My little one is 16 months old and completely bored with her toys. She would much rather play with a cell phone, remote, plastic water bottle, piece of paper… pretty much anything other than the toys we bought for her. Bummer. She’s not one who likes to sit and play either. She’s always on the move. And sometimes, mama just needs a break! :wink: 
So, I’ve been on the hunt for anything that will keep her occupied for a while. I came across the greatest idea ever over at Pink Pistachio. Then I ran over to the wall and banged my head against it repeatedly while yelling, “WHY DIDN’T I THINK OF THAT??” Little Miss LOVES water bottles. So it only makes sense to put pretty little floating things inside to make them even more fun. 
There are SO many fun things you can put inside these bottles. You can even leave the water out for a different kind of fun. I plan to make more smaller ones once I find bottles like the ones Pink Pistachio uses. They are much easier for the little ones to carry. We made a few big ones because I liked the shape of the bottles and my girl likes to drag around 2-liters {we call her the Hulk sometimes, shhh don’t tell anyone… it’s really not a good nickname to have when you’re older} so I thought she might like the size.
If your child is not one to lift the coffee table and push their highchair around the living room, they might prefer the smaller size. I wouldn’t recommend the small Arrowhead ones I used though. They have lines around them and they don’t look as good as the ones that don’t.
** Please note that these can be a choking hazard. Always supervise children closely while making and playing with sensory bottles to avoid any problems.
You will need:
- Plastic bottles with lids
- Sensory objects {Pom-poms, beads, ribbon, etc. I also used the dice and pegs from a couple of $1 basketball games.}
- Super Glue
1. Soak the bottles in hot water to help remove the labels.
2. Fill bottles half way with water.
3. Add sensory objects. My daughter LOVED this part! And amazingly enough, she didn’t spill it once. Although she came pretty close a few times.
**Remember to supervise closely if allowing your child to do this! 
4. Fill the rest of the bottle with water.
5. Apply glue to the inside of the lid. Screw it on the bottle tightly. Let it set.
**Be sure to clean off any glue before giving it to your child!!
And that’s it! 
The little bottle is the perfect size for tiny hands. She doesn’t seem to mind the rings around it either. :-) 
I can’t wait to make a few without the water. She’ll have a blast. And I’ll have a headache. ;-)
Little Miss loves them! And I love that we made them together. It’s not too often that your toddler gets to help out on a project!
And how cute are they??
I love this idea! I don't have a toddler, but would have fun making them!
I know, right?? I think I might of had more fun than she did!! :)
Great idea! My daughter isn't quite old enough for this yet, but I'll have to bookmark this for later!
Your daughter will love it! I'm so glad you found it ahead of time, unlike myself! I wish I had found it sooner. The little bottles would have came in handy months ago! I can't wait to make the ones without water too. I think she almost liked filling the bottles more than anything! Had to save some extra pom poms for supervised bottle filling fun. ;)
These are so much fun! My little guy and I made one a while back, his favorite part was choosing all the bits and pieces to go in the jar :)
I think that was my daughter's favorite part too! I had to save an empty bottle and a few pom poms so we could have fun filling it over and over again! ;)
This is so cute!!! Its so fun to do projects that your little ones can join in!
It is fun! I need to find more projects like that!
Those are some GORGEOUS pics miss!!!!
I tend to forget about activities for my littlest, but I'm TOTALLY doing this for little T next week :) Thanks for sharing and starting the inspiration train for little T :)
xx ♥ m
Thanks so much for the kind words! That makes me happy to hear because I have the worst time trying to get good pictures. I have the worst lighting in my house so that makes it hard for me since I have no photography skills! ;)
And little T is going to have a blast! If little T is like my little one, it will be more fun to put the objects in the bottle than actually playing with it when it's finished. You'll be more excited about the finished product! ;) But she still loves it and I'm thinking it might occupy her in the car for a while. At least I hope.
Britni - This is such a great idea! Thanks so much for sharing on Marvelous Mondays!
Julie
Will have to try this! I have a 2 year old and his teacher gave him a rice one as an end of year gift but it would be so fun to do a water one and let him see how it's made. Super cute!
He will definitely love it!! I should try the rice one! Thanks so much for stopping by, Kathy! :)
My daughters had a few of these to play with at daycare, but they were not this cool!! Not even close to it!! LOVE yours!!
Thanks so much for sharing this at The DIY Dreamer.. From Dream To Reality!
Looks like you baby is having fun with it. I have to say, this is a great idea!
Thanks for sharing at Passion Parade!
Love this idea, thanks for sharing! Thanks so much for linking up to our Pretty Things Party! I hope you'll be back next week!
Great idea! I think even bigger kids might like this one! I'm hosting a linky party "One Creative Weekend" at OneCreativeMommy.com. I'd love for you to visit and link up this idea and/or anything else you'd like to share.
Thanks, Heidi! On my way over! :)
So cute! And, beautiful pics! Thank you for sharing this at my Make it Pretty Monday party at The Dedicated House. Hope to see your prettiness again on Monday. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse
You bet! See you soon, Kathryn. :)
Oh, my 3 year old would love to make these! Thanks for the idea. New facebook follower from the mingle.
Yes he would! And he would probably love picking out stuff to put in it too! Following back, and love the picture of your family! :)
I wish my kids were little again so I could make one of these with them!!! How cute and how fun that she got to help out too!!!
Well, my brother-in-law was playing with one when he and my sister came to visit... so apparently you're never too old for one! ;)
Genius! Just beat my head against the wall as well! My 9 months old LOVES water bottle! & now I can put all that crap he WANTS to play with that's too small in a bottle for him. I owe you!
Exactly! It's such a simple but great idea. Why didn't we ever think of this?? Would of spared us the black and blue foreheads ;)
I’m so glad you linked this up at One Creative Weekend! I love it! I hope to see you back tomorrow.
I'll be featuring this idea tomorrow on One Creative Weekend at OneCreativeMommy.com this week. Please stop by and grab a featured button if you’d like.
Thanks so much, Heidi! I've got my button on my feature page!
Love this! My 3 year old still likes to look at these every once in a while.
Thanks, Lauren :) I'm glad to know these are something that will last a while!
This is such a great idea and it's a great way to recycle and be green!
Thanks for sharing this post at my Say G'Day Saturday Linky party. I've just pinned this and tweeted about it.
This week's party has started so please pop by and say g'day if you have a minute!
Best wishes,
Natasha in Oz
Thanks, Natasha! And thanks for sharing it too!
My 11 month old is obsessed with our water bottles, I will totally have to make him one! Thank you so much for contributing this to the link party at mommy's sweet confessions! See you at the next one!
Oh my word, Britni! Your daughter and my daughter need to meet... they can be co-captains of the wrestling team! Stella was tired of riding her bike the other day so she got off and said "No more. Stella carry you home." And she picked up her bike!!! I am so glad to know my daughter isn't the only brute. :)
Thanks for linking up to our party - I loved reading some of your old posts that I missed before I followed you!
Haha, that is awesome! They would make the best of friends! My mind read what Stella said in a caveman voice, which made it even more awesome. ;) I call my daughter a brute all the time! I can only imagine what they would do as a team, but maybe it could work to our advantage. Like if they rearrange our furniture or something. :)