HYDRO BUBBLES

  Wonderin' what these 4 vials of little beads are? Well, they could possibly be my BFF! These ordinary looking beads are called Hydro Bubbles. Hydro Bubbles, commonly known as "water beads" were originally designed to keep farmers' soil damp so that the water wouldn't evaporate. I can't imagine they were as lovely as Hydro Bubbles, but I reckon that's where these little guys began. 


  Hydro Bubbles are left for a few hours to soak in water and eventually, they plump up to a much larger size. Then they can be added to your plants because they slowly release the water into the plant, plus they make your plant look prettier! 


  Besides serving a purpose for watering your plants, Hydro Bubbles have an even more fun/lovely purpose -- decoration! I adore how these bubbly dudes look in a crystal clear glass vase or simple jar. They add fun personality to a room. Plus, these are amazing little projects for young children...or old children...or adults. My lovie and I have had a real blast with these! They never get old! I keep checking mine to see if they're totally deflated yet just so I can re-do them. It's a lot of fun.


  Of course you should monitor young children around the beads as they can swallow them. I want to go ahead and warn about that now. And for some reason, these beautiful beads are very appealling to a two year old! My neice is 2 and she has to really use her will power not to eat em'! She puts them to her lips and says "we can't eat em!" Ha Ha. Like she's reminding herself not to eat the Hydro Bubbles. It's adorable, but I have to keep an eye on her because her will power could run out at any second! 


  As far as I know, Hydro Bubbles are non-toxic, but they can be choking hazards to small children and pets. I guess they just look so tasty because my weiner dog licked them too! Also, you should not drop them down the drain -- could definitely cause clogging! As we were in the process of adding the beads to water, my sister and I got on the subject of 'what happens if one drops down the drain?' Hmmm... "well, they expand when in water, so they'd probably never die down/evaporate since you use the sink often." What a bummer, but we couldn't help but realize just how fun these things could truly be if you have an enemy! Ha. Ha. I'm only joking. Really. So please do not go stuffing water beads down your neighbor who plays loud music all night & sleeps all day's drain! And do not ever stuff them in your EX's gas tank! I'm serious guys. I'm not condoning this kind of behavior. This is an "at your own risk" kind of thing here. :)


  So, when the kids are nagging you all day & you're praying to God that school goes back in service early and never lets out, remember just how many hours of fun I have had personally with Hydro Bubbles. 


  Since all you need is water & the Hydro Bubbles, it's a very easy & clean project. No big messes to clean after. I mean, the worst that could happen really is spilling your quart(s) of water or dropping the beads and we've dropped em'! These guys feel delicate when plumped up and they feel as if they'll burst, but they've taken quite a few drops. Held up just fine. 


  In my hands, the Hydro Bubbles feel sort of slimey. I love it! They're a tad slippery. They feel like a tiny water balloon. Hollow like if you busted one, water would spill out, but that's not exactly how it works. Once plumped up, they feel like they'd burst and leak, but they're actually more solid. What I mean is, on the inside, it's a gelatin-like material. Not a hollow bead. Interesting. If one busts or is sliced in half -- it can happen if you try, even with fingernails -- it's gooey all the way through. I have seen waterbeads before and they were all busted in half. Not full little balls. I didn't love that. Like I said, it's possible to bust them and they will still work, but they just don't look as nice as the full, round balls. It's no big deal if a few bust though. 






-Made of a super-absorbant polymer, Hydro Bubbles hold 100X's their own weight in water!

- HydroBubbles come in eleven different colors.  The different HydroBubbles colors are Blue, Hot Pink (though the hot pink looks more like Scarlet in all honesty), Light Pink, Melon, Teal, True Green, Orange, Yellow, Purple, Crystal Clear, & Snow White.

Click HERE to visit Hydro Bubbles website & see photos of the gorgeous decoration ideas they've shared. & Click HERE to see their lovely photos using the Hydro Bubbles in plants -- truly beautiful! My favorite is putting the colorful little beads into a shiny glass vase or even cup and sitting them out for everyone to see and love. My family members were going crazy over these little guys. My sister couldn't resist, she had to take a few home with her & is getting an indoor plant now just so she can show of her Hydro Bubbles. 

