I've been seeing more snowflakes this year than in the last few winters. Watching the falling snow is so mesmerizing and calming.
The kids and I have been filling the windows with paper snowflakes so on the days we don't get at least a dusting, we still feel justified having a cup of hot cocoa by the fireplace in the afternoon.
A friend recently told us how to make these cool ice crystal decorations using borax and boiling water. We had a ton of fun making them and are going to add them to our snowflake window collection.
Want to try it?
Materials:
- Borax Laundry Booster
- Boiling water
- Pipe cleaners
- Glass container
- String
- Pencil
Instructions:
- Shape the pipe cleaners into twirls, swirls, stars, hearts, etc. (They can't be wider than the opening of your glass container.)
- Tie a string to the pipe cleaner design.
- Pour boiling water into a wide mouth glass container (pipe cleaner shouldn't touch the bottom or sides). Add about a cup of Borax - enough that the water is very cloudy.
- Suspend the pipe cleaner by tying the other end of string to the middle of the pencil. Place the pencil across the top of the jar.
- The pipe cleaner needs to be completely immersed and not touching the sides or bottom of the jar.
- As the Borax/Water cools, crystals will begin to form. Leave overnight then take out of the jar and let dry. (You can leave it in for less time if you want - it all depends on how thick you want the crystals to be.)
- A coat of clear spray paint will prevent the crystals from falling off too quickly.
Happy Crafting!
