You may have noticed that we really enjoy playing with soap foam at our house! It’s so fun to play with…it’s soft, squishy, fluffy, and is easy to clean up! Today I’m sharing how to play with soap foam on the sidewalks.
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Let me tell you how easy it is to make this! Here’s what you need:
- food processor
, blender, or quick stir pitcher (we used a Pampered Chef one, but here is an alternative)
- dish soap
- water
- food coloring
- squeeze bottles
Pour 2 tablespoons of dish soap, a few drops of food coloring, and 1/4 cup of water into a food processor or blender.
Turn the food processor on for about 30 seconds (or until it is foamy). Scoop the foam into the squeeze bottles. Then go outside and squeeze the bottles onto the sidewalk.
The other way to make this is to pour 1/2 cup water into a quick stir pitcher (I use mine that is from Pampered Chef). Then add 4 tablespoons of dish soap. Mix it up using the handle (about 20 seconds) until the foam reaches the top of the pitcher. Add in some food coloring or even Jell-O for a nice scent.
This is a great way to get kids involved in making this recipe!
Here are some tips:
- After you fill the squeeze bottles, you may want to shake the bottle before squeezing to help it come out better
- If you see liquid forming in the bottom, just shake the bottle to make it foamy again
- Cut the tip off a bit to help the foam come out better
- If you use gel food coloring, you may want to rinse it off the sidewalk after the activity to make sure it doesn’t stain the sidewalk
- Make sure to use the soap foam bottles right away. They lose their foam if they sit too long.
Use the paint to draw designs or practice writing names!
See how fun this looks? I promise your kids will LOVE this activity!
If you want to see this in action, check out my video below!
Hey there Teaching Mama! Just wanted to stop by in 2020, & say thank you again for this recipe! We still use it 5 years later & it’s still my favorite, easiest to make, most affordable, & easy to clean up, outdoor sidewalk chalk paint! I can’t thank you enough for all the years of activities! Hope you and your family are doing well through this unprecedented time in the worlds history!
This did not turn out as easy as I thought it would. I am not a newbie to this kind of stuff. Anyway my first problem was since it didn’t pour, how to get it in the squeeze bottle? Tried spooning it, no good. Then used a baster to fill bottle. This did the job but slow and messy. My children got very impatient with the whole process. As soon as one bottle was used up, they came for the next one. And in the time it took to fill all 6 bottles so everyone could have at least one bottle, it was runny with water coming first followed by a little bit of bubbles. Anyway this is a better activity as a tray for them to play with but I am using bubble bath as it won’t sting their eyes.
I’m so sorry to hear this! I just spooned it into the bottles, but I can see how that can lead to frustration. One thing you can do in the bottles after they’ve been sitting for a little bit is shake them. That will help them get foamy again. I do love putting soap foam in a bin or tray (like you mentioned) for kids to play with. Once again, I do apologize this activity didn’t turn out well for you! Have a blessed day!
Ok-i just made it for the grand daughter but do you have a suggestion for getting it into the quirt bottles easily? I can see that is going to take all day!
The only way I’ve done it is by using a spoon to scoop it in. I’m sorry!
What about using a funnel? I haven’t made it so I don’t know the consistency, but instead of spooning it in, could you put it through a funnel?
The soap foam is thick, so it wouldn’t go through the funnel very well.
I just received this in my feed. Looks like a fun activity!
I’m going to use a wide mouth funnel such as one you would use when making jelly. Hopefully that will expedite the process.
Thanks for the recipe!
I’m just curious to know if this would work with any of the natural dish siap brands? Dish mate? Seventh Generation? Ecover? Or any other natural brand. Thanks
This looks like a blast! I’ve tried a few kinds of DIY sidewalk paints, but never with soap bubbles. My two little ones will love it. Will have to borrow a blender to get it made, but that’s fine by me. Pinning.
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Seems like the kid is having fun! I wonder if the dye works on shirts? If so, that would be a good alternative with tie-dye. Haha See? I’m giving you ideas.
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Thanks for the idea! I don’t think it would work though, since it doesn’t stain a shirt. I let it sit on a white shirt for at least 5 minutes and it washed right out (because of the soap). It would be cool though if it worked!
so, my question would be if your children’s hands were different colors for a few days? I have seen several homemade paint recipes and they all use food coloring. Don’t get me wrong, we’ve played around with food coloring plenty in our house but it would be nice if it didn’t actually stay on our skin so long. Lol! I think the baby shampoo idea is great. You could buy a container of it at the dollar store for cheap and since it’s such a light orange color it probably would not affect the food coloring too much.
Hi Laura! No, this does not stain your skin. We’ve played with soap foam in a bin and the boys’ hands are COVERED in the colored foam. They never have a stain on their hands. I’m going to have to try the baby shampoo idea! Thanks for your comment.
I’m thinking about trying this with “no tears” baby shampoo to guard against burning eyes in my little grands. Any thoughts or have you tried this?
What brand concentrate soap do you use? I’ve not noticed an dish soap concentrate. Thanks
I used a Shaklee brand : http://amzn.to/1G9uhCk
I also used Palmolive concentrated dish soap and it worked great.
Does this stain clothes if my child got it on her clothes? Looks fun but I write about stains with food coloring. Thanks!
Great question! It did not stain our clothing. I am hesitant to claim that it would never stain since I only used one kind of gel food coloring. As a test, I put some on a white rag and let it sit for a bit. It washed right out when I washed it in the sink. I would put kids in play clothes if you are worried about stains. Hope that helps!