Crystal Hearts for Valentine's Day

Crystal Hearts for
Valentine's Day

Surprise your sweetheart with a
crystal heart on Valentine's Day -
one that you make yourself!



Safety Warning: Adult supervision is required.



What You Will Need:

• Borax Laundry Booster (found in the laundry aisle of your grocery store - we recommend 20 Mule Team Borax Laundry Booster)
• Red Pipe Cleaner (Chenille Stem)
• Pencil
• Glass Beaker or wide-mouth Jar
• Boiling Water
• Tablesoon Measuring Spoon
• Measuring Cup

What You Do:

• Using a red pipe cleaner, form the shape of a heart. Make sure to leave 1 inch of pipe cleaner from the center of the heart to use for hanging the heart while growing the crystals (this will be cut off later).
• Boil enough water to completely fill your jar. Adult supervision is required.
• Pour the boiling water into your jar until the jar is completely full.
• Stir in 1 tablespoon of Borax for every cup of water in the jar and stir to dissolve the Borax.
• Hang the pipe cleaner heart over the pencil and rest the pencil across the opening of the jar. Make sure the heart is completely covered with liquid and that it is hanging in the solution without touching the bottom or sides of the jar.
• Leave the heart in the solution overnight.
• After several hours, your heart will be coated in crystals! The longer you leave the heart in the solution, the more crystallized it will be.
• When you are satisfied with the look of your crystal heart, carefully remove it from the jar and allow to dry.
• Carefully cut off the excess pipe cleaner part that was used for hanging the heart from the pencil.
• Hang your completed crystal heart in a window to catch the sunlight!

Variations:

• Make a variety of different sized hearts. The hearts can then be hung in windows or used as embellishments on cards or gifts.
• Spray the completed heart with an acrylic sealer to better preserve the crystals.
• The steps listed here also work well for making crystal snowflakes! Just bend a white pipe cleaner into the shape of a snowflake!