Every year one of my favorite things to do is take out the ornaments and reminisce about Christmas past. But, I cringe when I remember how complicated a few of the handmade ones were to make (back when I lived on Pinterest – ha!)
This year, we decided to keep it simple and make easy peasy crystal ornaments. And a bonus, the magic literally happens overnight – Hello Elf, Santa, and St. Nicholas who also have overnight magic!
This year we have been loving all things rocks and geology since we’ve been tracking dinosaurs and exploring caves. So the 2018 ornament is a DIY geode.
Here’s what you need: 1/3 cup Borax, 2 cups hot water, twine, pipe cleaners, a jar, a pen/pencil, and metallic paint.
Here’s what you do:
- Fashion pipe cleaners into a ball about the size of a silver dollar
- Loop ribbon in the pipe cleaner ball and hide the knot within the pipe cleaners (this will become the ornament hanger)
- Microwave 2 cups of hot water and 1/3 cup Borax in jar until dissolved
- Hang pipe cleaners in jar with a pen until fully submersed
- Let it sit overnight and let the magic happens
Before bedtime
In the morning!
If you want to get fancy, paint a bit of gold metallic paint on the back of the crystals and voila! Your very own geode ornaments.
What’s the science:
When you mix Borax in warm water it dissolves and forms a suspension (tiny solid particles hanging in the water). The warm borax solution cools and the tiny Borax particles settle on the pipe cleaner and form crystals.
Crystals are everywhere in nature. Geodes are formed when mineral rich water goes through tiny holes in porous rock and deposits the minerals inside the rock’s cavity. These deposited minerals eventually form crystals.
I hope the magic of science and Christmas fill your house with a lot of laughter and joy… Merry Christmas!
Leave a Reply