Water Marbles

 

Last week I shared a photo of a vase on my kitchen windowsill - the late afternoon sun was shining through the vase and the contents looked beautiful in the light.  I promised to tell you about the items in the vase and I had planned this post for Friday morning while we are at our son's college graduation weekend.

Blogger had other plans - there was a massive problem in the system.  Blogger blogs went to read only mode and no new posts, editing or comments could be made for most of Thursday and Friday.  Posts were moved and redated and comments may have disappeared.  I think things are back to normal...so I will try to "catch up" now (it is Friday night as I write this).

These jewel like balls are "water marbles" - something I just recently discovered at a flower show.  I was fascinated by them and could see all sorts of great ways to use them for parties or just for fun at home.

They start as tiny little balls - you can see just how small they are next to a penny in this photo.  They are made of a super-absorbent polymer and grow when you add water to hydrate them.

Here is one of the beads and a fully hydrated marble - isn't it amazing how they grow!

You can see the step-by-step progression in size HERE - this demonstration is from the company that was at the flower show.  I was so interested in these that I bought several packets in various colors.

Here is another photo from the show.  You can see the small packets in the background, behind a bowl full of the hydrated marbles.

 

These come in many colors and are colorfast so you can mix them together.  They eventually dehydrate and you just soak them in water to help them grow to full size again and again.  You can use them as a water source for flowers or just as a decorative element.

They are particularly pretty in large clear vases when you add them in layers.

You can match them to the colors of your flowers or use clear marbles with a small submersible light for an interesting glow.  The lights also come in colors so many combinations are possible.

I think this combination was my favorite (these shades of blue,green and purple can all be found many times in my closet!).

So today's post really has nothing to do with paper crafting - but I just had to share something interesting that you may or may not have seen before.  There are various places to find these - the company I bought them from is called "Corry's Cool Stuff" and if you click HERE you will go to the water marble page.  You can scroll down to see a neat candy cane arrangement on the left side.  (I have no affiliation with this site and there are other sites to sell water marbles that will pop up if you do an internet search).

Have a great weekend (and keep your fingers crossed that it doesn't rain in Northern New Jersey on Saturday morning - thanks!).

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