Water gems are also known as water crystals and water gel. Water beads are similar but have a defined shape that look like clear marbles. Water gems come in a crystal form which look much like
chunky rock salt. The instructions suggest you add one teaspoon of crystals to 3 cups of water.
However, you can adjust the amount of water to change consistency of your finished product.
When you add water to crystals, the crystals will absorb all the water. This takes about 5 hours.
Below you can see some pictures of finished product. In clear bowls and vases, you can place items
in water gems to make them appear as if they're suspended in water. You can add more water to
make consistency more watery to add lighter weight items, such as rose petals. When the consistency
is more watery the water gems appear clearer and more like plain water. When there is less water the
consistency will be more dense. To suspend heavier items like glass gems or glass shapes you want a
bit denser consistency.
Water gem tips:
-If you find that you've made your water gems to watery, use a colander to drain off excess water. -If the water gems are too thick, just add more water. -Add food color to water before expanding water gems to color the gems. -The longer the finished water gems sit, the clearer they will become because a lot of the air bubbles will
diminish. Surroundings suggests making your displays about a week ahead of time. You can certainly
do them weeks ahead but making them closer to your event date will keep them looking fresher.
-Water gems are great for floating candles because it keeps your centerpiece stable. Since there's no
sloshing around there is less chance of your wicks getting wet and extinguishing flames. Also, because
the display is more solid, you can easily move them around or transport if making your display ahead
of time and off-site. |
