Borax Crystals
by
Kara S.
3 Materials
$10
1 Day
Medium
I saw a post by Gale from Purple Hues and Me and I was totally inspired to make these amazing crystals on my own!
Start by making your crystal base. Use white pipe cleaners and twist a few of them together to make 1 long strand.
Once you have twisted them together you should have something like this. Make your crystal any shape you'd like - long and narrow, round, or square!
**Be sure to leave little space between the pipe cleaners. I should have made the weave a little tighter on this one***
First create a double boiler with a pot and a heat safe container. Fill your container with 2-6 cups of water and bring to a boil.
Next, add your food coloring. Be sure to over saturate your water so your crystals have enough color.
Add your Borax to the water. I started with 1 cup at a time, making sure to mix it well before adding another cup. You will know when to stop adding Borax when you can see pieces floating on the surface.
Turn off your heat and remove your container.
Dunk your pipe cleaner in the water a few times to get it saturated. Tie it to a skewer and cover it with a piece of cardboard to keep the heat in. Let this sit up to 24 hours.
and THIS is what you are left with! I love how these came out. The colors are pastel and they are all shapes and sizes.
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Comments
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2 of 27 comments
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I plan to try this.. Thanks for the inspiration.
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I've done this many times. I use the crystals to make jewelry. They make beautiful paper weights too. Isn't science wonderful?
Frequently asked questions
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Do the crystals stay on the pipecleaners and how long do the crystals last ....I loved the idea but wanted to learn more about it. Thank You Nancy
Can this technique be used on other materials; such as flower pots, etc. ??
Hoping someone will see my question now that its 2020, lol I did this lastnight on a deer skull, I added 1.5kg of borax to 9L of water which I knew wouldn't be quite enough, I had some success but not as much as I wanted so now I am wondering if I can dunk the head for a second round (with more borax added) or will it wreck what i have already achieved?