We made it! It’s the final day of our Sensory Bottle Extravaganza! I hope you’re not burned out, because I saved the best for last. This Rainbow Water Beads Sensory Bottle literally took my breath away when I made it. The vibrant colors…the floating orbs…and the absolute magic that happens when you hold it up to a light source. It’s magical, mesmerizing, and magnificent. Well, you get the picture…I’m in LOVE with this bottle. π
I’m not the only one in our household that likes to marvel at this beautiful sensory bottle – my daughter is fascinated with it. I mean, how could you go wrong with water beads in all the colors of the rainbow? And my husband actually suggested that I make a second one…the very same day I made the first. It’s a hit with the entire family!
I’m incredibly lucky that I stumbled across this “Rainbow Sensory Bottle” post, over on the Ryan & Marsha blog (http://ryanandmarsha.com/diy/rainbow-sensory-bottle/). I had seen a few other water bead sensory bottle ideas, but none even come close in comparison. If you’re only going to make one sensory bottle in your lifetime…it has to be this one!
Rainbow Water Beads Sensory Bottle
Supplies:
- Plastic Bottle with Wide-Mouth (I love using the Voss 500ml water bottles)
- Baby Oil
- Rainbow Water Beads
Instructions:
- Empty the plastic bottle (if it contained a non-water beverage, rinse out the bottle). Remove all labels from the bottle. If you have a hard time getting the sticky residue off, Goo Gone works wonders. I find that if I take my time and peel slowly, I can get the Voss labels off without any fuss.
- Hydrate the water beads until they are full-size. I used our multi-color water beads that take at least 8 hours to hydrate, and then sorted out approximately 15 water beads in each color.
- Place the red (ours were actually pink) water beads in the bottom of the bottle. Carefully drop the orange water beads on top. Continue layering each color (yellow, green, blue, and purple). You want the water beads to fill approximately 3/4 of the bottle (so that there is room for them to move around).
- Fill the entire bottle with baby oil (I typically prefer to fill my bottles to the brim).
- Then, add a dab of hot glue around the inside of the cap, and quickly seal the bottle (you don’t want your child unscrewing a bottle full of baby oil, inside your house). π
As we’ve played with our Rainbow Water Beads Sensory Bottle, some of our colors have moved around a bit – they are no longer in perfect rainbow layers, but they are still beautiful nonetheless.
That being said, if you would prefer your water beads stay in place and maintain the rainbow effect, you can add a few more water beads to each layer (before you begin), so that the bottle will be completely full, and all the water beads will be snuggled in place. That’s what I did when I made our second bottle.
That’s right…I loved this sensory bottle so much, I had to make one for myself. π This time, I used a glass Voss water bottle, and I filled it completely full of water beads, so that it would forever maintain the spectacular array of rainbow colors. Β I just can’t get over how beautiful and mesmerizing this Rainbow Water Beads Sensory Bottle is…it’s perfection!
That’s a wrap! Our Sensory Bottle Extravaganza is officially complete! Well…at least until next time. I’m sure my recently acquired sensory bottle addiction will result in an entirely new array of bottles to share with you in the future. π
Love love love this! For the second one you made with it full, did you still add baby oil?
Thanks!
Hi Tiffany! I’m so glad that you love it! It is my absolute favorite sensory bottle! Yes, for the second bottle that I made (filling it completely full with water beads) I did still add baby oil…to the brim as well. With the water beads, you need to have some sort of liquid in the bottle, in order for them to stay hydrated and full-size. I found that the baby oil makes everything shimmer a bit more in this bottle (as opposed to using water). π
I absolutely love this! It’s the most beautiful rainbow sensory bottle that I’ve seen. With your second bottle, how many beads did you have to use of each color for it to be completely full? Also, does the baby oil make the water beads look more colorful/bright? I have some (water beads) in water but they look kinda dull. Thanks!
Thanks Kelleigh! This rainbow sensory bottle is still my absolute favorite! π For the second bottle in my post (the glass Voss bottle that I made just for myself and filled completely full) I used approximately 12-15 of each color of water bead…and I’m pretty sure I used two different shades of blue (because they were both so pretty). I’m not sure that the baby oil makes the water beads anymore colorful or bright exactly…but it does add a glimmer to the overall bottle and just makes it sparkle! This bottle truly shines when it’s placed next to a light source. As for your water beads looking dull…maybe try sorting them into a bottle to see if they look any different (with no water). I’ve only used one brand for water beads (so far) and I’ve never had any issues – I have the exact bag I purchased linked in the post and it has seriously lasted forever!
Hi Stacey this us amazing and awesome. I am pretty sure my child would love to try this. So Do you let tgem sit in water first, then add them to the bottle? After they are all in place you would put the baby oil in is this correct?
Hi Yessie! I’m almost positive that your child would love one of these Rainbow Water Bead Sensory Bottles! π And yes, to start you need to hydrate your water beads in water. I have linked the bag that we purchased from Amazon in the blog post (under supplies). The 8 oz. bag contains approximately 20,000 water beads. When you get them they will be super tiny balls. We typically make about 1 tablespoon at a time, in a plastic tub that we fill approximately halfway with water. The package of water beads should also come with hydrating instructions. Our water beads take at least 8 hours to fully hydrate, so we just leave them overnight. In the morning we drain out any excess water. For this bottle, once we drained the excess water, we sorted our beads into rainbow colors and then layered them into the bottle. Once we had them in the bottle the way that we wanted them, we filled the bottle with baby oil. Hope that helps. Let me know if you have any other questions.
These are perfect for my daughters rainbow art themed birthday party! I’m trying to get supplies together for the party- any estimate on how much baby oil is in each? Very excited for these!
Hi Erin! These would be perfect for a rainbow-themed birthday party! What a great idea! I honestly never measured out the exact amount of baby oil for these sensory bottles, but I want to say that I probably used somewhere around 1/2 of a 20 fluid ounce bottle of baby oil. It might have been a tad bit more for the bottle that we didn’t fill up all of the way with water beads, and likely a bit less for the bottle full of water beads. I hope that helps. π And I hope your daughter has a wonderful birthday!
Thank you for the information. I would want mine to stay in place so that is a great tip. I am making my husband a Packer one and would prefer the beads stay in place. I have seen some that they don’t even fill all the way with the baby oil. So I was pleased to find your post.
Hi Di! I never thought to do football team-themed bottles – such a great idea! My step-dad is a huge Packer fan (I’m partial to the Broncos, myself). π But yes, I highly recommend just filling the bottle up to the top with the water beads if you don’t want them moving around. And I think filling the entire thing with baby oil just makes it that much more shimmery and magical! I hope your husband enjoys his Packer bottle!