How to Make a Marshmallow Shooter (and a happy husband)!!

I was trying to decide what to make or get Jon for Valentine's Day... At Christmas time we went to a family gathering that had a type of white elephant exchange and a marshmallow shooter was one of the gifts... it was, without a doubt, the best of the evening!  It looked easy and when I looked around online, I found out that it WAS easy... and cheap!!!  I was able to make 2 of these (because it's way more fun to battle!) for about $7 including tax.

Very Basic Marshmallow Shooter

Supplies Needed

• 1/2" PVC Pipe - 3 feet or so per gun (I bought the 5' sections so it would fit in my car, but it's cheaper if you buy the big 10' piece)
• 2x 1/2" Elbows (not threaded!)
• 2x 1/2" T-Joints (not threaded!)
• 2x 1/2" Caps (not threaded!)
• 1x 1/2' Coupler (not threaded) - Optional, I just thought it looked cleaner
• Mini Marshmallows (or pom poms for a food-less option)
• Electrical tape/paint/stickers - Optional if you'd like to decorate the gun
• PVC Cutter - Optional

Optional PVC Cutter

You can easily cut 1/2" PVC with a basic saw or even a Dremel.  However, I'm extremely clumsy even when I'm not pregnant.  Ask anyone in my family and they'll tell you that me and sharp objects don't mix.  These were only $10 and I figure it's something I can toss in Jon's tool box to get used again someday.  This seemed like a safer bet and I was able to do the entire project on my living room floor in less than 10 minutes.

Directions

1.  Cut PVC into 5- 4" sections and 1- 7" section
2.  Use newspaper, tissue paper, etc... to stuff the two pieces of tubing that the arrows are pointing to (this will help with air pressure)
3.  See diagram above for putting together using elbows, caps, t-joints, and coupler
4.  Put a mini marshmallow in the top elbow
5.  Blow into the elbow and aim to shoot marshmallow
6.  Decorate as you want - if you choose to paint, paint all pieces separately... you don't want to glue the pieces together as you may need to take apart to clear blockages caused by sticky marshmallows!
7.  Make a 2nd one so at least two people can battle!!


In the end, I had an extra piece of PVC that I hadn't even cut on (and I made two)... another $3 in connectors and I could easily make 4 total of these things for a total of $10ish dollars in supplies. 

Another option, if you'd like to play with these inside and don't want sweet marshmallows flying around are those tiny craft pom pom balls.  At least if those get lost somewhere, there's no danger of bugs.  That being said, if I delivered this gun with brightly colored pom pom balls to Jon's work, I'd NEVER live it down. 

Happy Marshmallow Shooting!!