This is part 2 to my first post about snow and ice activities from yesterday.
On one of the days we made these borax crystal snowflakes.
We actually first made these, two Christmases ago. They looked so pretty then, but when I pulled them out this last Christmas they had turned a little chalky and white and not pretty anymore. So…these are great to enjoy right after but not to keep for later.
Here’s the how to:
Borax Snowflake Crystals
The instructions below make one snowflake crystal.
Materials
Boiling hot water – enough to fill one pint sized mason jar
1/3 cup borax – you can find this in the laundry aisle. I also like to use Borax to help remove stains and odors in our laundry. It works great on pee laundry…for any of you toilet training your kids right now. 😉
pint mason jar
pencil
pipe cleaners
string/yarn
Directions
1. Form your pipe cleaners into a snowflake shape or whatever shape you desire, while you boil water.
2. Add water to your mason jar.
3. Mix in borax. Stir it but don’t worry if it isn’t completely dissolved.
4. Attach your pipe cleaner shape to the string and hang it from the pen/pencil while submerging it in your jar.
Like this.
Leave it overnight. The next morning you should have a nice pretty crystal snowflake.
The jar will have crystal formations at the bottom and on the sides. Don’t worry. Just stab it with a fork a few times and it will break right off in chunks.
FYI: Please be mindful that some children may see this as candy. Borax can be toxic if ingested. Read the labeling on the borax package and make sure your children don’t mistake this for food.
On another day we made the classic paper snowflakes.
I admit a lot of them were mine. It was sooo fun and fast I had to force myself to stop at 8. My two year old just had scissors practice on our scraps while we worked on the snowflakes…and my five year old son made the one just above the bottom left. He was so proud.
Then we hung them in our dining room. I think they look quite pretty there.
I now know that these snowflakes aren’t anatomically correct. We learned from one of our snow books, after we made these, that all snowflakes are six sided. Whoops. Eight-sided looks close enough.
Toward the end of the week we took our snowflakes out to decorate our fence …
The day before we played in the snow and filled up some buckets and boxes from our house to make these ice chairs and little table. We did it in the late afternoon when the sun was out so the snow would melt a little and help the snow compact better when it froze over night. {This is another idea from Parents magazine}.
The next afternoon we unmolded our snow “furniture,” made some hot chocolate with snowmen shaped marshmallows and had a little party. My boys loved this. Especially my two year old. When he was done with his hot chocolate he started snacking on our snow table. Ha ha. 🙂
Then we played in the snow again. The sun came out toward the end of the week and things warmed up a bit so the weather was lovely.
I really wanted to build a snowman but our snow was too powdery. It’s what Utah’s famous for I guess. So…skiers delight and snowman makers lament.
Owen was a little to heavy for his chair, so it ended up looking like this toward the end. A broken chair and then add the nibbled at table…I eventually gave Owen the okay to do some demolition work on it.
We topped off the week with the snowman pizza I posted about last week.
I hope these posts have inspired you to get out and enjoy the cold weather! I am hoping for more snow so we can:
catch snowflakes and compare them under a magnifying glass
build a snowman
go sledding again – we haven’t gone since Thanksgiving
make a snow cave
If you have any other great snowy/icy activities I would love to hear about them.
Have a great day!
So cool! Sadly, we live in South Florida and are wearing shorts today!
What fun–your kids are so lucky to have you:). I love the seats and table you made!
I never thought about making rock candy into snow flakes such a great idea!
your boys are seriously so cute, and they have such a fun Momma! I am loving those Lightning McQueen boots! Wesley LOVE Cars!
great activity! I'm excited to try it. What is the borax quantity? 1/3 of a cnup? Of the mason jar?
Wow, what a fun mom.
Wish we had snow here. It looks so pretty. Just rain, rain and rain.
Wow what a great post your kids shore are lucky. Our family has never seen snow but that's where we are planing our family holiday this year:)
Lovely, fun post, beautiful children, awesome parenting, cool snow furniture, blessed family. Thanks for sharing. Reminds me of when mine where little….Merry Christmas <3
What great ideas! Thank you for the inspiration, I love new ideas! (btw, I the close-up shot of your boy in the green coat is AMAZING!!! Those eyes!!!)
Awesome! I miss the snow! Maybe just the first day or two! LOL!
You just might be the coolest mom ever!
Found you on pinterest. What a fun idea! My guys will LOVE this!
So many fun activities in the snow! Love that little table and chairs! Such a great idea!
http://barbarasbeat.blogspot.com/2012/01/momtrepreneur-tip-of-day-make-borax.html
Love the borax snowflake craft! And what a cool mom to take the time and effort to make a snow table and chairs for the kids. Love it!
This is so amazing! I love the borax snowflakes! I featured this post on my blog today http://www.myoatmealkisses.com/2012/01/snow-week-wrap-up.html thanks for the great inspiration!
-Kate
You made some good points there. I looked on the internet for the subject matter and found most guys will agree with your site.
Timberland Women's Earthkeepers Mount Holly Tall Lace Duck Boot
Cute children! They look so nice in the photos.
Also, I love the boric acid uses with the snow flakes. So adorable.
Really pretty Borax snowflakes, but you might want to warn people to hang them out of reach of kids and pets (Borax is toxic to eat). It looks a lot like rock candy.
