Make Your Own Holiday Snowflakes

Here's a fun, easy way to decorate for the holidays and make homemade gifts: DIY crystal snowflakes, courtesy of Professor Figgy

Tip: Safety first! Adult supervision is encouraged for all steps of this process, since it involves very hot water and borax, which should not be internally ingested.

Note: Once you've created your snowflakes, be mindful. If left exposed to air for a long time, borax crystals will begin to dehydrate and will become opaque and chalky. To prevent this, try coating your snowflake with an acrylic spray enamel or another sealant and store in an airtight container when not in use. Kids, ask an adult to help with this too!

The key ingredient to making these snowflakes is borax (sodium tetraborate). 20 Mule Team is a widely available brand and can be found in the laundry aisle at your local grocery store.

* Container with a lid

* Measuring cups for both wet and dry

* 1 1/8 cup Borax

* Mixing spoon

* Thin gauge wire

* 12-inch tinsel pipe cleaner

* Large craft stick

* Wire cutters

Add borax to container with 3 cups of water and mix thoroughly. Put in microwave (with cover just resting on top), and heat on high for 5 minutes until liquid is boiling and all of the borax has dissolved.

Set borax solution aside (with the lid still slightly on) to cool slightly for about an hour.

In the meantime, prepare your snowflake base by using the wire cutters to cut your tinsel pipe cleaner into 3 equal (4-inch) sections. Also cut a 6-inch length of thin gauge wire.

Twist the pieces of pipe cleaner together at their middle points to form a six-pointed, snowflake pattern.

Then make a small loop at one end of the snowflake and thread the wire through this loop.  Twist the wire around itself to secure it and wrap the longer end of the wire around the craft stick.

Tip: You don’t have to just grow snowflakes. Try twisting and bending your pipe cleaners into various shapes and patterns.  The crystals will adhere and grow regardless of the shape of the base.

Remove the lid from the container and put your snowflake in the borax solution, resting the craft stick across the mouth of the container.

Adjust the length of the wire so the snowflake is completely submerged but not touching the sides or bottom of the container. Cover the whole setup with the lid.

Here's the fun part — seeing your snowflake grow! Slowly, the crystals will form. Don’t worry if the solution changes color. This is because of coloring in the tinsel pipe cleaner and will not affect the growth of your snowflake. You should have a full-grown snowflake in 4-6 hours!

Tip: While you are growing your snowflake, you will see some crystals start to grow on the sides or bottom of your container.  If these seem to be competing with your actual snowflake (which can happen with the second use of the solution), carefully remove the snowflake from the solution and re-dissolve the borax crystals. Once cooled, return your snowflake to the solution.

Once you are happy with the size of your snowflake, remove it from the solution and let it air-dry overnight.  Be careful – crystals are fragile when they are we!

Tip: Experiment with different growing times. Less time will give a thinner and finer crystal; more time will give a thicker, chunkier crystal. With the tinsel pipe cleaners, less time in the solution yields a snowflake that looks like ice crystals clinging to shimmery tinsel!

Once dry, hang your ornament using the wire attached to it. Display it proudly on a tree or in a window! To grow more snowflakes from this solution, simply reheat the solution (and any other crystals that formed in the container) directly in the container in the microwave for 5-6 six minutes or until all of the borax is re-dissolved. Then, repeat steps #5 thru #10.  This project should yield at least 4 snowflakes.

Tip: Once grown and displayed, do not clean your snowflake with water.  Like the original borax powder, it is still very water-soluble and will dissolve.

Jim Noonan is a former crafter for The Martha Stewart Show where he worked for four years both on-air and behind-the-scenes developing and producing numerous original craft projects.

He is also the founder of Professor Figgy's Fabulous Science Kits which creates unique and educational science kits for kids and families that combine the wonders of science with the fun of crafting. Jim is originally from Westerly, Rhode Island, and currently lives in Brooklyn.