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Crystal Craft

Grow Your Own!

By Ann Becker ~ Stockton Macaroni Kid July 13, 2011
This little craft project couldn't be easier!  


Here's what you need:

  • Wide-mouthed Mason or glass jars
  • Pipe cleaners
  • Pencil
  • String
  • 3 Cup boiling water for each jar
  • 1/2 Cup Borax for each jar
  • Food coloring (optional)

Borax is found in the laundry asile, it's a laundry booster and an ingredient we use in our Homemade Laundry Detergent. It's around $3 for a big box of it.


We found the glass jars we used at the thrift store and the pipe cleaners at the Dollar Tree.

Here's what you do:

  • Make some shapes with your pipe cleaners. We made some with cookie cutters and some freehand shapes.
  • Add 1/2 Cup of Borax to each of the jar and add in the food coloring as well, if you wish.
  • Tie one end of the strings onto the shapes and the other end onto a pencil so that they suspended well into the solution.
  • Pour the boiling water into each of the jars and mix the Borax until it's dissolved and add your shapes.
  • Leave the shapes hanging in the solution for 6-8hrs. 


My kids loved periodically checking the shapes to see how the crystals were growing. They loved making these so much they made a mobile for their Grandma's birthday! That one we started at 10 in the morning and made it just in time for her party at 6pm! 

I already see us doing this craft with Christmas shapes for ornaments on our tree!