Bubble Wands

Summer time here in Alaska, the sun is out until late, and so are the
children playing.
It made me think of the bubble wands I used to make for my children
and as gifts for friends.

You will need:
a thicker gauge wire, I used 16 g brass from the hardware store
26 g wire, again, I used brass from the hardware store
Wire cutters
Pliers
and plastic faceted beads (EEEK! but they fit well and look pretty!)
Actually you can use any beads with big enough holes to pass the wire through.

Start with about 18 inches of wire, and decide how long you want the handle, make a bend in the wire about an inch past that point ,so you have enough left over for the spiral at the end. This is the handle, the other end of the wire is the wrap wire.

Then make a loop or heart shape in the wire, wrap the wrap wire around the bottom of the loop to close, slide a bead on the handle, then wrap the wrap wire over the bead, and around the handle a couple times, slide on another bead and repeat. Try to keep the beads evenly spaced. When you get to about an inch away from the bottom of the handle, use the pliers to tightly wrap the wrap wire a couple times, then trim the end. Turn a flat spiral on the bottom of the handle.
Then cut a length of the 26 g wire and start wrappign the blowing end, creating lots of little holes to blow the bubbles through. Wrap the wire around the base wire shape, then stretch across, wrap it a couple times, and stretch across again, criss crossing them.
When it looks right to you, wrap the wire a couple times around the frame, then trim.
Use the pliers to make small bends in the wire to tighten it.

With thinner wire, about 20 g, and some size 6/o beads, you can make cute pendants the same way.

A nice way to make a fun and whimsical gift for someone is to fill a pretty bottle, or even beaded bottle with an opening big enough to put the wand in it filled with bubble solution, and tie the wand to the neck of it, or you can make a bunch to sell at fairs and fill a pretty plastic punch bowl with bubble solution for people to try them out!
They work up really fast once you get used to making them.
I made about 100 once for my mom to sell at a charity event. She put the wands in vases, and bubble solution in other vases, all from thrift stores. It made a lovely display.
A Bubble Solution Recipe can be found here.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!