Utah Mama

snowflake ornaments

This is about as easy as you can get when it comes to making an ornament. But your child’s excitement over watching the crystals grow might be even better than the lack of work involved with this project. A few ingredients, a few days, and you are set!

materials:

chenille stems (I prefer white, but you can certainly use colored ones and have cute colored snowflakes.)
jar or cup
water
Borax (found in the laundry section of your grocery store.)

directions:

1. Line up 3 chenille stems and twist tightly in the middle. Then fan out the spokes to make a snowflake. Leave one of the legs of the snowflake long, this will be curled over to create a hook. Cut each of the other pieces so that it will fit into the jar or cup without touching the side. These look great any size, just make sure you have a container to grow the crystals in.

2. If desired, wrap small sections of the chenille stems around each spoke of the snowflake, This will give more area for the crystals to cling to and make the design more interesting. If your snowflakes are smaller than 2 inches in diameter, you may want to keep them plain.

3. Wrap the long “hook” section around another pipe cleaner and settle down into the jar. Make sure there is room to submerge the snowflake and that the tips are not touching the sides of the glass.

4. Bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil, then gradually add 4 Tbs. Borax. Stir well. Continue to add up to a tablespoon more, until you add more Borax and stir vigorously without it dissolving. Pour into prepared jar.

5. Now just wait. In a day or two the snowflake will be encrusted with crystals.