My Pearl Of The Day -- fun water beads!

Gallon of water & the tiny beads -- the supplies in green basket are NOT needed. They just happened to be on my desk during the process.

WHAT ARE WATER BEADS USED FOR?
  Thanks to Crystal Water Beads for including so much wonderful information, I can answer that question for you. It's always interesting to me to learn about a companies product, especially when the product is as cool as the water beads! 

This is a photo of the bottom of the water jug immediately after putting in the beads! How awesome does that look?

  The Water Beads were originally invented for farmers -- to keep moisture from evaporating from the soil so quickly. 

  Water Beads are super tiny when they haven't been submersed in water. When they arrive, they're about the size of a pin-head. Very small! Ok, about the size of a flea too, a small flea.  Once they've been soaked in the water, they absorb it and plump up.  These guys, as you see the difference in size in my photos, hold a lot of water! They start out tiny and then suddenly you look in the container and you have plump, beautiful beads! 

  Then the Crystal Water Beads can be poured into your plants soil and there they will slowly release their water, doing so without the water getting evaporated into the air! That's what makes these cuties ideal for plants. I have 3 aloe plants, as ya'll know, I eat them, so it's important to keep those guys healthy. Aloe needs very little water and the Crystal Water Beads are absolutely perfect for watering just enough, without overdoing it. Plus they really add some style to my plants. 

  And who doesn't want to show off their beautiful water beads? Well, I certainly do, so I've managed to dig up a pretty clear jar to show them off, for decorative purposes! Going to the Crystal Water Beads store site will give you many gorgeous ideas on ways to use and show off your fabulous Crystal Water Beads. 

  The only problem is, now I'm wanting to fill all kinds of vases full of the gorgeous little guys and display them in every single room, on every single table top and dresser we have! They're just so pretty I can't resist.

  Another wonderful thing about these beads -- you can choose so many different lovely colors, so you're color options and decorative personality never gets old. You can mix pink with black, purple with pink like I did and change them to match the room colors/theme or to even add some fun, unique touch to a boring room. They look pretty in flower vases or just sitting alone in a clear glass vase/bottle. Since they're so pretty, they don't necessarily need anything extra. Just a jar of the beauties is enough to add personality and a unique touch.

  

INSTRUCTIONS:

This is the best part about the water beads -- it's easy, quick and makes no mess. This makes it a perfect little project to include kids on. They'll enjoy watching the water beads "grow." Ours love, love, love the water beads!  Oh yea, the instructions.

*Add contents of package to 5 cups of room temperature purified water -- Not filtered or spring -- per 5 grams of beads.

*Allow the beads to stand in the water for 5-7 hours.  For the Marble Beads, allow 6-8 hours and for the Square Beads, allow 8-10 hours. You'll see a photos of the round regular Water Beads and the Square ones here. Those are the type I chose, but I think we'll end up ordering the others here very soon. I will update and show photos of those when we order.

*After the recommended amount of time has passed, drain the water and use as desired! 

 Why must it be purified water only?
  Using any other water could result in the bead not plumping. In other words, your beads may not "grow" if you don't use the recommended purified water.

OH NO! I don't know what purified water is or where to find it.
 It's OK. I promise. You can find purified water at about any grocery store and possibly even convenient stores, but don't hold me to that last one. If you've ever bottle-fed a baby or bought a new fish tank, chances are, you have purchased purified water from a store. You can usually find it in the diaper section. Or at least that's where it's at in my local Ingles. Just look for the gallon clear jug of water that will say "purified water" on the front. 

STORING AND CARING FOR YOUR LOVELY WATER BEADS
    Crystal Water Beads.com says:
" To store the beads, remove them from water. Accelerate dehydration by spreading them out on a dry towel in the open air and out of a humid environment.  Once they are fully dehydrated and close to their original size, seal them in a air tight container such as Tupperware or Zip Lock.  

For extended life, keep them out of direct sunlight and away from temperatures above 85 degrees F while storing. "

The Water Beads come packaged in a little sealed plastic baggy. Well, the samples do. I don't know about a full size. I believe the large, full sizes come in a large plastic bag. Included is a little paper with instructions and this:

  "CAUTION:

• Do not take internally.  Keep out of reach of children and pets.  Although this product is non-toxic, it may present a choking hazard for children.

• Do not flush down drains.

• For decorative use only."
•  

  Crystal Water Beads store also has an amazing project going on called the Beads Grow Seeds Project! It's so awesome. Here's an excerpt about the project straight from their webpage: 

  "The Beads Grow Seeds Projects is focused on providing Super Absorbent Polymer for Village farmers to use in the soil for a better success rate in their crops. 

When a customer buys our product or makes a donation, we use these funds to purchase Super Absorbent Polymer. We will take this product to the troubled soil area's around the world and work with the locals to install the product.

When added to the soil, plant roots grow around and through the swollen polymer, where they are able to extract the stored water and nutrients. The controlled release of water and nutrients aids plants in achieving optimal moisture conditions for maximum plant growth.

With severe droughts occurring on a more frequent basis due to global warming, water absorbing polymers will help food sources survive by reducing irrigation requirements up to 50%. This product will continue to work in the soil for up to 8 years.

Check Back for updates & pictures!"

*Clicking the link there will take you to their Beads Grow Seeds page, so that you can go see for yourself. 

The prices at Crystal Water Beads Store are so perfectly affordable that you can order beads for every event, every plant, or as I think I'll end up doing, for every single room in your house! They're amazing! As soon as we were pouring our beads into the water, my lovie said "how much are these things? I want more!"  Looks like I'm not the only fan. Who can blame us? They're so fun!