Whatever Wednesday: 5 Easy Snowflake Crafts

Today on the blog, I've found some cute snowflake crafts to share. They are easy, inexpensive and/or use recyclable material!

Swirls of Winter Snowflake 

I LOVE Michelle's cute idea using clear banister clips!

Hot Glue Glittered Snowflake 

Bethany at Pitter and Glink gives us step-by-step instructions on how to make snowflakes with a glue gun! Cute idea!  

 

Popsicle Snowflake 

 And Snowflakes from Popsicle sticks are a such a breeze!  Kimbo, from Girl and a Glue Gun, guest posts on SugarBeeCrafts with a fun tutorial.

Giant 6-pack Plastic Ring Snowflake

 The tutorial is a video and really easy to follow. By MyRealityBites.

 

Before Christmas, I was at a thrift store and found these amazing looking snowflakes made of 6-pack plastic rings.  Aren't they great?!  
I loved this idea of using the plastic rings for this because years ago, I took my children to the Shepherd of the Hills Fish Hatchery in Branson, MO, where they have a live turtle, very much like this one:

After seeing what the harmless looking piece of plastic can do to a Red-eared Slider, I was a little more cautious about just throwing the rings out.  Instead I began cutting each circle before throwing it away so that nothing could get caught in the plastic.  BUT...making them into snowflakes is such a fantastic idea!!  It's on my to-do list for January!

 Borax Crystals Snowflake

(see tutorial below)

Using borax to make crystals is such an easy project!  For the recipe check out the tutorial here.  My children, their friends, and I, made these a couple of years ago, and I'm still using them!

Gather the pipe cleaner color(s) of your choice and lay them out.

Cut each pipe cleaner into three pretty equal parts.

Make an X

And then lay the third piece over it.

Then twist all three pieces at the center and tie some string around one tip.

Tie the string onto a stick, Popsicle stick, or other like-object and set aside.
Boiling water

1/3 C Borax to 1 Quart jar of boiling water (but I've found that if you just keep adding the borax until you can't dissolve it anymore (I think I put close to 2/3 cup in) then you get lots and lots of crystals).

For other hints, check out when I made Borax Valentine's hearts here.

Side-by-side, before and after the crystals had formed.

Last year, I made them into a garland  to hang in our front window. 

See how after a year they are oxidized and not sparkly? But I felt like they were still snowflake-y 

And kept them to hang again.