Watch to learn how to make crystal covered pipe cleaner leaves!
This week’s curbside supply bags included the supplies to make Borax crystal leaves. If you weren’t able to get a supply bag this week, you can follow along with these instructions.
Supplies:
- Borax
- Pipe cleaner – in fall colors
- Popsicle stick
- String
- Cup
- Stainless steel pan or glass
- Water
Directions:
- Bend your pipe cleaner into the shape of a fall leaf. You will need a place to attach the string, so make sure each leaf has a short stem. Also, the leaf will need to fit in your cup without touching the sides or the bottom, so keep that in mind when creating your designs.
- Tie a piece of string to each leaf, and then tie the other end to a popsicle stick. Hang your leaves so that they will be suspended in the borax solution that you will make next.
- The regular recipe of ¾ cup of borax and 1 cup of water should be enough for one leaf. Bring the water to a boil. Then stir in the borax. It’s okay if it doesn’t all dissolve. Just stir until you’ve dissolved as much as you can. You want the solution to be completely saturated, so it’s okay if there’s a little borax left at the bottom of the pan. *Note: You can use a regular stainless steel pan on the stove or a glass in the microwave and neither will be damaged.
- Pour some borax solution into a cup then suspend the leaf in the cup. Make sure that the leaf is not touching the sides or bottom of the cup!
- Take the crystals out of the cup after 5 hours. Leaving them overnight is fine, too.
*It is not recommended to handle the finished crystals more than you need to. The crystals break easily, so you won’t want to allow kids to carry these around and play with them anyway. They are beautiful to make and display! Try making ornaments out of them by adding a piece of ribbon.