Borax Crystals

Hey Everyone!!  I know I've been rather MIA lately. And for that, I'm SOO sorry.  Things have been crazy busy and are finally starting to dwindle down.  If there is such a thing as that with 3 little ones.  Anyways, I wanted to share with you all one of my Christmas projects this year.  A few people got them from us as gifts. Munchkin's preschool teacher liked it so much, that I will be going into the class in a couple of weeks to help them make some!  These wonderful things I speak of are Borax Crystal Ornaments.  Here is one that I did that was displayed on my friend's Christmas Tree!!  The picture here shows it unfinished as I attached so white ribbon to it with the hot glue gun.  So, lets get started!!

Here is what you need!

-Pipe Cleaners
-Borax (MUST be 20 Mule Team Brand)
-Wide Jar
-Pencil
-String
-Water to fill jar












Directions:

First,, bend your pipe cleaner into the shape you are wanting.  Can be anything!  I did letters, candy canes, hearts, swirls, flowers. the possibilities are ENDLESS!!

Next, attach and suspend the pipe cleaner with string.  Check to make sure that it will be completely submerged in the water once it is put in.  Adjust strings accordingly. Remove from jar.

Fill glass with water.  You can heat the water one of 2 ways.  You can either heat it in a pot to almost boiling.  OR, you can fill the jar with water and place it in the microwave.  I always did mine for 2.5 minutes.

Once water is hot, Begin mixing in the borax.  The trick is that you must put in just enough so that it doesn't dissolve anymore into the water.  once you see this happening, do not add any more.  My amounts always varied so I can not give you an exact amount. Other sites will tell you about 3 tablespoons per 1 cup of water. I chose to mess with mine all the time to see different results like bigger or smaller crystals.

Once you have mixed it, go ahead and place the pip cleaner into the water making sure that it is fully covered by the water.  Also, make sure that it is not touching ANY sides as this will lead to having a hard time removing it.  Once this is done, LEAVE IT ALONE!!  DO NOT TOUCH until you are ready to take it out. Some Say to leave it over night. but i found that some days, i had major crystals within a couple of hours.  and others it took longer.

 This is mine after being in for about 8 hours.  Remove from the jar and LET DRY completely!!  That can take anywhere from 8-24 hours.  Removed strings from ornament.  You can then attach a pretty ribbon to hang on the tree or anywhere you want.  Here are some of the other ones I made.

I hope you enjoy these!!!  Come back and tell me what you have made!!!!