20,000 Marbles for Vases - Clear - Floral Vases Centerpieces for Wedding Beads - Makes 12 gallons of Clear Water Beads

Ordered for a corporate holiday event, for use in centerpieces. Goal was to fill round vases with the water beads, and then put glow bracelets/necklaces sticking up out of the vases.I ordered two packages of water beads. Label on the package instructs users to pour 1 tablespoon of beads into 1 gallon of water, and wait 24+ hours to use the beads. The description of the beads states that the “seed” package sized envelope will make 12 gallons of fully hydrated water beads. This leads one to think that there will be 12 tablespoons of beads in a package.I was able to measure out just under 9 tablespoons from each package. Using a funnel, I measured out and poured 1 tablespoon per gallon jug of water. After waiting 24hrs the beads were pretty plump (larger than a fat pea, smaller than a basic marble). I allowed the beads to continue soaking to 48hrs. I did not see any size able increase from 24 - 48hrs, so I did not soak batch number 2 beyond 24hrs. I was concerned about the first batch drying out in the heater air in my house.After draining off the water, I ended up with 8 one gallon jugs per package of water beads.Unfortunately, the beads were too slimy and slippery to support the weight of the glows items. My son with ASD found the beads soothing and asked if we could keep some.With 1 package I was able to 1/2 way fill the standard small dollar store bubble vase (4”x4”).Warning... they bounce! I had them go all superball bouncy as I poured them from the gallon jugs to the colander for draining. We had to chase the dogs out of the kitchen so they didn’t try to eat the runaway water beads.

We bought these for my son's reception to go into tall vases with water proof tea lights. I did a "test run" sample last week to see if they would work since I had never used them before. Wow....truly awesome look. Two things you need to know about using these water pearls: (Step 1) You need to use distilled water if you want them to be crystal clear. A lot of tap water has minerals in it that can cloud the pearls. (Step 2) Also, be sure to soak the pearls AT LEAST OVERNIGHT. I soaked mine for 2 days and they lasted almost 1 week. Remarkable. If you try to use them after only a few hours they will absolutely not be ready and look like mush. So if you use distilled water and soak them overnight (2 nights is even better) you will be very happy with the results. Try a test run like I did. You can keep using them over and over. To dry the pearls out put them into a bowl, pour out as much water as you can and in a couple of days they will shrink back down to use again. If you put them on paper towel you can speed up the drying process. Thanks Amazon! We will buy more for all the vases and centerpieces now that I know they work so well.

This is an amazing product. I put a half teaspoon in a cylinder of water, maybe a quart. After several hours, I looked into the container, and thought nothing had happened! I grabbed a big spoon to stir the bottom, and encountered a full container of absolutely clear, very large perfectly spherical balls. Several points, due to experience, that may be of interest - the tiny dry balls can be very difficult to keep track of. I advise working in a container, or tub that will catch escapees. (The bead-sized pin head in the photo was to show the size of dry water balls.) The fully-expanded balls bounce, and are hard to see, and pick up. (They do crush if stepped on, or squeezed hard.)I was making neck coolers, and if I had not used expanded water balls to fill the fabric tube, I would have over-fulled, and possibly burst the stitching.I have used other water-holding crystals. These are superior, and the recipient of the first one loved it, as it kept her cooler in 90°+ temperatures.

I LOVED THESE GEL PEARLS!! (4 Stars only because this didn't make 12 gallons) They stayed solid for a very long time, even when not immersed in water. We made the cylinder decorations with the bubbles and silk petals the night before our wedding, covered the tops in saran wrap with a rubber band and they were ready to go for the next day's evening wedding. The gel pearls were still solid 18+ hours later unsubmerged! The pearls are a little smaller than a dime size (see pic).Unfortunately, this packet makes **NOWHERE NEAR** 12 gallons. The packet I received had about 27 teaspoons worth of balls in it. 3 teaspoons made enough to fill a 2 liter soda bottle with enough water to cover. The whole packet made about 4 gallons + an almost full 2 liter soda bottle. (see pics). There were a few little ones that were duds and didn't grow, but that wasn't a huge deal. For those of you making wedding centerpieces, though, this WAS enough, however, to fill 36 (12 of each) 7.5" / 9" / 10.5" Cylinder Vases (see pic).They looked AMAZING and were great up the aisle at the wedding and as decorations for the reception. :) Just get some silk petals, floating candles, and charger plates! :)

I poured a tablespoon of pearls in a pot... And they bounced a lot... Some out of the pot and onto the floor and are hard to find. I would imagine these are dangerous for pets and small kids. So be careful when pouring.The pearls expanded and are very cool. I am using them with shells which is a little difficult to do. At first they didn't float but after a few attempts, and layering the right amount of the expanded perals and then shells, it worked as shown in one pic. The pearls reflect what's next to them which Can be a good thing. However the beige shells I am using create a beige reflection looking like unclear water as shown in a pic. I may need to play around with it some more. Overall though, pearls are pretty even outside of the water. To get the floating in water illusion can be tricky depending on what you are floating. They really are transparent and look like water. They reflect whatever is next to them which can be pretty (blue lights). Just be aware that pearls are very bouncy before being put in water (as well as after)... So use caution if small kids or pets around.

They did not get very big at all would need two packets just to line the bottom of my cylinder vase for wedding centerpieces