When I was trying to get dandelions to burn in colors I tried soaking the seed heads in a borax solution to get them to burn green. I left the flowers in the borax longer than I should have and ended up crystallizing the dandelions. Although the effect did not work for colored fire, it formed a stunning crystal flower. The only problem with the dandelion was that the stem shriveled and could not support the weight of the fragile crystal flower. I think twisting a pipecleaner or wire around the stem would have solved this problem, but I didn't have the materials on hand so I simply tried the project with a stronger flower. The subject shown in this photo is a musk thistle. As with dandelions, I'm reasonably sure no one in Nebraska objects to preventing one from going to seed (hah). Although you could add food coloring to the solution to tint the flower, what is neat about this project is the crystals take the color from the flowers. Dandelion crystal flowers are pale yellow. The thistle is lilac with a yellow center. You can use any flower for this project... Learn to make one yourself
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