Are you looking for a super fun and easy winter-themed craft for toddlers? These Glow in the Dark Sensory Bottles will be an instant hit at home: Olaf-inspired Glow Bottle + Glowman the Snowman!
Why prepare a sensory jar?
Sensory jars (or bottles) are also known as calming jars (bottles) or discovery bottles.
They make an incredibly useful activity with multiple benefits:
- fun family craft
- learning tool:
- children explore the world with their senses (there are lots of sensory bottles with different textures and properties)
- they practice motor skills when they help us prepare them
- calming tool. Some kids find sensory bottles relaxing and soothing.
And can you imagine your kid’s surprise when they realize they can actually see their sensory bottle in the dark!
It’s SO COOOOOL!
So, let’s learn how to make this SUPER EASY Glow in the Dark Snowman Discovery Bottle.
How to Make a Glow in the Dark Sensory Bottle
Project 1: Glowman the Snowman Sensory Bottle
(that was the name my daughter chose for this craft, and I promised I would share it under that title 😍)
Materials:
- Plastic container from the recycling bin.
- Warm tap water
- Glow in the dark glitter glue
- Wobbly eyes
- Permanent marker – red and black
- Orange sticker (I used orange washi tape)
- Red pipe cleaners (chenille sticks)
- Glue (to glue the lid and the wobbly eyes)
- Spoon (to mix the ingredients)
Instructions:
- Fill two-thirds of your plastic bottle with warm tap water.
- Add glow in the dark glitter glue
We were quite generous with the glitter glue.
In my sensory bottles with glitter glue I always recommend to pour a small quantity because it flows better.
In this case, though, the important thing is to get the glow in the dark effect, so I poured half of a 5 fl oz glitter glue bottle.
This was also a snowman project, so I went for a white glow in the dark glue. - Give it a good stir till it blends as much as you can. There may still be a few lumps after a good stir, but that’s ok too.
- Refill the rest of the container with water and mix.
- Glue the lid so that water doesn’t spill and your kid can’t open it.
- Glue the snowman’s wobbly eyes to the bottle
Alternatively, you may just draw the eyes with black permanent marker.
- Stick an orange triangle-shaped sticker for the snowman’s nose
We had orange washi tape from another project, so I just cut a triangle shape. Any sticker will work. You may also use paper and glue it to the bottle - Draw the snowman’s buttons with a permanent marker
We used a red color marker for the buttons, but you may choose any other color you like.
Wrap a red pipe cleaners (chenille sticks) around the bottle.
The red pipe cleaner was our snowman’s scarf. You may decide to draw it, or use a lace or any other material that could work well as a scarf. - Shake it! And look for a dark room!
Your glow in the dark snowman sensory bottle is ready!
Give it a good shake so that the glitter blends in the water and walk into a dark room (or big walk-in closet!).
It DOES glow in the dark!
Project 2: Olaf-Inspired Glow in the Dark Bottle
You’ve learnt the easy steps you need to follow to create a glow in the dark sensory bottle (if you’ve jumped to this section, read the section above for the step-by-step tutorial).
We decided to have a bit of extra fun after we completed the first bottle.
And since my daughter loves Frozen, we thought we could prepared an Olaf-inspired glow bottle.
My first problem was that I can’t draw. At all!
Nothing wrong with that, but I wanted to be able to upload a picture, and I thought it would be nice if you could actually recognized Olaf 🤦♀️.
So, we watched a great tutorial by Easy Drawing Guides.
Did I say I can’t draw?
A couple of hours later, my Olaf still looked nothing like the one in Frozen.
So, I ended up tracing it on transparent Glad cling wrap (I’m not proud, but I got the job done!):
…and I wrapped it around our bottle (it fit like a second skin 😂)
You don’t need to be a gifted artist to prepare this.
But, this “trick” will be welcome by those of you who just can’t draw ( like me!)
Check out how cool it looks!
👉 These other DIY SENSORY JARS AND BOTTLES are also super fun!
👉 Check this Santa Claus Sensory Bottle too (super cool!)
Glow in the Dark Sensory Bottle: Glowman the Snowman!
Pin me ♥!