For this week’s Sunday diy I’m going full on Mr. Wizard! And if you’re old enough to remember Donald Herbert Kemske, a.k.a. Mr. Wizard, you’ll recall he did some pretty amazing stuff on Mr. Wizard’s World in the 80’s and early 90’s. I’m pretty sure he’d appreciate this diy. Today, my Dear reader, we’re going to make our own magnificent, sparkling crystals! The prep time for this project will be just about 10 minutes. In the end you’ll have an awesome décor piece that you can display on a bookshelf in your room, dorm, home office, desk or window. Hell, you can put it anywhere you want a bit of bling! Wanna know how to do it? Well let’s get started.
How To Make Your Own Magnificent, Sparkling Crystals: Supplies.
Here’s what you need:
A box of Borax.
One plastic cup
Pipe cleaners (the number depends on how big you want your crystal to be. Choose a color.
Thin string or fishing line.
Two wood dowels, or a stick from outside and a long kitchen spoon.
A tall vase or heat resistant container.
A glass stone or a plain old rock (optional).
Food coloring, your choice of color (optional).
A pot.
Water.
How To Make Your Own Magnificent, Sparkling Crystals: Boil Water.
Unlike Mr. Wizard, I didn’t measure out the exact amount of water for this project and to be honest, it didn’t matter in the end, so fill your pot about half full with water. Good old city gin will do, that’s water from the tap if you didn’t pick up what I was puttin’ down.. I used a larger pot but you can use whatever you have on hand.
How To Make Your Own Magnificent, Sparkling Crystals: Prep Forms.
While your water is boiling, should take about 5 to 6 minutes on a high flame. Probably around 8 to 10 for electric stoves. In a pinch you can boil water in a microwave. Or over an open campfire… holy cow, you can totally do this while camping… Let’s get back on track.. While your water is boiling, prepare your forms:
Take your pipe cleaner and bend it into the shape you want your crystal to be. Just weave it around itself and stick the ends into the middle of the form. I just wound up the pipe cleaner into a elongated circle and wove another pipe cleaner in and around the first one so until I had a solid looking shape. I used two pipe cleaners for the first one in black.
If you want to make a heaver crystal, use a small rock as the center of the form. Wind your pipe cleaners around the rock, following the shape of the rock. Cover the top, bottom and sides with the pipe cleaner. I had this tumbled glass in my craft drawer and I wound white pipe cleaners around it. I used 4 pipe cleaners for this one.
There are an endless array of pipe cleaner colors at the craft store, dollar stores, Walmart. You can even use the metallic colored ones for a really pretty metallic crystal!
How To Make Your Own Magnificent, Sparkling Crystals: Hang Your Creation.
Next, Take your pipe cleaner formation and tie a sting to the top of it, weave the sting in between the top layer of the pipe cleaner and tie the other half to the dowel or stick you found.
Adjust the length of your sting to shorter than the height of the container you’re using. If it’s too long, just wrap the string around the dowel or stick a few times to adjust. Secure it with a simple knot so it doesn’t unwind.
It’s important that the pipe cleaner formation doesn’t touch the bottom or sides of the container because crystals will grow and attach it to the container.
How To Make Your Own Magnificent, Sparkling Crystals: Mix It Up!
After you get your pipe cleaner form wound and strung up, mix your potion.
Carefully pour your boiled water into your container. You’ll want to use a glass container or metal, nothing that can melt from hot water.
Fill your plastic cup with the borax. I used a 12 oz cup, but you can use a larger or smaller one, whatever you have on hand. I found other tutorials that said use 9 table spoons of borax to 4 cups of boiled water. I literally just filled up my cup and dumped the borax into my container and it turned out great!
After that take a long kitchen spoon or spare dowell and stir the mixture until the borax is completely dissolved in the hot water. It should be clear to cloudy depending on how much borax you used.
If you want to add a bit of color to your crystal, add a few drops of food coloring to your mixture and stir it up.
How To Make Your Own Magnificent, Sparkling Crystals: Submerge The Pipe Cleaner Formation
Put the pipe cleaner formation into your mixture of borax and hot water. Make sure that it’s hanging in the center of the container not touching the sides or bottom.
Let it sit for 6 to 12 hours. The longer the formation is in the solution, the more crystals you will have. I let mine hang for 12 hours. Don’t take it out for at least six hours.
You should be able to see crystals forming after about 2 hours. As the solution cools, you will see more and more. It’s so cool!!
How To Make Your Own Magnificent, Sparkling Crystals: The Reveal!
After you’ve let the crystals form for 6 to 12 hours, you’ll have a sparkling, magnificent crystal cluster that will knock your socks off!
Take the formation out of the solution and snip the sting.
Let it dry on a towel or place it outside to dry in the sun.
Here's The Finished Product:
That’s it! You just created a sparking, magnificent crystal! You are a force of nature! Experiment with different sizes and shapes. Add colors or different textures to the formation. The more little fibers, like those on a pipe cleaner, the better because the crystals have something to grow on.
If you enjoyed this diy, give it a thumbs up, like, love, I’ll take all of it! Share it out to your friends and tag me in if you decide to give this one a whirl. I’d love to see your creation!
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Michael is Principal designer and blogger at Michael Helwig Interiors in beautiful Buffalo, New York. Since 2011, he’s a space planning expert, offering online interior e-design services for folks living in small homes, or for those with awkward and tricky layouts. He’s a frequent expert contributor to many National media publications and news outlets on topics related to decorating, interior design, diy projects, and more. Michael happily shares his experience to help folks avoid expensive mistakes and decorating disappointments. You can follow him on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook @interiorsmh.
