{"id":5781,"date":"2013-12-16T06:50:33","date_gmt":"2013-12-16T14:50:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mixhart.ca\/blog\/?p=5781"},"modified":"2014-04-17T09:44:53","modified_gmt":"2014-04-17T17:44:53","slug":"crystal-snowflake-craft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.mixhart.ca\/index.php\/crystal-snowflake-craft\/","title":{"rendered":"Crystal Snowflake Craft"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"IMG_8018\"<\/a>\u00a0My daughters and I made crystal snow flakes out of pipe cleaners and Borax laundry detergent. The results are impressive! We put 12 spindly pipe-cleaner snowflakes into the Borax solution in the evening and woke up in the morning to 12 heavy, jewel-encrusted snowflakes!<\/h4>\n

I recommend this snow flake craft if you enjoy impressive crystals that sparkle like diamonds<\/strong>. The best thing ever about making these crystal snowflakes is that you only need minimal crafting talent!<\/p>\n

My craft attempts usually end up in the FAIL pile on Pinterest<\/em><\/strong>. I’m rather impatient. It’s odd, I am detail orientated and a perfectionist when I oil paint because it’s “work.” However, with crafts that are supposed to be “fun,” I have no patience if it isn’t easy, fast and fun.<\/p>\n

I’ve tried making crystals before and was disappointed by how slowly they grew. However, the Borax snowflake crystals grew very fast and sparkle like diamonds\u2014very impressive!<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The snowflakes, hanging on our tree. They look a little like starving starfish; but, oh how they sparkle!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The snowflakes are designed to hang on trees. Ours are fairly large (I like things big and flashy). We made 12; which, is a lot considering the snowflakes are so big. This meant we had to use about 16 cups of solution to cover the snowflakes. Smaller snowflakes would be much easier to manage; but, like I said, I never do things on a small-scale<\/strong> (hence why I have so many craft fails under my belt). It was our first attempt, next time I think I’ll try smaller and more complex shapes\u2014so cool.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_8004\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I hope you enjoy the journey through crystal making and make your own snowflakes tonight<\/strong><\/em>:<\/p>\n

Supplies needed:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

wire cutters for the pipe cleaners<\/strong><\/p>\n

white pipe cleaners<\/strong><\/p>\n

string<\/strong><\/p>\n

Borax laundry detergent (powder in a box)<\/strong><\/p>\n

boiling water<\/strong><\/p>\n

food colouring (optional)<\/strong><\/p>\n

large, deep glass container (or plastic) * we upgraded the size of bowl when we discovered how big our snowflakes were<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

long stick or narrow pole to hang snowflakes<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Directions:<\/h4>\n

-Cut 3 pipe cleaners in half. Twist 3 halves around each other in the centre to form a six-sided snowflake shape.<\/p>\n

-Tie one end of the string to the snowflake and the other to a long stick or thin pole.<\/p>\n

\"IMG_8011\"<\/a><\/p>\n

-Place snowflakes hanging into a large container (they should be free hanging and not touch the bottom or each other).<\/p>\n

*we made so many and they were huge that ours touched each other and I had to pull them apart in the morning.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

-Mix boiling water with Borax and stir until Borax is nearly dissolved: 3 Tbsp of Borax for each cup of boiling water.<\/p>\n

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-Fill container with enough boiling water\/Borax solution to cover snowflake completely (add blue food colouring if you want to give snowflakes a glacial hue).
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

\"IMG_8024\"<\/a><\/p>\n

-Leave snowflakes hanging in solution undisturbed over night. In the morning you’ll be thrilled to discover your gems! Ours touched in the bowl and thus, I had to pry them apart (the good news is the crystals are fairly durable).<\/p>\n

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Pip holding up the HEAVY finished jewels. Time to cut them free.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0My daughters and I made crystal snow flakes out of pipe cleaners and Borax laundry detergent. The results are impressive! We put 12 spindly pipe-cleaner snowflakes into the Borax solution in the evening and woke up in the morning to … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"kt_blocks_editor_width":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[2245,2247,3111,2246,2249,161,2244,2248,2243,2242],"class_list":["post-5781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crafts","tag-borax-crystal-craft","tag-christmas-craft","tag-crafts","tag-crystal-snowflake-craft","tag-dyi","tag-kids-and-crafts","tag-make-crystals","tag-make-your-own-crystals","tag-snowflake-craft","tag-snowflakes"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t