DIY Lava Lamps

DIY Lava Lamps!! Easy and super fun for the kids!! Supplies needed are - water, vegetable oil, alka seltzer, and food coloring.

Summer, Summer, Summertime….

Anyone else singing with me?

Any who…

Most of the kiddos are getting out of school this week or next and I’m sure everyone is wondering what they can do to entertain the kiddos. My kids aren’t in school yet, but it’s definitely getting super hot here in AZ so I’ve been trying to think of some fun things we can do inside. If you missed our DIY Dinosaur Ice Fossils, be sure to check those out.

I recently saw an awesome idea on Family Fun and thought we would give it a go. What was it you ask?

DIY Lava Lamps!

These were easy peasy and were so fun for the kiddos to make!

SUPPLIES:

– Plastic Bottles (I used VOSS water bottles)

– Vegetable Oil

– Water

– Food Coloring

– Alka-Seltzer

DIRECTIONS:

DIY Lava Lamps!! Easy and super fun for the kids!! Supplies needed are - water, vegetable oil, alka seltzer, and food coloring.

DIY Lava Lamps!! Easy and super fun for the kids!! Supplies needed are - water, vegetable oil, alka seltzer, and food coloring.

{My little partner in crime who helps me with all my projects while the other two are napping – LOVE her!!!}

1. Gather your supplies.

DIY Lava Lamps!! Easy and super fun for the kids!! Supplies needed are - water, vegetable oil, alka seltzer, and food coloring.

2. Empty water bottles. The hubby said there was a flavored water drink whose bottle looks like a  lava lamp but I couldn’t find those. These VOSS bottles seemed like they would work though.

Fill a little over half way with vegetable oil. Fill the rest until about one inch from the top with water.

DIY Lava Lamps!! Easy and super fun for the kids!! Supplies needed are - water, vegetable oil, alka seltzer, and food coloring.

3. Add 10 drops of food coloring.

DIY Lava Lamps!! Easy and super fun for the kids!! Supplies needed are - water, vegetable oil, alka seltzer, and food coloring.

4. Break your Alka-Seltzer into quarters. Add one piece at a time and watch the lava go!! Be sure to wait until the bubbles settle to add another piece of Alka-Seltzer or the bottle can get pretty cloudy.

DIY Lava Lamps!! Easy and super fun for the kids!! Supplies needed are - water, vegetable oil, alka seltzer, and food coloring.

5. You can continue to add quarter pieces to see the lava lamp in action. Not sure how many times it will work, but we’ve already done it about 15 time for each bottle and it looks great!!

Man, I LOVE fun and easy projects to do with the kiddos!!

For even more fun Kid’s crafts be sure to check out:

DIY Dino Fossils - the kids loved doing this! Great idea for parties!!

DIY Dinosaur Fossils

How to make Candy Bracelets!! The kids will be entertained as they make an edible bracelet!

Candy Bracelets

Printable Treasure Map Kids Activity - Free Coloring Pages and Scavenger Hunt { lilluna.com }

Printable Treasure Map Kids Activity

For more kid activities go HERE.

For all Crafts & Tutorials go HERE.

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ENJOY!

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Kristyn Merkley

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Comments:

  1. oh gosh! how cute are these! and i love the voss bottles anyway because they’re glass and just cool! i’m totally making these πŸ™‚

  2. Wow! How cute is this?? Love it!! I’m deftenly going to try it myself and pass it to our nannies and moms.@AZnannies

  3. We’re putting this on our Summer Fun List! This would be a great activity for a 60s/70s party too!

    1. Didn’t even think about that for a party, but you’re right – they would be perfect!! Thanks for the idea. Have a great weekend. πŸ™‚

  4. HI Kristyn
    Oh my! These are fabulous! You take great pictures of your work, too! Very fun!

    We would LOVE for you to stop over and link up this awesome idea in our Crafty Saturday Showcase. The Showcase runs Saturday through Thursday. Then our Designers will pick their top linked up picks and feature them on Friday! Stop over and join in the fun! We have a linky for crafty bloggers and ETSY/Business Bloggers!

    Have a great weekend,
    Susie
    http://bowdabrablog.com/2012/05/26/saturday-showcase-craft-projects-3/

    1. Hi Susie!
      Thank you so much for the kind words!! I just linked up to your party. Thanks again for stopping by. I hope you have a great weekend! πŸ˜€

  5. What a great decorative centerpiece. How far in advance can they be made?? I love this idea and it’s easy to do. Could you use any kind of glass bottle/jar??

    1. You can make them as far in advance as you need to, and then you just add the alka-seltzer when you’re ready, but it only lasts for a few minutes until you let the bubbles die down and you add another alka-seltzer. And I think any kind of bottles/jar will work. πŸ™‚

      1. I’m currently babysitting and would absolutely LOVE to do this! However, I don’t have any alka-seltzer…and I don’t have any means of transportation to get some. Could I possibly use hydrogen peroxide as a substitute? Thanks! c:

  6. These are pretty cool. Just a thought. How about snapping open a glow stick and adding that to the finished effect for night time/parties. Would that work?

  7. I did this with my boy cousins who don’t think anything is cool. They loved this! We added alka seltzer whenever we were bored. Sometimes when we opened the bottles they would overflow or explode a little. From the instructions I didn’t really get that it wasn’t permanant or that you only put in one alka seltzer.

  8. Just wanted to say this is one of the best activities/experiments we have done yet! They turned out awesome and my 3 1/2 year-old son has been obsessed with them since we did them. He even wants to take them to school to have his friends and teachers drop in tablets. He has never been as thrilled with an activity as this one.

  9. What a clever and fun idea to do with the kids. The next time I have the nephews over we’re going to sit down and do this one. Who’s thier favorite Uncle now?

  10. I must say, It was really easy do all the steps. This Christmas wife has made a beautiful lamp at home with your guide. Thank you so much.

    1. Oh, I wish I could remember! It’s been so long. To make it fizz again, you can add more seltzer tabs, so maybe you can make sure that’s known to anyone who would get one? I’m sorry..I wish I remembered! It doesn’t go away fast, that I do remember. Good luck!

  11. tHERE is nothing quite like getting kids involved in creative projects, the more you can get them off there phone the better. we are thinking of starting up a creative workshop locally for kids under 13,