by Rick Findley
Philip Noble of Scotland mastering the String of Pearls technique. Notice that he is leading off with a bubble stick.
String of Pearls is a bubble trick which uses an easy-to-make bubble "pipe" to create a long chain of bubbles. Once you have your bubble pipe, it takes a bit of practice and the right bubble juice to be able to do this at will.
The Technique[]
There is competition between the two sides of the pipe for which bubble will be the first to exit. You need to help guide the first bubble out of the pipe (see the Tip below). Once you have guided the first bubble out, the rest of the bubbles will flow one after the other to make the chain.
TIP! One finger will be used to guide the first bubble out of the pipe. Get this finger wet with bubble juice. Twitch the pipe when getting the string-of-pearls started so that the guiding fingertip (or bubble stick) is touching only one bubble (instead of both bubbles that are trying to emerge); otherwise the bubbles will just form a clump. Blow slow, soft and steady. Also, I do not know why but it helps greatly if you focus your attention on the tip of the pipe while you blow (not on the bubbles).
Recipes[]
String-of-Pearls works best with a soap and glycerine heavy mix that you probably would not choose to use for many other tricks. Here are two simple recipes:
Rick's preferred recipe: 1 part detergent (Dawn Pro or similar), 3/4 part water, 1/2 part glycerine
Philip Noble's recipe: 1 part water, 1 part detergent (Dawn Pro, Fairy or similar), 1 part glycerine
How to Photos[]
Use two 2" long (or a bit longer) straw pieces for inserts. Both small straw pieces need to be snugly fitted inside the larger straw but no so much they are squished together and our of round.
With large diameter straws/tubes, it can be difficult to make a String of Pearls. Smaller size straws such as those shown in the photos work well. The size doesn't matter as long as the diameter is not too large.
...as shown.
... flush at the top and not squeezed together out of shape
Use wet fingertips to lead off with. Leading off with anything wet will help draw out the string and get it started.
Finished and ready to use. Simple! (And yes, that is a bed spread with a bubble pattern).
How to make Rick Findley's bubble chains
Long long String of Pearls by Rick Findley
Leading off with wet fingertips