I can’t wait for the cold to come back, again this year!!! Clearly, I am no longer myself! My plans for freezing days have managed to help me survive and I dare say, love winter! If, like Henri, you asked yourself, what could I be doing, these last few days with bowls and blue balloons??? Well, there it is! After the Frozen Soap bubbles… I present to you the Frozen Lanterns!

I didn’t invent it myself… I found it on Instagram HGTV

Here’s how I made… this little project, within everyone’s reach… Fun guaranteed!

Material:

• Inflatable balloons
• Water
• Plastic or metal bowls (in balloon format)

Step 1 – Fill the balloons with water, ideally using a tap with a traditional nozzle… The only one I could found in our house. The mouthpiece was so small, that I dropped the first balloon!!! Clearly the most perilous stage for those who haven’t had the pleasure of water balloon fights. 2 pairs of hands could be helpful!!!

Step 1a – Wipe down the counter…and my glasses!

Step 2 – Place the water-filled balloons in the bowls, making sure they are sitting upright and bring them outside until they freeze. The time will depend on the temperature. I think I left them for a little over 7 hours at -15 degrees Celsius. You will need the ice to be approximately 1/8” or 3-4 mm thick.

Step 3- Cut and remove the balloon. Be sure to place the ball in a container or in the sink.

Step 4 – Let out the water that is still inside and find the thinnest point, to be able to pierce the ball… The whole will have be big enough to slide a tea light inside the sphere.

Ideally, try not to break it! Don’t panic if it does! I managed to put the 2 pieces back together and the low temperatures of the night, took care of solidifying everything back.

Step 5– Place a LED tea light inside the hollow balls, put the lanterns outside and have fun illuminating your balcony, patio or winter garden.

One of the sphere froze faster than the others, leaving small air tunnels created by the bubbles which I imagine… tried to escape. An unexpected and so interesting creation that I decided to leave it alone. We had fun taking pictures… which I will present to you in a future article.

A great activity for the big and small children, for the weekend or for spring break… And if it’s too warm outside, you will always be able to leave them in the freezer!