Crystal Snowflakes

I'm dreaming of a white Christmas. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like that will be a reality. So I had to settle for the next best thing: making some snow! I already put up some paper snowflakes, but I decided now would be the perfect time to try something I've had my eye on for some time. Borax crystals. This is what I came up with.

You will need:

Borax

Pipe Cleaners/ Chenille stems

Water

Popsicle Sticks

String

Pot

Jars

Optional: food dye, jar, battery-operated tea light, hot glue

Cut the pipe cleaners into small segments and twist into a snowflake shape. You can make them as big or small as you like, just make sure that your snowflake is small enough to fit inside your jar without touching the sides. Tie a string to the top and tie that to a popsicle stick.

For this part the ratio for the borax is 1/3 cup of borax for every 2 cups water. Bring your water to a boil and add your borax. Use a wooden spoon to stir until everything is dissolved.

Tip: I used two 1-pint mason jars. I needed 4 cups water and 2/3 cup borax.

Pour your borax/water solution into the jars. Makes sure it only covers the snowflake. You don't want crystals on your string. Let this sit for at least 24 hours.

Note: I noticed after this step that there were a TON of crystals in the bottom of the jar. You could put a rock in the bottom to collect a bunch. This would not only make clean-up easier, but you would also have a pretty cool looking rock that you could use for a fairy garden, or just as a cute little trinket.

So, what to do with these snowflakes? This is where your imagination can run wild. I used several as Christmas ornaments, some I hung from light fixtures, and one I made a cute little table centerpiece out of.

For the Christmas jar I glued the snowflake to the center of the jar lid, then screwed it on.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial!

Merry Christmas!

Ping the Dragon

P.S. I entered this tutorial into the Holiday Decorations Contest. Please vote for me if you liked this!