Begin by warming your water up in the microwave so it is hot. You don’t need it to be boiling, but hotter than average warm tap water. The hotter the water the better they will grow, but you do not want it boiling.

Pour the hot water into a glass dish. Glass works best and will keep the water warm longer.

Add in 1/4 cup of Borax powder for every 2 cups of hot water you prepared. MIX WELL. You want to stir and make sure the powder is fully dissolved.

Take your pipe cleaners and twist them into coils. Leave some room on the end so you can hang the pipe cleaners from a chop stick or pencil like a monkey tail.

Place the sticks over the top of your glass container allowing the pipe cleaners to drop into the solution.

Now be patient, I know it is hard to do, but trust me it is soo worth it. Let the pipe cleaners sit in the solution overnight. You want to put them in an area where no one will mess with them. I put them on the kitchen counter, out of the reach of children, you do not want the solution and pipe cleaners to be disturbed while the crystals are growing.

In about 24 hours, crystals will form! Once they have formed, remove them while attached to the sticks from the borax solution.

Allow them to dry out a bit. While you can look and touch them just about as soon as you remove them from the solution, they will be even more gorgeous if you allow them to dry. All you have to do is lay them out on paper towels and allow them to dry out completely.

Your pipe cleaner crystals can now be displayed! Remember, always use caution when doing any crafts with hot water. Enjoy!