Another snowflake project to celebrate the snow moon! Can you really even have enough snowflakes? This would be a great project to do with a snow lesson, Snowflake Bentley, White Snow Bright Snow and the Story of Snow are all favorite books in our house. Snowflakes are a type of crystal that forms around a bit of dust or debris as it falls from the sky and famously each one is unique.
Scented Crystal Snowflakes
I’ve always loved making borax crystals– I supersaturate the borax solution so that larger crystals form. Most recipes use a lot less borax and that will work, but it will form much smaller crystals.I like to add essential oil to the solution so that it smells nice, but it’s completely optional.
Ingredients:
- White or blue pipe cleaners
- 2 quarts of water
- 2 cups of borax + more
- essential oil of choice (I would use a strong one like evergreen, citrus or vanilla)
Method:
Twist the pipe cleaners into snowflake shapes. They need to be small enough to submerge in your pot.
Bring the water to a boil on the stove in a non- food crafting pot.
Add the 2 cups of borax and stir to dissolve.
Continue adding borax until it stops dissolving. You will add a lot– like half the box. The more you add the bigger the the crystals will be. I usually just stop when I get tired of stirring it in. Add the essential oil if using.
Turn off the heat.
Tie your snowflake form to a stick that you can rest across the top of the pot and submerge it completely in the solution. It isn’t supposed to touch the sides or bottom of the pot, but real talk, mine nearly always do. You just have to unstick them when you’re done because the crystals attach to pot. It’s a pain, but possible.
Cover with a lid and allow to cool naturally overnight. The next morning reveal your beautiful crystal snowflake!!
Remove it from the solution (chipping it off the bottom of the pot if it’s gotten stuck…) and set it on some paper bags to dry.
