Okay, so I was scrolling through my feed the other day, and I saw these amazing “crystal trees.” I was like, “Whoa, I gotta try making one of those!” It looked like a fun little science experiment and a cool decoration, all in one.
Getting Started
First things first, I needed to gather my supplies. I did a quick search online and found a basic recipe. It seemed pretty straightforward. Here’s what I grabbed:
- Salt: Just regular table salt, nothing fancy.
- Water: You know, from the tap.
- Bluing: This was the tricky one. Apparently, it’s used for laundry, to make whites whiter. I had to hunt for it, and finally found some at an old-school hardware store.
- Ammonia: Also found this at the hardware store. Be careful with this stuff, it’s strong!
- Cardboard: I just ripped up an old Amazon box.
- Food Coloring: Figured this would make the tree more colorful.
- A Shallow Dish: I used a plastic container lid.
Mixing the Potion
Next up, I mixed the ingredients. I remember it being something like:
- 6 tablespoons of salt
- 6 tablespoons of water
- 6 tablespoons of bluing
- 1 tablespoon of ammonia
I put the water in a bowl first, then add the salt, and stir it a lot. Then, I poured in the bluing and gave it another good stir. Finally, I add the ammonia, outside for better air .Gotta be careful not to breathe that stuff in too much.
Building the Tree
Now for the fun part! I cut out a simple tree shape from the cardboard. Just two pieces that slot together to make it stand up. I made some little slits in the branches, thinking it might help the crystals grow. Then, I put the cardboard tree in the shallow dish.
I carefully poured the solution into the dish, making sure it didn’t go over the base of the tree.
Then, I splattered some drops of food coloring onto the cardboard branches. I used green, blue, and a little bit of red – I wanted a multi-colored crystal tree!
Waiting (and Watching!)
This is where patience comes in. I put the dish in a safe spot, where it wouldn’t get bumped, and…waited. It took a few hours, but I started to see tiny crystals forming on the edges of the cardboard. It was so exciting!
Overnight, the crystals really took off! They grew and spread, covering the cardboard branches. The colors from the food coloring spread too, making these cool, almost tie-dye patterns in the *’s really amazing.
The Finished Product
After about a day, my crystal tree was fully grown. It looked awesome! A little bit fragile, but totally worth the effort. I carefully moved it to a shelf, where it’s now a pretty cool (and unique) * I had a good experience.
It’s a super simple project, and the results are really impressive. If you’re looking for a fun little experiment, I’d definitely recommend giving it a try!
