Kid Made Crystal Wreath Ornaments

Kid Made Crystal Wreath Ornaments are stunning, breath-taking under the lights and super easy to make! I love having a tree that is filled with lovingly, kid made ornaments. Each piece has a story and history. This year we have made Chicka Chicka Boom Boom inspired ornaments using old keyboard keys, and today we made Crystal Wreath Ornaments. We love mixing a little science into our crafting!

Crystal Wreath Ornaments

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We have a ton of old garland pieces. When the kids were little I bought some at the dollar store so the boys could decorate our railings. The thing is, they were cheaply made and are starting to break, so I decided to use the pieces to create something new and beautiful!

Supplies for Crystal Wreath Ornaments

Green garland pieces
Ribbon
Borax (found in the laundry aisle)
Hot Water
Large Bowl
Chop stick or other stick
Decorative pieces like ribbons, bells, etc.

Directions

To start take your garland and cut it into sections (unless it is already broken like most of mine!)

Make your garland into a circle and tie it securely with some pretty ribbon. This will be used to hold the ornament during the crystallization and for hanging your ornament on the tree later on.

Tie your ribbon around your stick and make sure the ornament is not touching any of the sides of your container or bowl. If it does, get a larger bowl. It’s really important that it doesn’t touch the sides of the bowl.

Next up you will prepare your crystallization solution. Remove the ornament from the bowl and add hot water and Borax. You will use 3 tablespoons of Borax for each cup of hot water. I used 7 cups of water and 21 tablespoons of Borax for this size of bowl. Mix until almost all of the Borax is dissolved. Some Borax will settle at the bottom of your bowl, this is okay.

Let sit completely undisturbed for approximately 12 hours. Don’t touch it, wiggle it, poke it, etc. Any movement could affect the crystal formations.

After 12 hours pull it out and set on a tea towel to dry. Remove any excessive crystal formations by gently brushing them away.

Now decorate with bells, beads, pom poms, whatever you wish to make your wreath special and unique!

I made Crystal figures using pipe cleaners for Halloween, these crystals are not as durable as the garland is more fine and flexible, but they can be handled and moved about. Just use a little extra caution. Also, if your little ones are interested in knowing more about the science of sedimentation and crystallization, check out the Halloween post for more details.

They look absolutely breathtaking on the tree. The crystals catching and reflecting light like ice.

And if you have coloured lights they will reflect the colours in a beautiful Christmas rainbow.

I hope you enjoy bringing a little STEAM into your holidays!