Make Popsicles Using Baby Soda Bottles / Tube Vaults

I bought a bunch of PETsoda bottlepreforms, more commonly known as baby soda bottles or tube vaults. The pricing is better in bulk, so I have more preforms than I know what to do with them.

Serving as molds for popsicles is just one of the endless uses for these containers.
Or you could just buy a cheaper popsicle mold and stop reading now.

With that out of the way, it's fairly obvious how to make popsicles using these tubes. Pictured is an overview and if you can see what's going on you could stop reading.

I like clean execution however, so in this ible I show a simple accessory that yields popsicles with centered sticks embedded in them. Sure, you could always jam in sticks when the popsicles aren't entirely frozen, but you could forget about revisiting the freezer by suspending them centered in place, from the start.

Step 1: Get Stuff

To make popsicle stick holders:
• Scissors
• Knife
• Plastic water milk jug or other plastic bottle.
You could probably use any food-grade plastic sheet as long as it is thin and flexible.

To proceed with making popsicles (that justify this instructable's existence):
• 2L PET preforms / baby soda bottles / tube vaults, with soda bottle caps
• Popsicle sticks (I reused mine)
• Fruit juice, flat soda, etc.

Step 2: Make Popsicle Stick Holders

Needless to say, be careful when using sharp knives/scissors.

Basically, cut rectangular strips from the plastic, and cut two slits of equal length in the center. 
Align the slits so that a popsicle stick can be "woven" through.

Test the holder by inserting a popsicle stick, bending the strip into an S-shape, and sticking it into a 2L preform. The stick should float fairly centered if the slits were neat and centered.

You can eyeball it all like I did. In case you like numbers, I measured the strips to be around 70mm by 23mm, with 13mm slits.

Step 3: Freeze Some Pops!

Pour some juice or equivalent into a clean and empty tube, at least three-quarters full. I add a bit more because the popsicles you get out of these are tiny.

Place a clean popsicle stick in a holder and slide that in. Seal the tube with a cap, and to keep it standing upright, use as a base another cap which has its original tamper-resistance ring intact. Alternatively, get or make a fitting rack for several tubes.

Freeze the upright tube(s). It doesn't take too long because these are quite thin.

Pulling the popsicle out of a tube is somewhat tricky because there is a vacuum effect. It helps to let it thaw some minutes, and twist it out pulling downwards, to reduce the chance of the popsicle breaking (leaving the tip inside ):

I've noticed with cranberry apple juice that the syrupy flavor tends to settle at the bottom, so that's why I thaw the tubes upside-down, in hopes of the ice getting resaturated.