Time out was a pretty normal thing at my house when I was growing up.
For my older brother that is haha, jk jk.
I'm sure I was a punk in one way or another. No kid is exempt from their crazy moments, it's what makes them kids after all!
But perhaps I would have been a better kid if I had this to entertain me while I was "thinking about my actions"!
The Original
These time out bottles are timed at about 5 minutes. When your kids are in time out, send them with a glitter bottle that has been shaken up and when the glitter settles in 5 minutes they can come out of time out.
The Pinstrosity
Laurie lives in a small town that only has a Wal-Mart and a Lowe's. This means limited craft supplies. Boo!
However Laurie decided to get the craft supplies she could to put this together. She obviously had to make some substitutions as Wal-Mart doesn't have everything.
Here's what happened:
"Every time I went to Wal-Mart I would search for "gel glue" and finally found what I thought they were talking about today. Some clear glue made by Elmers. I was so so excited. I checked out the glitter. The website says to use "fine" glitter. Wal-Mart didn't have anything that specifically said "fine" on it, so I went with what they have. The site also suggested adding glitter glue, so I grabbed some of that too.
I poured in hot water, tossed in some glue, added a bit of glitter glue for good measure, added glitter and shook! The concoction formed a ton of suds in the top of the bottle and the glitter settled in about 20 seconds. So I added more and more and more glue. I had to pour out the suds on the top to fit more glue in the bottle. I ended up using all the glue. It settled in about a minute. Since I was out of glue and there was no way to remove water, I started adding more glitter. I found that slowed down the settling a bit. I figured I couldn't used it as a timer, but it was still pretty to look at.
About an hour later I found that the bottle settles more slowly, around 3.5 minutes. So I think this is temperature dependent. I don't think calibrating the timer is possible with hot water in there. I have no clue how they got it to settle in 5 minutes like the blog says. I used all my glue and it is in no way that slow. Maybe you have to use Aleene's Clear Tacky Gel Glue, but that probably won't be coming to my Wal-Mart any time soon. Maybe I needed finer glitter too.
One note on the glitter glue- it doesn't like to play with others. It stayed in it's own clumpy balls in the bottle and they practically "thud" down to the bottom during settling. "
So what's the trick?
Well after reading through the original I think there are three things happening here:
1.Bottle Size: The bottle Laurie used is 16 oz. The original blog used a large Smart Water bottle, they are 33 oz. This difference may be nothing, but if it worked for the original I don't see why it wouldn't work for anyone else. Also I kind of like that I can see everything super clear in the Smart Water Bottle, but if you have the other on hand that is fine too!
2. Glitter Size: I DO think this would make a significant difference. Fine glitter and regular glitter are different. Craft stores (or Amazon) sell Martha Stewart Fine Glitter and speaking from a glitter-a-holic's perspective this stuff is THE best. And so many fun colors!
3. Glue: Generic Elmer's Glue is often "Wash out with water" (the picture shows "Washable" at the top of the label) 'cause kids play with it and it needs to come off clothes. Especially glitter glue. Glitter is the herpes of craft supplies. This is why you need a legit craft gel glue, like Aleene's or something very similar.
On another note, I have heard some conversation about little ones being in time out for a lesser amount of time so Laurie's version in a 16 oz. bottle that settles at about 3.5 minutes might actually work better for some kids. Just a thought, all kids/parents are different and need/want different things. Do what works for you!
Also this doesn't have to be just a time out tool, these look like a cool toy and or coffee table conversations starter. Maybe I will make an adult version in cool glass jars in different colors lol How lame am I??? What can I say I LOVE glitter!
Another thought, the original blogger super glued her lids on when she was finished putting them together. I HIGHLY recommend doing the same!
