Deco Beads DB-W08 White 8-Ounce Jar

The only thing about this kind, they are not clear. I kept adding more water in the hopes that they would get clearer as they got bigger, but they keep some of the white that they are when they are small. they work with tea lights though, and that's what I wanted them for anyhow.

USEThe beads hydrated well to about 5/8" in diameter. According to the instructions, the beads hydrate best in distilled water. Since the beads are 99% water, they provide little more resistance than water for holding plant stems in place when immersed in water. Hydrated beads WITHOUT any free water between them do a good job of holding your plant stems in place. In addition, the colored water-beads look "muddy" when immersed in water. So:> Hydrate the beads you will need. It takes at least 12 hours---so it's best to start the day before.> To make your flower arrangement, start with a vase with NO water in it.> Strain the hydrated water beads out of your hydrating container (fingers or a slotted spoon work well) and pour the hydrated water beads around the stems of your flowers ***> If you need to add any water to cover the tips of the plant stems, do that LAST. Do not add any more water than absolutely necessaryThe result is bright, attractive display. The beads will look like glass marbles, and will do a good job of holding the plant stems in place.***If you just jam your flower stems down into the beads, you'll damage many of them---not a big problem if you intend to use them once and discard them. If the surface is even slightly damaged, the balls can crumble. Indeed, some can come "pre-damaged", and crumbled when touched after being hydrated.Won't they dry out if not covered (or nearly covered) with water? Practically speaking, you will not notice the beads shrinking---your flowers will wilt and die long before the beads shrink.If you are actually growing or rooting plants (such as a sweet potato or the pseudo-bamboo plants) in gel beads, obviously you need some free water. Some plants like their roots in water, most don't. Many plants will be able to absorb sufficient water directly from the hydrated beads without being immersed in water, particularly if there is some free water below. Generally avoid tall skinny vases for this purpose---they can go anoxic (the plant roots can absorb all of the dissolved oxygen faster that oxygen can be absorbed from air at the surface). Un-immersed hydrated beads will usually stay oxygenated, but immersed beads can go anoxic.REUSEAlthough a major advantage of the gel beads is that they are disposable, they are also reusable---you can allow them to dry up (a large casserole dish is ideal), back down to little beads, and reuse them. It may take up to 2 weeks to dry up a batch. It may be tempting to just pour off the water when you change flowers, and perhaps rinse the balls, then add more water and flowers. I suggest exercising some caution--after all these are gelatin, and hypothetically bacteria could grow in the balls. I suggest discarding any beads which have been used for more than several weeks.> Click on “Stoney” just below the product title to see my other reviews, or leave a comment to ask a question.

We ordered this item expecting it to be Clear. It came out as White which turns into milky white when expand in water. No use to us!

Was looking for a bright, opaque white. These are not opaque.

I like it a lot

These beads were great. I got them to fill the centerpiece vases at my wedding. It was fun to watch them grow and it makes plenty of cups for 10 vase sets. I only used about 6 tablespoons and I still have more to grow for another event.These also worked great with my LED candles that I put in the bottom of the vases. They reflected the light well and looked very cool. If you don't want to buy a ton of the glass marbles, I would definitely recommend these beads as a great and even better alternative.

I purchased more than one brand of this product, I used tap water to activate these and they were the same size as the clear ones that I used distilled water for. I had read that distilled water produces larger beads. I have no complaints on these, they look great in the centerpieces. The black ones I bought are a different story - also different manufacturer.

Works well. Thanks