Handmade Water Gun Idea Collection
Have you ever thought it’d be nice to have a water gun when your child is playing in the pool?
Sometimes you don’t need anything too fancy, and it might not be worth going out to buy one.
In those moments, we’ve got plenty of ideas for handmade water guns you can make and play with together.
Most use recycled materials you already have at home, so you can build them with your child and have a blast playing afterward.
We also introduce some bigger, more powerful versions and ones made with items from 100-yen shops.
They’re perfect not only for kids but for adults who want a fun water-play companion, too!
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Handmade Water Gun Ideas (11–20)
shower water gun
A shower-style water blaster you can make entirely with things at home.
All you need is a plastic bottle, a plastic bag, and some vinyl tape.
The key is to poke lots of holes in the plastic bag with a safety pin—those holes become the shower.
Insert the bag into the plastic bottle, add water, and you’re done.
Pull the top of the plastic bag and it turns into a shower water blaster.
Kids can make it too, so the making is part of the fun—highly recommended.
If you want a water gun for pool play but don’t feel like buying one, definitely try making this shower water blaster!
PVC pipe and plastic bottle(s)
A handmade water gun—this one’s the real deal.
It’s a DIY method using PVC pipes.
You’ll need a lot of materials, and the process involves drilling holes and cutting with a saw, so it’s geared toward adults, or a setup where adults handle most of the work and kids help with small tasks.
Big water guns are popular these days, but this will give you an even more powerful, serious water blaster.
Try using it for target games during outdoor activities like camping.
A water gun made from a dish soap bottle
When you finish a dish soap bottle, please keep a few instead of throwing them away.
That’s because they’re super useful for water play at the pool.
It’s economical and eco-friendly, too.
First, decorate the empty bottle with any design you like.
You can draw pictures on it or make it sparkle with vinyl tape.
And that’s it—done! So easy, right? After that, just fill it with water and press the bottle’s pump to squirt water—your “dish soap bottle water gun” is complete.
It’s sure to be a hit when playing at the pool.
milk carton pump water gun
Have you ever made a water gun out of a milk carton? It’s a lot of fun to make and play with together with kids.
Here’s how: Pinch just below the four top corners of an empty milk carton and push out the two sides.
Then pinch the bulged parts with your thumb and index finger to form a pump shape.
Even if the top gets a bit crumpled, it’s fine as long as it works like a pump, so don’t worry about perfection.
Next, use a pencil to make a hole at the bottom to pass a straw through, and insert the straw.
Finally, use a strip cut from another milk carton to support the straw so it doesn’t slip down, and tape it in place—that’s it.
Pour water into the carton and press the pump to squirt water.
Draw target pictures on extra milk cartons, knock them down, and have fun.
You can make this with things you have at home, so give it a try!
PET bottle water gun
A PET bottle water blaster is easy to make and fun to play with.
First, peel off the label from a PET bottle and draw your favorite design on it with a permanent marker.
Once you’re done, fill the bottle with clean water and put the cap on.
Next, make a very small hole in the cap.
This step can be dangerous, so young children should ask an adult for help.
Once the hole is made, it’s finished.
When you squeeze the bottle tightly, water will spray out from the hole.
Try aiming a little farther away and see how far you can shoot the water! It’s fun to compete by moving the target gradually farther away.
Water gun powered by a bicycle pump
A water gun made with a bike pump is fun to build and fun to play with.
Since there are many steps, kids who like crafts will enjoy getting creative as they make it.
Even if you’re not good at crafts, it’s easy to make together with an adult’s help.
The parts you need are an empty plastic bottle, a pump, a spectacle (bent) straw, a pencil cap, a clothespin, and rubber bands.
You can buy the pump and the bent straw at DAISO, and since you attach the parts with vinyl (electrical) tape, you don’t need anything special.
Once it’s done, try it out at the pool right away.
Fill it with water and push the pump, and the water will shoot out.
electric water gun
Splatoon is a game that’s hugely popular not only with kids but also with adults.
If you’ve ever played it, you’ve probably thought, “I want to try that in real life.” These days, you can even find water guns with tanks that resemble the ones in the game at variety shops.
But this one is actually handmade—and it’s an electric water gun! It’s understandable to think, “There’s no way a beginner could make that,” but when you look at how it’s built, it’s fun to see it uses items like hoses, pasta containers, spice bottles, and even pen tips—the kind of things that make you go, “Wait, you can use that?”
A water gun that sprays water when you blow into it
When you think of homemade water gun ideas, many of them use plastic bottles, right? This one also uses a plastic bottle and straws, but it’s designed so that when you blow into a straw, the water inside the bottle shoots out with force.
It’s very easy to make: poke a hole in the cap and insert a thin straw.
Then attach a bendy straw to the thin straw with vinyl tape so it can draw up the water inside.
Make a hole in the plastic bottle as well and pass the straw through it, then tape around the gap between the straw and the bottle to prevent leaks—and you’re done!
Crab water gun
Here’s how to make a crab-shaped water squirter that’s perfect for small children to play with.
You’ll need a milk carton, a straw, red duct or vinyl tape, a pen, and so on.
Cut out a section of the milk carton and wrap the body round and round with red tape.
Use the cut-out pieces to make the crab’s claws and legs; attach the claws to a straw and fix it to the top of the main body.
To finish the body, crease the sides so it can be pressed flat.
Fill it with water and squeeze the body to squirt water out of the straw.
With a bit of creativity, you can make other creatures besides a crab!
an empty mayonnaise container
Even an empty mayonnaise bottle can be turned into a water gun.
When your mayonnaise or ketchup bottles are empty, wash them thoroughly and let them dry.
It’s a good idea to keep a few in stock.
The inside of a mayo cap has holes, but the outside doesn’t, so use an awl to make holes on the outside as well.
Be careful when using the awl to avoid injury.
Fill the bottle with water and squeeze the bottle—your mayonnaise container transforms into a water gun! It’s a handy idea you can make right away when you want a water gun for playing in the pool or any water play.