Aroma Beads

Aroma beads have been quite a popular item so I wanted to show how to make them and also how they can be made into ornaments for the holidays.

Aroma beads are clear plastic beads that can absorb up to 30% fragrance oil. Most often they are used as air fresheners in the car, in lockers, linen drawers, closets, or anywhere fragrance is desired. When I sell them, I put them in organza bags.

To make them you need the following:

Aroma beads
fragrance oil
liquid candle dye (if you want to color them)
a glass jar or container that has a lid
packaging


I usually make the beads in 1lb increments however you can do smaller amounts too. I use 2 oz of fragrance per lb of beads. If it is a really strong fragrance or essential oil, I use less and if it is a soft fragrance I may opt to use more.



For the candle dye, I usually use approximately 6 - 10 drops to color 1 lb of beads. You can use more or less depending on how soft or dark you want the color to be.

After adding the candle dye to your fragrance, swirl the jar to mix the 2 together.


Next, add the beads.



Then put the lid on securely, and give a good shake. Keep shaking until the fragrance and color is evenly disbursed.



You will want to shake the jar up every hour or so. Depending on the fragrance, it can take a few hours to several days for all the fragrance to absorb. You will know when the beads are dry when they no longer stick to the sides of the jar and they are dry to the touch.

All the supplies listed in this tutorial are available in a special kit for the holidays at The Gift Garden. In part 2 of this tutorial, I will show you how to turn these beads into ornaments.