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Instructions for making "smelly jelly":
What you will need:
- 1 - 8 oz Mason Jar with Daisy Lid
- 1 Tablespoon fragrance
- 1 teaspoon water crystals
- Liquid Dye
- liquid soap
- 7.5 oz of water (distilled is better)
milky color. Add water. Swirl until mixed thoroughly. Be careful not to shake too much or your
detergent will get foamy, this will not go away and you will have soap bubbles in your crystals. This
gives an interesting look, but it is probably not desirable. Add a single drop of liquid dye. You will want
to use either liquid glycerin dye, liquid soap colorant, or straight food coloring. Do NOT use candle
dye! Add your water crystals and stir or swirl well. Within an hour they will be fully grown. It is helpful
during the growth period to shake your jar and make sure all the dye and fragrance is being evenly
distributed. Do not add more than the recommended amount of the crystals or they will expand out of
the jar!
Notes: It is better to use a distilled or purified water - water with minerals in it will cause the crystals to
be smaller.
We've had a lot of calls and questions about the detergent and why you add it, and what kind works best. When you mix fragrance oil and water, you are mixing oil and water. As we all know, oil and water doesn't mix! The purpose of the detergent is to use its surfactant qualities - these act as a "bridge" and allow the water to bond with the oil. A few drops are all you need, or want. The best detergent? One that doesn't foam very much. Get the cheap Dollar store dish washing liquid that never makes a lot of bubbles, it will work just fine. Detergents like Joy, or Dawn, aren't great because they do make lots of bubbles. The fewer the bubbles the better your crystals will look when done.
9 Comments
monet carre
Thank you so much for the recipe! I made smelly jellys for the whole house, with different scents in each room. Christmas is coming and you all just made my life a lot simpler! Thanks to the staff for the terrific customer service, too.
Sandra
question about Smelly Jelly. Could volka be used instead of water? I use essentail oils only. Will this mold? Thank you <br/><br/> <b>From CierraCandles:</b> I don't think I would recommend using the vodka over the water. Vodka evaporates at a faster rate than water and I am not sure the water crystals would absorb it properly. They are designed for water. We have never had these mold. The dish soap seems to help this. Plus, most essential oils by their very nature, tend to be more anti-microbial than fragrance oil. You will use a lot less essential oil than fragrance oil, so you will need to increase the amount of water just a bit. Let us know how they turn out for you!
Heather
I made several Smelly Jelly jars to use as air fresheners. The day I made them, the smell was overpowering. The next day they could barely be smelled. Do you know what I could do to make the smell stronger? They all smell great still if you sniff the jar, but not if you are more than a couple inches from it. <br/><br/> <strong>From Cierra Candles:</strong> The smelly jelly isn't enough to fill a big room. You have to place several around the room - they aren't like candles, but for a small room - like a bathroom, they work great. We would recommend a few things. <br/><br/> -Bump the fragrance up to 2 ounces in the jar (you need to decrease the amount of water to do this - you only want 8 oz total liquid). Be sure you are getting enough detergent to mix the oil and water properly. <br/><br/> -Be sure, as the crystals are growing that you swish the jar frequently, so the fragrance mixture is distributing throughout the crystals <br/><br/> - Lastly, don't remove the entire cardboard from the lid of the daisy jar. Just punch out a couple of the "petals" in the ring. This will help to not expose the entire jar to air and should help it evaporate slower. <br/><br/> They do work well in small rooms of a house. I use the Citrus Splash in our guest bathroom and I just went in yesterday and it was the first thing I noticed. I hope those suggestions help you!
Tracey
I have a question about the liquid soap. Does the detergent have to be clear or white? Will it effect the color dye if its not? Having trouble finding dish liquid that is not a color. lol! Thank you for the recipe and all the suggestions.<br/><br/> <strong>From Cierra Candles:</strong>We use Blue Dawn detergent and it doesn't color. What will give a funky affect is letting it suds too much, the bubbles show. Surprisingly, what works best is the really cheap detergent you can get from the dollar store. It has enough surfactant to help the oil bond to the water, but not enough to really make bubbles. We've never had the color of the detergent affect the color of the crystals though. You use so little.
BILL
Couple of questions.I have 16oz jars,how much should should i use for the crystals? secondly, I'm trying to find daisy cuts type lids to fit the jars,would you know any company that i could got to for these? <br/><br/> <b>From CierraCandles</b>: For 16 oz jars you will use 2 teaspoons of water crystals and 2 Tablespoons of fragrance and 15 ounces of water. If your jars have regular mouths on them (not wide mouth), our daisy lids will fit them and you can get them here: <a href="http://www.cierracandles.com/mason-jar-lids.html">Mason Jar Lids</a>
carol moore
Will pure food grade Kosher Vegetable Glycerin work instead of liquid dish detergent? <br/><br/> <b>From CierraCandles</b> We gave some a try and it doesn't seem to work as well as dish detergent. I don't think it is enough of a surfactant. It did work, but it appeared like some of the fragrance separated out. It also appeared like the crystals didn't swell as much. I think you will get better results with the dish soap.
Curious
I wanna use this product for arts & crafts & I don't want to use this bottle. Can I mix it in a bowl & transfer what I need to my project or just mixing it in a bottle is better? And want to make@ least 2lbs of the smelly jelly, if it's possible...Thank you!!!! <br/><br/> <b>From CierraCandles</b> Yes, you can mix it in a bowl, just make sure you use a big one so it can grow. This is measured by volume, not weight, a single tablespoon is enough to fill 3 - 8 oz jars. The grains are about the size of Cream of White granulars, and they expand to many, many times their size. So, to say 2 pounds, I am not sure what volume that would be. I would need to know more about your craft project and what you have in mind. Feel free to email or call us for more help!
Chris
Can I use essential oils? If so about how much should I use? 15 mL (1 Tbsp) is a lot of essential oil. Thank You <br/><br/> <b>From CierraCandles</b>:<br/><br/> Yes, you can. We've tried this and had good luck with using a teaspoon full of essential oil I think it will vary on the type of oil you are using, and how concentrated it is. You will still need to use the detergent and you will need to adjust your liquid so you have a total of 8 oz. You might be able to get away with less, but from our trial and error, it seemed to work better with a teaspoon or more.
Kawana
Can the crystals be used in an oil burner? <br/><br/> <strong>From CierraCandles</strong> No, these are not designed to be warmed, or heated. They are a replacement, or alternative to candles.