Speaking of which – this might work for sugar just as well, and then it would be safe if someone accidentally ate it.
Came across your blog via pinterest. This is absolutely precious. I grew up in Minnesota and this brought me back to being a little kid and playing in the snow. Your boys will remember days like this forever. They're so fortunate to have such a thoughtful and fun mom 🙂
Try spraying your snow furniture with a water bottle…will ice over and make it last longer. You could spray it in layers as you make them in the mold…then it will be an ice block when it comes out.
Could you also add food color to the borax snowflakes and also to the chair and table? Just for a color pop?
Great ideas! to enjoy snow in summer, make snow balls and put in large ziploc bags in freezer. Fun to pull out and play with in warm weather.
Hi, I got here from Pinterest. love your ideas. REALLY love the close up picture of you son! Could you tell me what kind of camera you use to get an amazing shot like that??!!
My Mom used to make us snow ice cream to have with our hot chocolate. I'm not sure the recipe but I'm sure you can find one online I know she used snow, vanilla, egg and not sure what else but it was so good.
Just found you via pinterest. Great ideas! Love the borax snowflakes! Going to try these tomorrow with the kids!
Just letting you know I linked to this post in my Snowflake Unit Study http://www.zujava.com/snowflake-study
Hi! I found your blog on pinterest and was inspired to make the borax snowflakes, however mine did not turn out. Are you supposed to divide out the 1/3 cup into the six jars or are you supposed to use 1/3 cup borax PER pint jar? Thanks for your help. I can't wait to try them…. again. :O)
Found you via Pinterest and just blogged about doing the Borax snowflakes with my daughter – they are FANTASTIC and I think I was more excited about them than her! You can read about it here http://www.conqueringcrafts.com/2012/12/of-crystals-and-sparkle-sparrows.html Thanks for the inspiration!
To get even better crystals, put the jar in a foam cooler. It jets the water cool slower. Also, using colored pipe cleaners is fun! I first did thus when I was in middle school for extra credit. I made a red heart that came out great!
Just gave you a shout out! Happy Holidays!
http://4you-withlove.blogspot.com/2012/12/snow-days-are-fun-days.html
Marilyn
Hi Delia
I thought I commented here the other day, but maybe I hit a wrong button. I run a blog (I don't think I have any followers yet, but I'm working on it) for my dad's small construction company. He works for the disabled and elderly. I have a regular post called "For the grandkids and / or kid in you". I'd love to share your Borax snowflakes, giving you full
We tried the Borax snowflakes yesterday, left them overnight, and nothing happened. I'm not sure what I could have possibly done wrong!
Ok, two things I like about this post…first the chemistry/art project of the borax and pipe cleaners, and then the outdoor hot chocolate party! Love it! Making the tables and chairs is so cool! I've also seen people fill balloons with water and let them freeze, that might add to the ambiance!
I'm hosting a STEM themed linky, and would love for you to link up to this post! My
I've just found you on pinterest. How cool! I love these and wondered at first if they were possibly rock candy. I live in Sweden and am yet to figure out what I can substitute for Borax but I love this and will send the link to my sister, who's in the US! I'm glad I found you!
Fab post – the snowflakes are great!
I would love for you to link up this and your other science experiment posts at Empty Your Archive link party – there is a special focus this week on science, Alice @ Mums Make Lists x
With the noturious Pittsburgh weather we get here every winter, you better believe we get some snow days. It's nice to see some activities that i can do with my kids inside and not just out. Thanks for the post, i like it a lot.
I have been making borax Christmas ornaments for years in my classroom.. So excited to see it here! Use colored pipe cleaners to get color. You can mix red and white to make awesome candy canes. There is no limit to the color and ideas. Also, if you begin with a metal Christmas tree hook instead of string, it will be ready to hang. I use a large styrofoam cup and just toss at the end. Much easier
We used to make rock candy like this but I can’t remember the recipe. Have you done this in your classroom? I believe we learned how to do it when my oldest son was in kindergarten, now I have my first grandson and would like to do it with him when he’s a little older.
How fun!! We unfortunately do not get snow, but I can't wait to try the Borax snow flakes, my kids will love it and they're so pretty!
Just wondering…will a drop of food colouring change the colour of the crystals? These will look amazing if i could make them in a rainbow of colours for decor for my lil one's bday party….it's fairy party so anything magical will work
These are awesome!
I wonder if a lil food colouring in the water will also change the colour of the crystals?
We doing a fairy themed party for my lil one in December (summer in South Africa) so having these crystals in an array of colour will be really magical..must give it a try
Just did these, except I connected them to Christmas tree hooks instead of string and a pencil. They are gorgeous. They sparkle so much more than in the pics. Though they were a little tricky to get out of the Mason jars.
What a cool project cant wait to try it my kids.
Have you ever done this with colored pipe cleaners? I only have black on hand, so we are going to try that tonight!
Cheers,
Tiffany
I haven’t but I bet it would look cool! I hear that you can color the water to make colored crystals too. Hope you had fun making some!
These are awesome! I may have to try these Borax snowflakes for my daughter’s Frozen themed sleepover. We don’t see snow in Florida so this looks fun!
I would love it if you linked up at the Geeky Educational Link Up!
http://www.morethanacouponqueen.com/search/label/Geeky%20Educational%20Link%20Up