Fractured and Crystalized

 

The inspiration for my May Artfirmations came from a post that I had seen on a Facebook group.  It was a miniature book that had been crystallized and placed on a cupcake sized pedestal topped with a glass dome! I was instantly mesmerized and driven to find out how this was done.

I soon learned that you could crystallize just about anything using Borax detergent.  I scoured the internet for the recipe (4 Tbsp. Borax per cup of hot water) and after a quick trip to Walmart, I was well on my way to experimenting with making crystals!

Since I still had those National Geographic magazines out (from my April Artfirmations), I began to search for images that would look really cool crystallized!  Since I was crystallizing pages, I used a 9 x 13 glass dish.  (Use deeper jars to grow large 3-D crystals).  I boiled 4 cups of water and added 12 Tbsp of Borax in a pyrex cup.  Once the Borax was completely dissolved, I poured it into the glass dish.  I slid the magazine pages into the dish and made sure they were fully submerged.  I was able to fit two 4 x 6" pages into each dish.  You don't want the pages touching each other or the sides of the dish. As the mixture begins to cool, the crystals start to form.  I left one set overnight and got larger crystals.  My second batch formed smaller crystals after a few hours.  I think the size of the crystals depends on the saturation of the Borax and cooling time.  

It is important to try to remove your pages from the glass dish without bending the pages.  My magazine pages were very flimsy after sitting in the solution.  I learned that when the page folded, the crystals broke and slid off the page.  Perhaps removing them with a wide spatula would help keep the crystals intact.  I let the pages lay flat to dry before mounting them onto 140 lb. watercolor paper which provided a stiff backing.  Finally, since these pages were going to be mailed, I generously sprayed each page with a sealant to hold the crystals in place and give the page additional strength. Although I personally like the look of the larger crystals, I loved the process and was very happy with how each of my pages turned out.