bottle, just some of our usual water beads
-Pink fairy and butterfly bottle – with gems, butterfly sequins and pink fairy dust
– Pom pom bottle, with glittery green pom poms and glitter
– Button bottle with a selection of different coloured and different sized buttons
What you need:
Plastic bottles
glycerine or baby oil {please note that while glycerine is more expensive than baby oil, it works much better in these bottles especially when using glitter}
glitter, sequins, pom poms, buttons, gems etc
water
super glue
** Let your imagination run wild with what you pop in these bottles – Noah is asking me to make him one with lego one and Chloe would like an i-spy one with little charms etc and my friend has some with cellophane and ribbon in them. Just be prepared that you need to super glue the lids onto these bottles so you’re not likely to get back what ever you put in them.
** also with the glitter, the ‘bigger’ the glitter the better – really fine glitter just ends up looking cloudy in the bottles.
What to do:
Half fill your bottle with water and then add in your glitter, sequins, pom poms or what ever you choose. Put in about a tablespoon of glycerine or baby oil and then add more water {but don’t fill to the top just yet!}
Pop the lid on and give it a shake. The baby oil or glycerine is there to help things swirl around and settle back down a little slower than it would in just plain water so decide if that’s enough of you’d like to put a little more in {If using water beads, just use all plain water, no oil etc as it doesn’t need it}.
Once you’re happy with it, top up all the way with water.
Put some superglue in and around the edge of the bottle lid and then twist it onto the bottle nice and tight. Leave to set for a little while and your bottle should be ready!
There you go :o} Awesome home made fun!
These have proven such a big hit at our house and have been especially great for our little crawler who pushes the bottles and follows and makes his way all through the house like that!
These look great! I’ll have to make some for my Miss 8 months! She crawls around the house like a madwoman – not playing with anything, just crawling! These might slow her down a bit! Thanks Bianca 😊
Sorry I missed your comment Melissa and sorry you had the same problem Mel! The only thing I can think of is that you used baby oil? That seems to be stickier! The glycerine is more expensive but I think it works better – I’m going to amend my post above to say this! So sorry xx
I’m having a problem with glitter and sequins clumping together and also sticking to the sides too. I’ve used glycerine so not sure what the problem is.
Hi Jessica,
Hmm, not sure what is going on there π ours are still doing really well. Too much glitter and it will clump and also if the glitter is really find it will clump, the ‘chunkier’ glitter works much better. I used this little tiny star sequins and do find the glitter sticks to those a little but the kids don’t mind π
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[…] 18. Sensory bottle -This is a cool one because you can make it with things your child is into, I feel like the possibilities are endless! Just search Pinterest, you’ll find tons of ideas! But here’s a link in case you don’t want to do that π http://alittledelightful.com/2014/04/diy-sensory-bottles.html […]
For those who are having trouble with the items clumping together, a couple drops of dish soap should help. I am a bit of a discovery bottle addict ;). Love these by the way!!
What a brilliant idea. When my son’s were small (37 & 33 now), I filled plastic bottles or small plastic jars with Broth Mix or any other dried cereals. It was great for them to shake, or watch the small peas, lentils etc roll around the inside. The also made good indoor skittles with a soft ball. We had lots of fun with it. I now have five Grandchildren and have done the same for them and they loved them just as much.
That’s really beautiful Joan!!! I love that you have these beautiful memories and you’ve made some home made fun for your grandchildren! What lucky kids π
Hi Bianca, thanks for the tip about the reject store, will go check Monday to see if they got any plastic bottles as I did not see them when looking for jars the other day.
Tried the dish soap too and it seems to help, but really 1-2 drops or it will foam
So sorry to hear this Rebecca! I think it’s a little hit and miss with the type of glitter you use, I’d say the fine glitter clumped to the chunky glitter, maybe try just chunky glitter if you make them again another time. x
I thought I’d use really fine beads instead of glitter, but they immediately sank , so not very interesting visually… nice noise though. I used a pop bottle. It worked fine. My 6 month old likes it a lot!
