Deck the Halls with Science Decorate your home for Christmas with colorful polymers. email to friend
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Icy Clear Sphere Candle Holders

Note – this project takes several hours (overnight is even better) for the Clear Spheres to hydrate and the ice to freeze. Make these ahead of time.

Hydrate your Clear Spheres the day before you want to freeze your candle holders. To do this, just drop your clear spheres into a bowl with water. Add True Colors Color Mixing Tablets to the water, to color the spheres. Depending on how many Clear Spheres you are coloring, you will need 5-10 color tablets to get a bright, rich color. The colored spheres will not be as large as un-colored Clear Spheres.

Next, use a clean 1- or 2-liter soda bottle and a smaller 16-ounce soda bottle and cut the tops off. Fill the smaller bottle with rocks to weigh it down. Set it in the center of the 2-liter bottle. Fill the larger bottle with water and Clear Spheres or just Clear Spheres. Set it in the fridge overnight to let it freeze solid. For a layering effect, insert the smaller bottle and fill bottom with one color of Clear Spheres. Allow it to freeze for several hours. Fill another band with a different color of Clear Spheres. Freeze. Repeat until you have the height that you want.

For a totally different effect, you can also stack Clear Spheres and freeze them together. Layer and freeze colors separately to keep the colors from running together.

To remove the inner bottle, remove the rocks and fill halfway with warm water. Rock the bottle back and forth to loosen.

You can keep your candle holder in the soda bottle to protect furniture, etc as the candle burns and the ice melts. Or you can remove them from the soda bottle and place outside as luminarias or outdoor decorations. Just make sure to put them back in the freezer when you are done, to prolong their life.

To remove candle holder from the bottle, run outside of bottle under warm water to loosen. Or let it sit outside of the freezer for 5-10 minutes to melt slightly.

Add a votive candle or try LED lights, as we used in our examples, to keep the ice from melting quickly.

Clear Spheres in Floral Arrangements

Clear Spheres are beautiful when used in glass vases with floral arrangements. Hydrate the spheres and fill a vase about ¾ full. If you want floral arrangements to last for several days, add extra water in the bottom of the vase to prolong the life of the flowers and the clear spheres.

More Clear Sphere Ideas

Add glitter, ornaments, tinsel or confetti to the spheres for a fun, festive look. Just be sure to not use anything like jingle bells that could rust as the Clear Spheres dehydrate and release water.

Sprigs of holly berries or evergreens are also very festive. You can use live branches or fake ones. Just make sure to use plastic stems, as wire can rust in the water.

Candles placed around the base of the vase reflect and glow.

Decorating with Insta-Snow

Insta-Snow has so many uses for holiday decorating. The possibilities are endless.

Hydrate Insta-Snow in votive holders and other glass candle decorations. Mix cranberries, confetti, small ornaments etc into the snow for extra fun.

To color the snow, dissolve a True Color Mixing Tablet in water. Pour the colored water on the snow to hydrate. To make darker specks inside the colored snow, mix a few drops of the same color of food coloring into the snow. The food coloring globs in the snow and makes flecks.

Add a votive or candle and you’re done!

Every few days you will need to mist the Insta-Snow with water to keep it looking fresh and hydrated.

Icy Insta-Snow Star Candle Holder

Sprinkle about a teaspoon of Insta-Snow powder into the bottom of a soda bottle. Fill the soda bottle with water up to about the first line. The Insta-Snow should be oversaturated and floating in the water.

Place in the freezer for several hours.

The Insta-Snow will sink into the feet of the soda bottle and form a star. Run warm water over the outside of the bottle to loosen the ice. Place the Insta-Snow star on a plate, outside in the snow or cold or float in water. (Make sure you do not float the Insta-Snow stars in punch or anything you will ingest. Insta-Snow is non-toxic but doesn’t taste very good).

Add a votive or LED light on top. If using an LED light, first place a lit votive candle on top of the ice to melt a small indentation in the ice to hold the light. The Insta-Snow stars will melt much faster with lit votives.

If using your Insta-Snow Star on a plate or flat surface, sprinkle hydrated Insta-Snow around it for a totally different look.

Also try freezing colored Insta-Snow in water. The star will really show.

Other ideas for decorating with Insta-Snow

• On mantels or tables around centerpieces, candles or other decorations
• On Christmas trees
• In Christmas villages
• Pour on the floor around the fireplace or doorway and make Santa footprints in it
• Anyplace you want snow that won’t melt. But don’t forget to spray with water every few days to keep it hydrated.