Winter eco-craft: ice art!
It’s been unbelievably cold in the Northwest recently, so on one bone-chilling day, we bundled up and headed outdoors to hunt for “treasures” for a zero waste, no cost ice art project.
Making ice art is easy to do and fun for the whole family. However, most kids do not have enough patience to watch the ice form. So in order to turn this craft into an activity that takes longer than 5 seconds, be sure to make the hunt a big part of the experience.
(Note: if you happen to live in parts of the country where you can wear a bathing suit year round, number 1) good for you and number 2) you’ll need to use your freezer instead of the one Mother Nature creates for the rest of us each winter.)
How-to:
1. Go on a hunt for “treasures” – the sky’s the limit on this one. Items from nature, little doo-dads, anything that isn’t too heavy will work.
2. Arrange the treasures in a round cake pan.
3. Place a looped ribbon, strong sting or rope at the top with 1/2 sticking out of the pan.
4. Fill with water (light treasures will float and move around – that’s part of the fun!)
5. Place outside until frozen solid. (Or place in freezer.)
6. Once frozen, bring inside to let melt just enough to remove sculpture from pan.
7. Hang from a sturdy branch or nail.
8. Enjoy!
Art will remain in one piece as long as the temps remain low. Once the art melts, collect treasures and save for the next cold spell.
A zero-waste, zero cost art project.
