Looking to add a little sparkle to your holiday decor? These icicle ornaments reflect the light, giving your tree a beautiful glow.

Difficulty level: Beginner
Time to complete: 1 hour
Age range: 12 and up

Things you’ll need:
Jute
Scissors
Hot glue gun
Hot glue
Pipe cleaners
Borax
Large pot
Dowel or stick
Water

Things to do:
1. First, cut your pipe cleaners so they can hang in your pot without touching the bottom. You can cut them all the same length, or play with different lengths to add variety to your ornaments.

2. Now we’re going to hang our pipe cleaners from the dowel. Cut a 5-inch piece of jute for every pipe cleaner and tie one side roughly 1/2 -inch from the top of the pipe cleaner and the other side to the dowel. Repeat this step until all of your pipe cleaners are secured in place. Make sure they’re far enough apart to hang without touching each other or the sides of the pot.

3. Fill your pot with water and bring to a boil. For every three cups of water you add, mix in 9 tablespoons of Borax. Keep the mixture on high heat for a few minutes, until the borax dissolves, then remove it from the stove.

4. Place your dowel over the top of the pot and hang the pipe cleaners in the borax. Let them soak in the mixture for a minimum of 8 hours and watch the crystals form.

5. When you’re happy with the crystals, pull them out of the mixture and trim the jute. You can dry them off with a paper towel so they don’t drip.

6. There are two ways to turn your crystals into ornaments. If you have about an inch or so of plain pipe cleaner at the top, fold it down into a loop. String a piece of jute through the loop and knot it to create a hanger. If you don’t have enough pipe cleaner at the top of the crystal, trim any excess pipe cleaner away, knot an 8-inch piece of jute and use hot glue to attach the knot to the top of the crystal.
7. Display your ornaments and enjoy!