DIY Rock Candy

My recent Pinterest.com searching led me to a fun website called, ScienceBob.com, one afternoon where I found this awesome recipe for homemade rock candy.  And since we are avid sugar-lovers in this house... I just had to try it out!  


First I started with a few ingredients:

• A wooden skewer
• A clothespin
• 1 cup water
• 2-3 cups of sugar 
• A tall narrow glass or jar

Clip the clothespin onto the wooden skewer so that the skewer hangs down inside the glass about 1 inch from the bottom.  

Remove skewer from jar and set aside for now.  

Pour water into the pan and bring to a boil!  While water is still boiling, start pouring sugar into the water, 1/4 cup at a time.  

I wanted to make more than one skewer of rock candy  so I used 3 cups of water.  However, I  quickly realized that it was going to take about 12 cups of sugar to make my candy and had to run to the grocery store for more sugar!!

Upon returning from the grocery store, armed with enough sugar to feed a small army, I was back on track. I continued to add sugar to the boiling water until no more sugar would dissolve.  This takes several minutes, and the sugar will take longer to dissolve once you have a certain amount in the water already.  So, take your time and don't stop adding sugar too early or your rock candy will not turn out!  

At this point, I've added about 12 cups of sugar and a few drops of food coloring so that you can see exactly how THICK the water has become!  

Once no more sugar will dissolve, remove from heat and let cool for about 20 minutes.  Then, carefully pour the sugar water into your glass or jar almost to the top and insert your wooden skewers.  

Make sure you put the jars where they will not be disturbed for several days.  

Than WAIT!  And wait....... and wait!  Oh, and continue waiting.......  Your rock candy will slowly start to form over the next 3 -7 days.  

I waited 7 days.....

I had a fun time experimenting with this recipe, and I hope you will too!  

Trash to Treasure: How To Use Old CD's

Since the invention of itunes, I have noticed that I have old CD's laying around EVERYWHERE that I will never do anything with ever again.  One day, as I was browsing through www.Pinterest.com (my new favorite website, by the way) I saw a brilliant idea on how I could reuse those worn CD's and turn them into something I could use again!  So, in my first edition of Trash To Treasure, I'll show you how to reuse those old CD's to make a super cute wall hanging.  

The one I made (pictured below) is a sign I am using as part of my friend's "cowboy themed" baby shower.   (Um, I hope she's okay with me telling the world her son's name! Haha!) 

In order to make this wall hanging featuring the baby's name, I had to use 5 CD's.   I started by cutting 5 circles out with scrap-booking paper.  Simply trace and cut!  

Next, glue the paper onto each CD.  

For the letters, I used my Cricut's Stone Script template, but you can use any pre-cut lettering you find, or if you're super experienced with the scissors you can cut your own letters out!  

Once the paper and letters are glued onto each CD, hot glue ribbon (smaller in width) around the edge of each CD.  

Using ribbon (at least 1" in width)...

glue your letters (in the appropriate order, of course!) onto the ribbon.  I had extra ribbon leftover, so I glued small bows in-between each letter to give the sign a more "finished" look.  

There you have it!  A perfect addition for any wall that needs a personal touch, AND a great way to recycle used CD's!  Since I have many CD's still to use, I was thinking about making a few signs for my own home. The great thing about this project is that it's so versatile, the possibilities are endless!  I can't wait to start on my "Christmas" sign, and Hey!  That's 9 CD's I'll be able to recycle!  :)