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Try these hand crafts with Water Crystals™.
For Personal Use.
Or, as a business opportunity!
Water Crystals hand crafts

Cool wraps, cool ties, cool packs, neck coolers and spin coolers.

Sew a piece of light cotton cloth as a container for dry Water Crystals. It could be in the shape of a necktie, head band or a pad to drape over a portion of your body or as a pad with cells or pockets for a pet to lay on.

Either sew-in a quantity of dry crystals, or place a desired amount of hydrated crystals inside and seal by sewing a closing seam. Use as little as a quarter-teaspoonful of dry crystals per cooler or 18-inch long cell.

We advise people new to making cool wraps to first fully hydrate a teaspoonful of dry Water Crystals to determine the desired volume of polymer to work within individual pieces.

After this test, you can cut back or add product accordingly. Too many crystals fighting for the same space to hydrate can create an unpleasant wrap, neck cooler or cool pad. The fabric of a neck cooler with too much water-absorbing polymer will look and feel more like a leaky sausage than a pleasant evaporative cooler.

What may have worked for one cool wrap maker, may not work for another because of the difference in polymers. Remember, not all water-absorbing polymers have the same characteristics.

Consequently, we recommend testing.

Each ounce of dry Water Crystals contains 6 level teaspoons. Some large neck coolers that we've seen incorporate a full teaspoonful; others, a half; still others, less. So be sure to test before going into full production.

Each dry mid-gradation Water Crystal should swell to approximately 1/2 to 3/4 inch when completely hydrated. If yours do not, you need to keep adding water to your container until the crystals are that large.

From each (dry) ounce expect to make from 6 to 12 neck coolers, each using a half- to a full-teaspoonful. From a pound of Water Crystals, expect to have enough material to make between 96 and 192 coolers, depending on your fabric size. (That is based on one pound yielding 6-12 neck coolers per ounce multiplied times 16 ounces in a pound.)

When sewn, soak in cool water, and you've got a cool wrap, cool pack, cool tie or cool pad for your forehead in the summer heat. When it dehydrates, soak it again. And, it's perfectly safe to use cold water or even place your neck cooler in the fridge to get even cooler.

Read an excellent article that details another way to sew a neck cooler in the July 2004 issue of Sew News Magazine. Or, select this link for a printer-friendly version. (A new window will open.)



Ice Crystals and IceGels

Craft designs with ice-like gel crystals—crushed or chunked—depend on the amount of water you allow mid-gradation Water Crystals to absorb.

In the photo at right, one cup of water in each glass was absorbed by one teaspoon (left) and one-half teaspoon (right) of dry Water Crystals.

For best visual results and aeration, strain off excess water after hydration.



Decorative conversation piece crafts

Add 3-5 drops of ordinary food coloring to 8 or less ounces of water in a glass container. Pour in a half-teaspoonful of Water Crystals.

Use a variety of colors, and watch the dry crystals swell to the nearly the size of acorns. Place the expanded colored crystals in clear glass containers. Try stemmed wine or champagne glasses for an elegant touch. Or, use them with colored stones or marbles. Float a candle in them.

Then watch your guests' react to your craft! This is your start for other imaginative uses like cut flowers, house plants without soil, unique candle holders. If your guests want to handle the hydrated crystals, they will only dehydrate from heat. They'll break apart if squeezed, but