In this house we're definitely sensory bottle addicts! The girls love making new sensory bottles all the time. My 8yr old is also firmly obsessed with flamingos, so it was only a matter of time before we made a flamingo sensory bottle. I made sure we had all the items needed to make one together for her birthday and I'm going to show you exactly how we made a pink flamingo sensory bottle in easy to follow step by step instructions.
Sensory bottles are a great way for children to calm down and regulate their emotions, they're also fun for adults too {have you ever stared at a lava lamp?}. My girls are both sensory seekers and sensory bottles are a mess free and portable way to satisfy their needs. Plus making them is a fun activity in itself
Supplies for a flamingo sensory bottle
- Tempered water
- Plastic bottle {we use Voss}
- Elmers pink metallic glue
- Flamingo confetti
- Pink glitter
- Jug
We always use empty plastic Voss water bottles for our sensory bottles, however you can use any empty plastic bottle. If you want to get plastic Voss bottles in Australia, the easiest place to get them is Amazon AU here. There's also many different plastic sensory bottles available on Amazon.
We used this flamingo confetti for our bottle, however there are similar options on Amazon here just make sure whatever confetti you get is metallic not paper as it will be submerged in water.
Sensory bottles are so easy to make, the kids can help with most of the steps. My daughter and I made this flamingo sensory bottle together in less than 5 minutes. She did the majority of the steps and only needed help pouring in the hot water and pouring the liquid into the bottle. Watch the video below for a step by step real time view of us making our bottle.
HOW TO MAKE A FLAMINGO CALM DOWN BOTTLE
1. Pour 100ml glue into a jug and then add 400ml tempered water. Combine thoroughly with a fork or spoon. If you want the glitter and confetti to float slower then adjust amounts to 147ml glue {whole bottle} and 350ml water. Don't worry if the glue isn't completely combined with the water as it will continue to dissolve within the bottle.
2. Once the glue and water are combined, pour the liquid into your empty plastic bottle. You can use a funnel to make it easier, however I just did this step instead of my 8yr old as she wasn't confident enough to pour it in without a funnel. As mentioned before, don't worry if there's still a few clumps of glue in the liquid, these will eventually dissolve in the bottle.
3. Add flamingo confetti and any additional glitter to the bottle. Add as much or as little as you like. The metallic glue is quite thick so you will need more than a usual sensory bottle in order for them to be visible.
4. Secure the lid of the bottle and shake the bottle vigorously {to mix the glitter and confetti with the glue and water mixture}. If you'll be using the bottle with young children, or children who are likely to try and open the lid, then seal it with hot glue on the rim before placing it on top or tape over it with clear tape.
Is Elmer's metallic glue ok for sensory bottles?
This was our first time using Elmer's metallic glue for a sensory bottle so we weren't sure how it would work when combined with water. My daughter chose it because of the rich pink colour and metallic shine which we wouldn't have been able to achieve simply using food colouring. I'm happy to report that it has worked amazingly well and the metallic shine is so mesmerising especially as the water is moving around the bottle.
We did notice that the metallic glue doesn't combine with the water as easily as normal Elmer's glue because it's a lot thicker, however this could be overcome by more vigorous whisking. Once it's in the sensory bottle it does continue to dissolve and within 12hrs all the sedimentary lumps of glue had dissolved.
The metallic glue is also a lot less transparent than using normal glue or glitter glue, so you'll need to add more confetti and glitter than usual, however the result is completely mesmerising. In the close up video below you can see how the metallic glue makes the water even more fascinating to watch.
Disclosure - This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience, which means I may earn a small commission at no cost to you, should you make a purchase.
