DIY Glow Bubbles for Blacklight Party - Cheap & Easy Recipe (2024)

I’ve got so much blacklight, GLOWING fun coming your way… first up I’m going to teach you how to make DIY Glow Bubbles for your blacklight party! Then be sure to check out my comprehensive Glow Guide with all my tips and secrets for throwing a killer Blacklight Party. Blacklight Glow Bubbles are super expensive on Amazon but shockingly simple to make. If you want to have Glowing Bubbles for your blacklight party, you’ll need plenty to go around — here’s how to make your own.

DIY Glow Bubbles Supplies

To make these DIY Glow Bubbles Recipe you’ll just need a few things:

• Big Bottle of Bubble Solution
• 2 Highlighters
• Pliers/Wire Cutter
• Optional Individual Packaging

You can use any highlighter color that you like, just be sure to check ahead of time with a black light to make sure it glows. Not all colors you *think* will glow, actually glow. Also make sure you’re checking that the actual ink glows and not just the plastic of the marker container — believe it or not I’ve actually had this issue. So scribble a mark with the highlighter and check that LOL! For the Sharpie brand, the Yellow, Pink and Green are the ones that glow. (I thought the orange one glowed, and that’s why it’s in the picture, but when I was writing this post, I double-checked all the colors and orange doesn’t glow along with purple and blue.)

I like the skinny Sharpie brand highlighters because they are super easy to take apart. If you’re using another brand of highlighter pen you might just need to snip the end off with a wire cutter.

As far as the bubble solution, I’m sure any brand bubble solution you like would work. I used Miracle Bubbles.

Although they are not exactly necessary supplies, this bubble rocket would be AWESOME to use with the DIY Glow Bubbles for your Blacklight Party, and these light-up bubble guns are always a hit.

How to Make DIY Glow Bubbles

Once you’ve gathered your glow bubble supplies, all you need to do is extract the ink-filled tube from inside the marker. With these smaller Sharpie highlighters, just grab that end piece with your pliers and wiggle it off. Then shake or pull the tube out. Once I couldn’t get the tube to budge and so I had to use needle-nose pliers to get it out, but other times it’s just slid out on it’s on with a good shake. Careful handling the tube because it will be pretty juicy and you could easily get the ink everywhere (ask me how I know LOL!)

Now just open the cap on your bubble solution container and drop the ink tube in. For this big bottle of bubbles (I think it was 100 oz), I added 2 highlighter tubes. It’s not an exact science though, probably just one tube would work in a pinch or if you’re using less bubble solution.

Replace the cap and you can shake it a bit, although really it just needs some time and all the ink will eventually make its way out of the tubes and into the bubble solution.

The hands-on time for these DIY Glow Bubbles is probably less than 5 minutes, but it does take some time for the ink to release from the tube into the bubble solution. I’d plan on making up the bubble solution at least a few days ahead of time. If you need Glow Bubbles FAST, don’t worry… keep reading I’ve got another trick up my sleeve ;)

Need Glow Bubbles Fast?

If you’re in a pinch and need Glow-In-The-Dark bubbles for a party in just a few hours, I’ve got another recipe for super-fast DIY Glowing Bubbles — you’ll just need a pack of glowsticks. These DIY Glow-In-The-Dark bubbles are ready to go right away, PLUS they will glow even without a black light!

The glowsticks are a bit messier to take apart than the highlighters, so you might want to cover your work area with paper towels. You’ll need approximately 2 glowsticks for every 4 ounces of bubble solution.

QUICK SAFTEY NOTE: Most glowsticks are made with a non-toxic glowing solution… you know, in case a child bites one. (not that I recommend it, but kids have minds of their own!) Check the package of glowsticks, and I’d be sure to use non-toxic glowsticks for these bubbles.

TO MAKE: First, activate your glowsticks by breaking them so they start glowing. Then use sharp scissors to cut off the end of a glowstick. Hold the glowstick over the bubble solution with the open end down and then snip the other end so the glow liquid will easily flow out. Repeat with as many glowsticks as desired. Replace the cap on your bubble solution and shake well.

While it’s kind of awesome that these DIY Glowstick Bubbles shine without a blacklight, this quick solution does have a few drawbacks. The first big one, just as with glowsticks, the glowing properties will eventually wear out. So you’ll want to mix these up at the last minute. Also the glowstick liquid tends to have a strong smell, and doesn’t mix in as well as the highlighter liquid — you might need to recap the bottle and shake the solution periodically.

For a blacklight party I definitely prefer the glowing highlighter bubbles recipe above!

DIY Glow Bubbles Packaging

You know I’m a sucker for packaging, so I couldn’t resist creating cute little containers to package up my DIY Glow Bubbles. Of course I have a free printable “GLOW BUBBLES” label template that you can use — just fill out the form at the end of this post. I printed the template on a full-sheet label. After cutting out the labels and applying a set to each bottle, I recommend wrapping clear packing tape over the labels to make them water resistant.

For individual containers, I ordered these 4-ounce plastic spice jars. I love that they’re clear so you can see the glowing solution. I also found these bubble wands on Amazon, and the white wands glowed SO well. My kids were very pleased.

At our blacklight party, I put out a beverage dispenser filled with glowing bubble solution so the kids could refill their bottles.

Ever since my, Mad Lab Halloween dinner party we’ve been blacklight obsessed. I even keep this small blacklight flashlight in my purse so I can check at the store if things glow and also because I love to collect antique Vaseline glass (it glows!), and I never know when I might encounter a piece and want to verify if it is indeed Vaseline glass. While you may not want to carry the flashlight in your bag all the time, if you’re shopping for supplies for a blacklight party, definitely take this one along to the party store with you!

Blacklight Party Ideas

Want more blacklight goodness? Don’t miss my comprehensive Glow Guide with all my Blacklight Party Essentials, including recipes and the BEST blacklight I’ve found. Plus I have an extra-special surprise for all you Moana lovers out there. One word: Tomatoa!