For years we have loved growing and playing with water beads. We pour them down gutters into various bins and through funnels and tunnels on a water wall. Sometimes we just grow and shrink a small portion of them repeatedly. We use them for spooky sensation bins at Halloween and children have to reach into a covered bin that is filled with squishy slimy water beads and plastic Halloween trinkets.
Aquabeads from EPOCH Co have merged our love of water beads with our love of crafting! That’s a winning combination!
So let’s get beading! Here are the basics of how to get started. Place beads in the blue dispensing pen. It has a round chamber divided into several compartments. You can fill each chamber with a specific bead color or bead type. Look at that pincer grasp and fine motor precision!
You spin the chamber to the color of your choice and squeeze the lever to release the bead.
Once your design or designs are finished on the clear plate, you spray them with water.
As the magical gelling process is beginning to connect the beads, you quickly place a blue bead board over your design on the clear plate, flip them over so the bead design is now resting on the blue board and gently lift up the clear plate. You may need to spray your design with a little more water to facilitate more gelling between the beads. Now you can make more designs while your first ones are gelling and drying!
Gently push your design to the side to remove your design from the blue bead board. If the beads shift and your design does not slide off easily, it just needs a bit more time to dry. Adjust your beads as needed, spray with a little water if needed to help any shifter beads re-gel and wait.
https://forkidsandmoms.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/img_9095.movPatience pays off!
placeholder://Things to note ~ crafting with Aquabeads does require patience and some pretty good fine motor skills. The bead dispenser is great for borders and large areas of the same color; however, it can be difficult to use the dispenser with precision due to the size of the bead exit. This means your child will most likely be using a fine motor pincer grasp to pick up the tiny beads and place them on the board. Practicing patience and fine motor skills are a good thing in my book!
There are two notable items on the table. The first is a box of tissues. Aquabeads proved to be an excellent sick day activity. Not enough energy to go to school or play actively, but just enough energy to work sit and work on a craft. Next you will notice that handy dandy blue box. You can place templates under the bead plates to prompt a design or you can design your own by simply removing the template. Removing the top exposes the gold mine of Aquabeads!
Her own star design using regular Aquabeads and fancy-smancy crystal beads!
This is the Aquabeads Deluxe Studio we started with.
I have a funny feeling we will be buying more refill packets in the near future! I think I have an Aquabeads addict on my hands!
Check out their website to see the various Aquabeads sets they offer, like the super cute Calico Critters Set! Hmm, may need that too in addition to some refill packets!
Happy beading!
