The ever resourceful and sweet Calli from Make It Do shares everything you need to know to make a marshmallow shooter. What a blast!
Calli writes...
How to Make a Marshmallow Shooter
Are you wondering how to keep the kids entertained this summer?
Well, you don't need to look further than your sprinkler supply box for some super summer fun.
Split, splat, splodge...
It's marshmallow shooters to the rescue!
Marshmallow shooters are a riot for the entire family. They are great backyard fun and perfect for any outdoor summer party. Have a distance shooting contest, we've seen them go 20 feet or more. Or a see who can hit a target with the most accuracy. And while you're at it, don't forget to eat a few.
Making Marshmallow Shooters couldn't be easier. In fact, once an adult cuts the sprinkler pipe, the kids can assemble the shooters themselves. My kids love to play with the pieces, creating new configurations.
Here's what you need to make these easy marshmallow shooters:
With a PVC pipe cutter or a hacksaw, cut 1/2" wide PVC pipe as follows:
- 2 x 2" length of pipe
- 2 x 3" length of pipe
- 1 x 4" length of pipe
You will also need 1/2" wide connectors as follows (make sure to buy smooth not threaded connectors):
- 2 x elbow joints
- 1 x "T" joint
- 1 x end cap
- 1 x straight connector
You will also need sand paper.
And mini marshmallows of course.
To fit your shooter together working from left to right:
- Carefully sand the end of one of your 2" lengths of pipe. Make it nice and smooth as this will be your mouth piece.
- Connect the other end of your 2" length of pipe into an elbow joint.
- Connect the other 2" section of pipe to other side.
- Next comes the other elbow.
- Then connect a 3" section.
- Connect the "T".
- At the bottom of the "T" connect the next 3" section and then the end cap. That will be your handle.
- Connect the 4" section of pipe to the "T".
- Connect the straight section to the end of the Shooter.
You're done. You shooter should look like this:
To play, simply place a mini marshmallow into the mouth end of the Shooter. Yes, I said mouth end. The marshmallow will travel all the way through the pipe and shoot out the other end.
Then aim.
And blow.
And shoot to your heart's content.
You might want to watch for a sale on mini marshmallows....
If you're lucky, there's no clean up necessary.
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A word to the wise: Please supervise your children with this activity. No shooting at people or animals! Don't worry, there still plenty of fun to aim for!
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For more wonderful ideas visit Make It Do!
Find all the kid's crafts in the craft camp series by clicking on the Craft Camp button on my left sidebar.
Thanks for taking the time to visit me today!
These look FUN!!! I have a few kids that would love to play with these. Okay, they would rather just eat the marshmallows, but the shooters would be enjoyed as well. Thanks!
This is AWESOME!
We made these for last Christmas, 14 adults, and yes, there was aiming at people! The neighbors must have had a great time watching us play, scream, run, scream, laugh, scream, and generally have the best time ever! Seriously, these are well worth the five minutes it takes to make them!
The only caution I offer is to try not to laugh as you are aiming or you suck in a mallow or two, which causes others watching you to mock and then laugh at you…chain reaction of adults laughing and hocking marshmallows and trying to not to end up in the neighbor’s hedge like a drunken sailor. Enormous fun!
(Our little people were still too small to use the marshmallow shooters, so they got foam swords to defend themselves, or generally poke us as we tried to dodge flying puffs of doom. Seriously, MAKE THESE TODAY!)
Additional Info: Resist the urge to glue the pieces together. You’ll want them to easily come apart later for cleaning. : )
Oh, and we (spray) painted ours. Desert camo for the guys, Hello Kitty camo for the gals, cuz ya we’re cool like that.
[...] I’m off to Craft Camp at Skip to My Lou [...]
This is awesome! I so need to have my husband make these for the kids and one for me, how fun!
We did these at my son’s birthday one year. We had a scavenger hunt and along they way they picked up pieces and assembled them at the end for a war. So much fun!!
We bought three 10′ pieces of PVC pipe one year to make these for all the neighbor boys…but we had so much fun taking the pieces apart and making new things that they never made it to the neighbors! That was over 2 years ago–my kids (and husband–and any male friend that happens over) still LOVE to make creations with the pieces!
I also didn’t want the mess (or sugar high) of marshmallows, so I bought little pom-poms from the craft store and they work great!
What fun! I bet my teenagers would like those too!
Thanks so much for guest posting over on It’s A Blog Party today!
http://itsablogparty.com
~Liz
Seriously? No shooting at people? What fun is that? (With eye protection on, of course.)
Made these today! Took them outside to play with and the neighbor kids loved them too! Super easy to make, especially since I picked up a pair of PVC pipe cutters…done in minutes!
I’ll have my 10 year old grandson this summer, so this should
be a fun project for us. Thanks so much for the idea!
[...] It’s that time of year, the marshmallow gun makes it’s entrance Happy Summer! Make these to bring to picnics and barbeque’s. I promise you won’t hear whining about all the unfairness of the event because Billy wouldn’t let your child play with the XBox. Whining about being pelted with ammo that they can eat? I’m guessing not. But bring goggles for the eyes. (And probably best for kids 5 and over.) [...]
[...] I’m off to Craft Camp at Skip to My Lou [...]
Thanks, we are having a *blast*!!
Is there any risk of sucking the marshmallow (or in one case mentioned, a pompom) back into the child’s throat and choking?