SOAP-BUBBLE PARTIES.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XLI, Issue 2208, 15 August 1910, Page 7

SOAP-BUBBLE PARTIES.

SOCIETY’S LATEST CRAZE. It is surprising what artistic ef- ■ fects can be obtained with soapi bubbles, and the latest idea is to entertain one’s friends with bubbleblowing parties. And a very attractive form of entertainment it proves, additional enthusiasm being aroused by prizes offered for the best bubbles blown, not forgetting a '“booby” prize for the blower of the worst bubble of the evening. For a soap-bubble party a large table should be provided, covered with a rubber sheet so that it may not be damaged by the soapy water. Plowing materials for each guest include one or two straws, a clay pipe, one or two funnels of different sizes, and a ring made by twisting a piece of thin wire around a bottle. Much of the success of the party will depend on the way the soapy water is mixed. The best way is to take a bowl of slightly warm water and rub in it a piece of good soap until a strong lather is formed. Here are a few tricks which guests may try. The “poached egg” is a > good trick to begin with. First pour a thin film of the soapy solution upon a sheet of glass. Then dip your straw and blow upon the glass a good-sized hemispherical bubble. Next a pull is taken at one’s pipe or cigarette while the straw is being redipped,- and the second bubble is blown within the first, * the second one being inflated with smoke in stead of air. The result is a beautiful white, solid-looking hemisphere within another shining with all the colours of the rainbow. Much of the success of the poached egg depends upon the steadiness of hand and eye. After the first large hemispherical bubble has been blown on the sheet of glass and the straw has been withdrawn for a fresh dip, it will require some nerve to thrust the straw boldly through the side of the big bubble in order to be able to blow the smaller smoke-filled bubble inside the larger one. It is easy enough to place a soap bubble upon a flower by adopting the previous precaution of first smearing the flower with the soapy solution, which provides so to speak, a foothold for the bubble. The wire ring can be brought into play with somewhat astonishing results. An ordinary hemispherical bubble is blown upon the sheet of glass, and then drawn up with the ring to form a cylinder. Of course, the ring must first be dipped in the solution, -when it will be found to adhere tenaciously to the outer surface of the bubble. By blowing a bubble with the pipe, throwing it into the air, and then catching it with two rings of soaped wire, the bubble can be pulled into a barrel shape. To blow a bubble over a flower or some other small object, begin by placing the flower upon the sheet of soapy glass or in a shallow saucer containing a little of the solution. Over the flower put a funnel of suitable size and start to blow gently down the tube, meanwhile beginning to raise the funnel very gradually. Continue to blow until a sufficiently large bubble is formed. Then disengage it from the funnel by carefully turning the latter at right angles, the finger being applied to the opening of the tube to prevent the escape of any air from the interior of the bubble. One may vary this trick by blowing a bubble over a small statuette or other ornament.