Hey everyone! I’ve been wanting to try making those cool crystal Christmas trees I’ve seen all over the internet. So, I finally gave it a shot, and let me tell you, it was a bit of a rollercoaster, but we got there in the end! Here’s how it all went down.
Gathering the Goods
First things first, I needed to gather my supplies. I totally winged it on some of this, just grabbing stuff I thought might work. Here’s what my shopping list looked like:
- Borax – Found this in the laundry aisle.
- Pipe cleaners – Went for green, because, you know, Christmas tree.
- Boiling water – Straight from my kettle.
- A wide-mouth jar – I used a big mason jar.
- String – Just some regular kitchen twine.
- A pencil – To hang the tree from.
- Food coloring(optional) – I wanted that extra sparkle.
Building the Trees
Next up, I twisted the pipe cleaners into little tree shapes. This part was actually kinda fun, like playing with fuzzy sticks. I made a few different sizes, just to see what would happen. I did find it easier to make the basic triangle shape first and the I bent it into a simple tree shape. I tied some string to the top of each tree, and then tied the other end to the pencil. The idea is to hang the tree upside down in the jar.
The Crystal Growing Magic (or Not)
Now for the “science” part. I carefully poured the boiling water into my jar. Then, I started adding Borax, one spoonful at a time, stirring until it dissolved. I kept adding it until no more would dissolve – this is what they call a “saturated solution.” I wanted a really vibrant green, so I added a few drops of green food coloring at this stage.
I carefully lowered my pipe cleaner trees into the jar, making sure they weren’t touching the sides or bottom. I rested the pencil across the top of the jar, suspending the trees in the solution. And then… I waited.
The Waiting Game (and Some Tweaks)
Okay, this is where things got a little interesting. The instructions I saw online said to wait overnight. So, I did. The next morning, I rushed to check, and… almost nothing. A few tiny crystals, but mostly just fuzzy pipe cleaners.
I was a bit bummed, but not ready to give up. I figured maybe my solution wasn’t saturated enough. So, I took the trees out, reheated the solution, and added even more Borax. I also made sure the water was really hot this time. Then, I put the trees back in and waited again.
Crystal Success!
This time, it worked! After another night of waiting (and a lot of peeking), I woke up to some seriously sparkly crystal-covered trees! They looked so cool! They were a bit fragile, so I handled them carefully. But overall, I was super stoked with how they turned out. They are sitting nicely on my desk.
So, there you have it – my crystal Christmas tree adventure. It took a little trial and error, but it was definitely a fun project. If you try it, don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t work perfectly the first time. Just keep experimenting, and you’ll get some awesome, sparkly trees of your own!