Just made a fab sensory bottle(was practicing for student but my daughter begged me to let her have the first one!π). Used blue glitter glue, chunky blue glitter, very warm water and drop of blue food colouring. Added a drip of washing up,liquid which was a yellow colour. Result?..lovely purple water that when shaken turns blue and the multicoloured sequins look amazing! Thanks for the tips! No clumpingπ€
These look great! I’ll have to make some for my Miss 8 months! She crawls around the house like a madwoman – not playing with anything, just crawling! These might slow her down a bit! Thanks Bianca 😊
My glitter and sequins just clumped together or stuck to the sides. Do you know what I might of done wrong?
I had this problem too π
Sorry I missed your comment Melissa and sorry you had the same problem Mel! The only thing I can think of is that you used baby oil? That seems to be stickier! The glycerine is more expensive but I think it works better – I’m going to amend my post above to say this! So sorry xx
I’m having a problem with glitter and sequins clumping together and also sticking to the sides too. I’ve used glycerine so not sure what the problem is.
Hi Jessica,
Hmm, not sure what is going on there π ours are still doing really well. Too much glitter and it will clump and also if the glitter is really find it will clump, the ‘chunkier’ glitter works much better. I used this little tiny star sequins and do find the glitter sticks to those a little but the kids don’t mind π
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Hi! Can you please tell me where you soured your plastic bottles from please? Thanks!
Sorry, I’ve just read nowβ¦..
No worries Krisie π I did see recently that they’re still stocked at the reject shop though which is good!
[…] 18. Sensory bottle -This is a cool one because you can make it with things your child is into, I feel like the possibilities are endless! Just search Pinterest, you’ll find tons of ideas! But here’s a link in case you don’t want to do that π http://alittledelightful.com/2014/04/diy-sensory-bottles.html […]
where is the reject shop??? Im a preschool teacher and I am confused about “reject shop”
thanks wendy
Hi Wendy, the reject shop is like a discount variety store here in Australia π
Can you use clear glue instead of glycerin?
I’m not sure glue would work well π
For those who are having trouble with the items clumping together, a couple drops of dish soap should help. I am a bit of a discovery bottle addict ;). Love these by the way!!
Thanks so much for the tip Katie!
This worked perfectly for me!
Dish soap works great for clumpy glitter dilemma thanks so much?
HI Bianca. Where do you buy glycerine from please? ?
Hi Bee π
I’ve previously just bought it at the supermarket π usually in the beauty products aisles π
What a brilliant idea. When my son’s were small (37 & 33 now), I filled plastic bottles or small plastic jars with Broth Mix or any other dried cereals. It was great for them to shake, or watch the small peas, lentils etc roll around the inside. The also made good indoor skittles with a soft ball. We had lots of fun with it. I now have five Grandchildren and have done the same for them and they loved them just as much.
That’s really beautiful Joan!!! I love that you have these beautiful memories and you’ve made some home made fun for your grandchildren! What lucky kids π
Hi Bianca, thanks for the tip about the reject store, will go check Monday to see if they got any plastic bottles as I did not see them when looking for jars the other day.
Tried the dish soap too and it seems to help, but really 1-2 drops or it will foam
The glitter in mine clumped together, too. I’m so disappointed! I used baby oil and a chunkier glitter, along with fine glitter.
So sorry to hear this Rebecca! I think it’s a little hit and miss with the type of glitter you use, I’d say the fine glitter clumped to the chunky glitter, maybe try just chunky glitter if you make them again another time. x
I thought I’d use really fine beads instead of glitter, but they immediately sank , so not very interesting visually… nice noise though. I used a pop bottle. It worked fine. My 6 month old likes it a lot!
I love these. Do you use baby oil and the dish soap or is it one or the other? I’m having major problems with glitter and sequins sticking together.
Hi Sophie! I would just use the one, I find glycerine works better π
Just made a fab sensory bottle(was practicing for student but my daughter begged me to let her have the first one!π). Used blue glitter glue, chunky blue glitter, very warm water and drop of blue food colouring. Added a drip of washing up,liquid which was a yellow colour. Result?..lovely purple water that when shaken turns blue and the multicoloured sequins look amazing! Thanks for the tips! No clumpingπ€
Oh this sounds wonderful!! Thank yoU Jacqui for letting me know! xx