Making Odor Absorbing Gel
OK, time to begin making our own odor absorbing gel, also known as smelly jelly! First, we need some ingredients.
I sent my boyfriend out to two different Wal-Marts, because I'd heard you can get the gel component in their home and garden store. We did this in January and NEITHER one had any at all! Very odd, you would think people would be gardening in pots during the winter. He even asked employees - something that most men would never deign to do - and was told that this stuff was simply not in stock. Hmmm, maybe other crafters have caught onto this fun and were buying them all out ...
So on he went to a Home Depot. He found 12oz plastic containers of "Schultz Moisture Plus Watering Crystals". The container looked really small and he wondered if this would be enough - he was expecting a big flour sack kind of container. Still, he figured one was good enough to experiment with. That 12oz was $7.97.
Next he stopped by Whole Foods for some scents. He got a small 1/3oz orange ($3.09), a 1/3oz lemon ($4.29) and a large 2oz lavender ($30.59). Note that of course most people don't need 2oz of lavender!! He just got that for me because I am a lavender fiend and he figured this would keep me occupied for years. Soaps. Candles. Who knows what else :) We had some dye already for soap making, lilac and gold, so let's say that was $2.
So the total cost of purchasing ingredients to make a lot of "orange gel" (to replace my Natural Magic gel) is $13.06. That includes the gel crystals, the orange aroma, and the gold color. The question is, of course, just how much orange gel can we make with these ingredients. Now, to begin the process! We were very curious just how absorby this gel stuff is. So it was time to start measuring.
It was time to start the measuring process. We began with 3 Tbsp of crystals. They look just like little salt crystals. We added in 6 drops of scent. We left out the color for now, so we could clearly see the crystals in their natural state. It was magic time. We added in the 3 Tbsp of water. POOF. It sucked it up instantly. It was a completely solid gel.
OK, this was fun! 3 more Tbsp. Solid. Three more. Maybe a tiny bit less solid. Slow but steady, with pictures to document each step along the way. We kept adding three tablespoons at a time all the way up to 12:1 ratio. Even with twelve times as much water as crystal volume in the container, the mixture was still very solid.
Here's the first six photos as we did this.
Huzzah! Talk about cool! We filled MORE than the original Natural Magic container with this concoction which was pretty in color, lovely in aroma, and only used 3 Tbsp of the gel and a few drops of aroma and color. We have a TON more ingredient. Bwah hah hah hah. At this rate, we could make HUNDREDS of smelly jelly presents for family and friends, all for that $13.06 total price. All we need is something to put this stuff IN.
Making Containers for Smelly Jelly
Basic Information on Smelly Jelly
Cleaning Tips and Hints
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