Frozen Water Balloon Ice Orbs: How to Make Coloured Ice Decorations

Fill balloons with coloured water, leave them out in the freezing cold, peel them away and you are left with a set of glowing ice orbs that look like giant marbles in the snow. The idea spread widely in February 2014 through a short video by YouTube creator Chox TheMuse, and it remains one of the easiest winter crafts to make with children.

The “Frozen Orbs” video

Chox TheMuse posted the video, titled “Frozen Orbs: Frozen Water Balloons With Food Coloring”, on 10 February 2014. In the description she explains that she had seen the idea online and wanted to try it herself. She found it easy and fun, and her tips are worth knowing before you start: light-coloured balloons make it easier to judge how much dye you have added, larger balloons take longer to freeze, and she left hers out overnight.

Watch the Chox TheMuse video on YouTube to see the whole process from filling to unwrapping.

What you need to make ice orbs

• Balloons, ideally light-coloured, or flexible moulds that are safe in the freezer
• Water and liquid food colouring
• A tray to catch coloured drips
• A cold night well below freezing, or freezer space
• Scissors, for an adult to cut the balloons away

How to make coloured ice orbs, step by step

1. Add the colour first. Squeeze a few drops of food colouring into each balloon. Start with a little; you can make the next batch darker.
2. Fill with water. Stretch the neck over a tap and fill the balloon to the size of a grapefruit or smaller for a first batch, then tie it off.
3. Freeze. Set the balloons on a tray outside in freezing weather or in the freezer. The side they rest on will flatten slightly, which gives the finished orb a stable base.
4. Wait. Small balloons can freeze in a night; big ones take longer, and the outside sets well before the middle. Shake one gently: if you hear water sloshing, give it more time.
5. Peel and display. Snip the knot, peel the balloon away and set the orbs on fresh snow, along a wall or around a path where the light can shine through them.

The science behind the orbs

Water expands by about 9% when it freezes, which is why a full balloon stretches as it hardens and why a rigid container filled to the brim can crack. The same expansion makes ice less dense than liquid water, so ice floats.

You will often see a cloudy core or white streaks inside the orbs. Those are mostly tiny bubbles of air and other impurities trapped as the water freezes. The food colouring also tends to concentrate in some places more than others, so no two orbs look exactly alike. Changing the size, the amount of dye or the freezing temperature from batch to batch makes a simple experiment for children.

Tips for displaying and photographing ice orbs

Dye can bleed onto snow, stone and decking as the orbs begin to melt in the sun, so place them where a little colour does not matter. Photograph them in low sunlight or at dusk with a light behind them, when the colours glow most. Pick up every scrap of balloon straight away and keep the pieces away from small children, pets and wildlife.

For more small winter projects, try Chris Ratzlaff’s frozen soap bubbles, browse our snowman inspiration collection or see Yukon’s frozen hair portraits.

Related reading:

• An Iceberg Arch Collapses in Newfoundland
• Marcel Landry’s Snow Tunnel to His Car in Summerside
• Freezing Soap Bubbles: Patterns Forming on a Delicate Surface
• The Bartz Brothers’ Giant Snow Turtle and Their Sea-Life Sculptures
• Cryoconite Holes: Small Habitats on a Glacier Surface
• Instant Ice: What Supercooled Water Demonstrations Reveal

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