HOW TO USE HYDRO BUBBLES

- 1 container of HydroBubbles, mixed with 1 quart of water and twelve hours time will be enough to fill a quart sized container. If you're like me and your measuring cup doesn't have quarts, remember that one quart is equal to one cup. So I used a measuring cup to fill the water up to 4 cups and added 4 vials of beads. I let them soak in the measuring cup and then put them for display in a prettier clear glass jar. 

I'm typing this right now, 5 minutes after putting my first vial of the purple Hydro Bubbles in the water and they're already starting to puff up! (I put a photo below of how they look right now, 5 mins after being put in water)They look so neat. I have the cup of puffing beads sitting next to me on a stool so that I can watch them the whole time. These little guys are very entertaining! Also, the little beads can look a certain color when they're not full of water. For instance, these purple ones looked black in the container, but once they soak in the water, their true color begins to show. The hot pink look totally red before they've been put in water. They do turn out the correct color though, so no worries.

Hydro Bubbles after 5 mins of being in water

 

  Check em' out! I know the photo up there is really large and funny shaped, but that's because I cropped it so ya'll could see up-close. This was taken about 1 hour (maybe a tad longer) after putting the purple in water and about 40 minutes after putting the clear in water. How awesome! You see how they look bumpy, like a rasberry or mulberry or some kind of bumpy berry? I just love that, it's the neatest thing I ever seen! The water beads I saw in the past didn't do this cool little plumpy thing. This disappears and you're left with a full, perfectly round bead, but I still think this stage is so neat. I suppose if you really liked them like this, you could take them out of the water once they hit the bumpy stage. Only difference is you'd need to "re-plump" em' sooner than if you left them for the full recommended 12 hours.

  

- When the twelve hours are complete, simply drain off any excess water that remains.  The HydroBubbles will be about "marble" sized.  Over the next three to five weeks, the HydroBubbles will contract, slowly forcing the water out.  If using them for watering plants, they will provide the water over time that your plants need.

This is the pink Hydro Bubbles. They look red in the tube, before they start puffing up. Here they've been in the water for about 10 minutes. They're growing right this moment! I love looking over and seeing that there's beads overflowing the cup! It's awesome.

- Hydro Bubbles can be used as decorations, because they are quite beautiful.  Whether using them as decor or as hydration for plants, you should empty any excess water that accumulates at the bottom on a weekly basis.

- After about 3-5 weeks, you'll notice your HydroBubbles have become smaller.  When you notice this (once per month on average), just fill the container with water before you go to sleep.  When you wake up, drain off any excess water.  The bubbles will be nice and full again.

- When used for decor, you can either mix the colors together or you can layer the colors on top of one another (after they've been made in a seperate container).  The latter of the two, gives us more control in the colors.  To layer them, simply make each color in a seperate container.  Then, place the first color in your vase until you see fit.  You can either add the second color over top of the first one for a more abrupt transition.  Alternatively, you can take a handful of each color, mix them up and then drop them in to make more of a transition between the two colors.  

- If you add clear to the top of any container (filled with HydroBubbles), it will make them really sparkle and looks as if light is coming off the vase.

- If you decide you want to put them away, you can make them go back to their original size.  To do so, get a cookie sheet and a piece of wax paper.  Spread the HydroBubbles out on that wax paper lined cookie sheet and let them air dry.  You should do this inside and out of direct sunlight.  They will return to their original size.  This process takes about two to three days.  After they have returned to their original size, wait another day, so that they dry up a bit.  Then, you can either return them to their vial for later use or you can put them in a plastic bag, providing the bag can be zipped shut after the air is removed.  Then, put them away and get them out when you're ready to use them again.  When they're smaller, you should be careful and try not to squeeze them.  They can be delicate at this stage of "life" and the result will be that they form "oddly" next time you fill them up.

- Used properly (per our instruction sheet), the HydroBubbles will last for about 1 to 1.5 years before needing replaced.

Hydo Bubbles are so beautiful that I can't stop staring at them! I keep re-arranging and playing with them. It's hard not to touch/keep messing with them. They're so beautiful we can't resist! I love the bold colors. They're the first thing noticed when someone walks in and sees a glass of them sitting on the table. 

Hydo Bubbles are also loads of fun for kids! Really. One packet of Hydro Bubbles kept the one year old, 12 year old and 7 year old busy for an entire Sunday. Thankfully, these babies were strong enough to survive being dropped on the ground a gazillion times. These make a wonderful, quick, non-messy bonding experience. Watching them grow is fun as well.