Further Adventures with Frozen Bubbles!

The weather forecast was calling for temperatures in the teens F on Tuesday morning, so I mixed up a batch of bubbles the night before. I hauled myself out of bed a wee bit earlier than usual (hey, I'm retired now, so guess what - I sleep in whenever I want!) so that I could make my frozen bubble pictures before the temperatures warmed up.

I was out the door in a flash, armed with my bubble making supplies: my bubble mix (4 parts dish soap, 1 part water, 1 generous dash of Karo light corn syrup), a bubble wand, my plastic container that I use as a base, and the clear Christmas ball I place on top of it, onto which I actually blow my bubbles.

And paper towels, of course, for wiping the sticky hands. Coat, gloves, warm boots, camera. And a nearby yard chair to place my camera on while bubble blowing. (Put down camera. Tug off gloves. Blow bubble. Wipe hands. Put on gloves. Grab camera. Take pictures.)

The temperature in the backyard was probably around 19 to 20 degrees F while I was making my pictures. It is definitely colder in the backyard than the sunny front yard, and the bonus was that I had the woods beside us to give me some darkness in my backgrounds, as contrast to the light and sparkle in my frozen bubbles. My physical approach is to hunker down low to the bubble and shoot up through it into the light, so that the light appears to be emanating from the center of the bubble; from its very heart!

I can't tell you how many bubbles I made, but it felt like quite a few. Many pop but some last a full minute or two. And each one developed its own path for crystal making: each bubble, its own special show. By the time I'd been out for about 20 minutes, the bubble mix was so cold that the crystals were forming in it almost before I even finished blowing the bubbles! That was a zen part of it, with crystals being born from start to finish.

With it being March and all, and with a warming trend ahead of us, I suspect that this may be the final time this winter that I get to do this fun science experiment/art project. If that's the case, I hope I've made the most of it!!! There are two additional photos in the extras. Also, I'm including links below to all of my Blip frozen bubble postings. For any who may wish to try it: good luck, and have FUN!!!

The soundtrack song is this one: Cyndi Lauper, with Girls Just Want to Have Fun.

From this winter:
The beginning: fun with frozen bubbles, take 1
Frozen bubbles, take 2: crystal visions
Vortex magic: the creator of worlds
Blue winter magic: more fun with frozen bubbles

From prior winters:
Vortex magic: frozen bubbles! (includes instructions and how-to tips)
Fun with frozen bubbles!
More fun with frozen bubbles