Handmade Crystal Snowflake Ornaments

Make your own crystal snowflake ornaments by crystallizing borax onto homemade paper snowflakes. These sparkling snowflakes can be made in any size to suit your decorating needs.

Materials for Crystal Snowflake Ornaments

• round paper coffee filters
• borax
• water
• scissors
• food coloring (optional)

Make Crystal Snowflake Ornaments

1. Cut a paper snowflake (or another shape) from the coffee filter.
2. Prepare crystal solution by stirring borax into boiling water until no more will dissolve. You'll know the solution is ready if borax powder starts to accumulate on the bottom of your container.
3. Add a drop of food coloring, if you want colored snowflake ornaments.
4. Place the paper snowflake onto a plate or saucer. Pour the crystal solution over the snowflake, making sure it is completely covered.
5. Allow crystals to grow on the snowflake until you are satisfied with their size. Small crystals take about an hour to form. You can allow the crystals to grow overnight if you want larger crystals.
6. Pour off the crystal solution and carefully dislodge the crystal snowflake from the plate. This is best done with a fingernail or butter knife. You can remove any crystals that are stuck in the holes of the snowflake. Allow the crystal snowflake to fully dry before removing it and hanging it.

Other Types of Crystal Snowflakes

If you don't have borax, you can still do the project. You can substitute other salts, such as table salt, sea salt, or Epsom salts. Simply stir the salt into the hot water until no more will dissolve. Another option is to use sugar.

Sugar crystals work the same way, but you don't need very much water to dissolve a lot of sugar. Start with a small amount of boiling water (perhaps a half cup) and stir in sugar until it stops dissolving. Another option is to boil water on a stove and add sugar. Let the sugar water cool a bit and pour it over a paper snowflake. Sugar solution gets very thick as it cools, so it's best to use it while it's still warm.