Crafting Lanterns with Salt Crystals

These winter-themed lanterns create the illusion of beautiful ice flowers forming on their inner walls, achieved through the crystallization of salt. This effect can be easily replicated using common jars, water, and salt, allowing for the observation of crystal growth.

Materials:

• Empty jam or preserving jars
• Sea salt (or table salt)
• Water
• Teaspoon
• Tealights
• Colored ribbon (optional)
• Rosemary, lavender, or ivy (optional)
• Pinecones and acorn caps (optional)

How to Make Frosted Lanterns:

1. Fill the Jar with Sea Salt: Begin by filling the jar with sea salt, ensuring the bottom is completely covered. The salt layer should be approximately 1.5 centimeters high. Table salt can also be used, though sea salt often produces more aesthetically pleasing crystals.

2. Add Water: Carefully pour water into the jar using a teaspoon, filling it to the same height as the salt.

3. Wait and Observe Crystal Growth: Place the jars in a warm location and allow ten days for crystals to form. As the water evaporates, the salt will crystallize on the inner walls of the jars. The salt crystals grow upwards as the crystallized salt attracts water. If the salt dries out before the desired crystal height is reached, gently add one to two teaspoons of water to continue the growth process.

4. Insert Tealight and Decorate: Once the crystals have formed, place a tealight inside the jar and light it to enjoy the warm glow. For added decoration, a colored ribbon can be tied around the rim, adorned with ivy, lavender, or rosemary. Pinecones and acorn caps can also be glued to the ribbon.

Accelerating Crystal Growth:

To speed up the crystallization process, the jars can be placed in an oven at 80 degrees Celsius (convection) for two to three hours. Insert a wooden spoon into the oven door to keep it slightly ajar.

Colored Crystals:

To achieve colored crystals, add one to two drops of food coloring to the water before filling the jar. If the lantern is no longer needed or the jar is to be repurposed, the salt can be easily rinsed out with hot water.