20 Mule Team Borax Crystal Snowflakes and Ornaments Craft

Who doesn't love to make gorgeous ornaments?  I have a fun and easy craft idea for the holidays that you can use for Christmas or Hanukkah or anytime. Think about all the possibilities. You can buy 20 Mule Team Borax in any grocery store for a reasonable price and it an all natural product that is easy to work with for fun crafts.

Required supplies:

• string
• wide mouth jar (pint)
• white pipe cleaners
• borax (see tips)
• pencil, popsicle stick or twigs
• boiling water
• various liquid or gel food colors
• scissors

1. The first step of making borax crystal snowflakes or ornaments is to make the snowflake or ornament shape. Cut a pipe cleaner into three equal sections for a snowflake or into the shape you want for your ornament.
2. Twist the sections together at their centers to form a six-sided snowflake shape. Make whatever shape you want if you are doing a round ornament or oval for example. Don't worry if an end isn't even, just trim to get the desired shape. The snowflake or ornament should fit inside a wide- mouthed glass jar like one you use for canning.
3. Tie the string to the end of one of the snowflake or ornament arms. Tie the other end of the string to the pencil or a wooden stick or even a twig. You want the length to be such that the pencil hangs the snowflake into the jar.
4. Fill the widemouth pint jar with boiling water.
5. Add borax one tablespoon at a time to the boiling water, stirring to dissolve after each addition. The amount used is 3 tablespoons borax per cup of water. It is okay if some undissolved borax settles to the bottom of the jar.
6. If desired, you may tint the mixture with food color.
7. Hang the pipe cleaner snowflake or ornament into the jar so that the pencil rests on top of the jar and the snowflake or ornament is completely covered with liquid and hangs freely (not touching the bottom of the jar).
8. Allow the jar to sit in an undisturbed location overnight.
9. Look at the pretty crystals and enjoy them all season long!!! You can hang your snowflake as a decoration or in a window to catch the sunlight

Because boiling water is used and because borax isn't intended for eating, adult supervision is recommended for this project.  If you really can't find borax, you can use sugar or salt (may take longer to grow the crystals, so be patient). Add sugar or salt to the boiling water until it stops dissolving. Ideally you want no crystals at the bottom of the jar.