Na2B4O. 10H2O Wreath

Greetings to the scientists!  I doubt if any follow my blog, but my title might get their attention.  Na2B4O. 10H2O is the chemical name for Borax and I have had so much fun making borax crystal encrusted shells for the last few months.

All you do is place a few shells in a bowl and cover them with hot Borax water mix.  I found the instructions on many sites on the web.  You need 1 cup of hot  water and add 3 tablespoons of Borax, stir it until the Borax is dissolved.  My first batch turned out sooooo fabulous following that method. The shells were magically sparkly and covered with chunky crystals.  For some unknown reason, the next batch didn’t turn out at all.   I had the best results when I actually brought  the water and 3 TBSP. borax  to a boil in a pan.  After it boiled for about a minute I poured the water into the pyrex bowl of shells.

This wreath took 2 bags of shells from the Dollar Tree and I used a Dollar Tree Wreath form that was spray painted white and covered with sparkly tulle.  I picked up the pearl trim at a garage sale this summer and it made such a nice trim for this beach themed wreath.

I will add this to my inventory for the Merry Mermaids booth at the Seaside Convention Center Holiday in November.  Less than a month away!