Water Beads Design - Wedding Centerpieces, Vases and More With Water Beads and Water Gel Crystals!!

Water Beads Design - Wedding Centerpieces, Vases and More With Water Beads and Water Gel Crystals!!

What you’ll need

Colored Glass Beads – Found at the Dollar Store for, you guessed it, $1 for each bag of colored glass.

One Quart Jar – Found at Walmart for $3.69. ) Emma Jar with glass lid. (But I bet I could have find it for less)

Outdoor solar light – Found at Wal-Mart for $1.97 it was the simplest one, not a fancier decorative one.

Frosted Glass Finish Spray Paint by Krylon – this cost $5 but you only need a little bit and you can save it for later

Glue -  Glass & Bead Adhesive from Michaels

How to make my DIY patio lights “Sun Jars”

1. Remove or open the jar lid. Do not spray the lid.
2. Using Krylon Frosted Glass spray the inside of the jar using 2 light coats of spray.
3. It was easy to twist the plastic stake and plastic covering off the solar light. The part that is left has the solar cell and light. Save the plastic covering and put it back on after the orange tag is removed. It gives a lovely design. Mine was a perfect fit for the lid. I glued it to the lid.
4. The fun part is decorating the sides of the jar. I used 3 different colors for my designs. I kept it simple. Glue the glass beads on using the Glass & Bead Adhesive (Aleene’s) It is nice and tacky, but I found I needed to wait at least 30 minutes before I turned the jar and did another side.
5. Place outside in the sun so it can charge during the day. It will be beautiful and glow after the sun goes down. You can also bring them into the house to lighten up a dark room.

The orange tag protects the battery. Pull to remove it when are ready to use

Here’s how they look when finished:

Oops!!  I discovered that on the first jar I painted I sprayed it more than recommended and on the outside of the jar. Some of the glass beads have come off. I also used a glue gun. I would now recommend you spray the inside of the jar or lightly sand the outside to give it a frosted look and also use an adhesive made for glass.

Use a glass adhesive not a glue gun

Water Beads Design - Wedding Centerpieces, Vases and More With Water Beads and Water Gel Crystals!!

It’s a simple design using large, red water beads. Although they are advertised as red, the water beads normally turn out in a dark pinkish color.

To make them a lighter pink color, you can combine the red water beads with white or clear water beads which will lighten up the color. Let me know if you have other princess party ideas!

Water Beads Design - Wedding Centerpieces, Vases and More With Water Beads and Water Gel Crystals!!

Water Beads Design - Wedding Centerpieces, Vases and More With Water Beads and Water Gel Crystals!!

Adding a colored submersible light will enhance your color scheme for the special event. Weddings, baby showers and other events are perfect times to add lights to your center pieces. In the evening when the light is low the LED lights add romance and atmosphere.

Decorative Submersible Lights Ideas

For arrangements using colored water beads in the glass vase with fresh flowers or silk flower adding a light or several lights adds to the attractiveness of the arrangement. They can also be used in clear plastic vases, water buckets and other interesting shapes.

Submersible lights for vases come in many varieties. They can be turned on and off. Some you twist to turn on others have a button on the top or bottom. They come in many colors. Some stay on, some blink or flicker others change colors.

Don’t forget to order submersible replacement batteries. Read on the package to see what their longevity is. Submersible lights last 16-20 hours when lite continually on one color. When using as combination setting they may last 4-6 hours. Others are said to last longer.

Water Beads Design - Wedding Centerpieces, Vases and More With Water Beads and Water Gel Crystals!!

Water beads are used as a vase filler to hide or cover the stems of your flowers plus add color. Use them with fresh or artificial flowers.

See my post on what are water beads to help you if you haven’t used these water beads before.

Remember, water beads can be reused. I prefer to put them into a plastic container or a Ziploc baggie. But you can let them dry out and then rehydrate them. Save the red and white water beads for our Valentine’s Day arrangement and the green will be perfect for St Patrick’s Day.

Water Beads Design - Wedding Centerpieces, Vases and More With Water Beads and Water Gel Crystals!!

How about a new Wedding Centerpiece using Water Beads!

Using a long vase can make a real difference as you can see in the wedding centerpiece using water beads.  The large wedding centerpiece uses a 24-inch vase with alot of white water beads.  Topped off with white artificial flowers and a few smaller vases or containers filled with water beads, you can create a simple design suitable for the most elegant wedding or engagement.

Water Beads Design - Wedding Centerpieces, Vases and More With Water Beads and Water Gel Crystals!!

Of course, using my colorful Water Gems!

You can create this beautiful arrangement for your next festive event this Autumn with just a little work following my new water beads design video.  You can find these water gems at your local crafts store or at Amazon.com.

Water Beads Design - Wedding Centerpieces, Vases and More With Water Beads and Water Gel Crystals!!

This tropical centerpiece uses water beads (water gel crystals) for the vase filler in lovely brilliant colors that coordinate with the flowers. Fresh flowers are elegant and lovely, but artificial flowers will add lots of color to your festive event and saves money.

Once you pick out your flowers, select the colors you want to use as your vase filler. The water beads need to be soaked in water. Soaking overnight is best. Follow the directions on your package. A little goes a long way. A teaspoon of water beads will hydrate enough to fill a small 4 inch round vase. If you use fresh flowers, add water to cover their stems to keep them fresh.

You can find a great selection of water beads at Amazon.com or other craft retailers.

Water Beads Design - Wedding Centerpieces, Vases and More With Water Beads and Water Gel Crystals!!