It's time for the monthly Pinterest challenge hop!

The purpose of the Pinterest Challenge is to motivate us to not just pin something that inspires us but to actually make it! Each month I join in with a group of very talented bloggers to recreate something we have pinned. We have a theme each month and this month's theme is "Magical March"!

This theme fits perfectly with my boho style because I already have a bunch of magical crystals in my bedroom so I decided to create a homemade version of a Geode to add to my collection.

DIY Geodes - Magical March Pinterest Challenge

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Supplies Needed:

Clear glue sticks (2 standard-size sticks to make 1 geode)
Hot glue gun
Utility knife
Self-healing cutting mat
Sharpie pen in the color of your choice
Craft paint (black and gold)
Glitter (silver and gold)
Clear nail polish

I was inspired to make these from this pin: Geodes made from AdTech Hot Glue Sticks. It doesn't look like the original blog is up anymore though.

I followed the original tutorial to make my own, but now that the original post is gone, I'm glad I tried it and wrote this post! I have some things to share in the manner of what supplies I used and the process, which I tweaked just a little for my own purposes.

Step 1: Choose Your Glue Sticks

You will need two clear glue sticks to make one geode.

Tip #1: The tutorial called for a certain brand of glue sticks which I didn't have. I'm happy to report that any brand of clear glue stick will work😃 BUT, there is a difference so let me show you what to look for when choosing your glue sticks.

Some "clear" glue sticks are not really clear at all. the one on the left is cloudy, you want to choose glue sticks like the one on the right, not the cloudy one.

Step 2: Cut Up Glue Sticks

Use a utility knife and begin slicing chunks off the sides of the glue sticks in a random fashion. Once the end starts to turn into a point, then cut the end off.

Continue slicing and cutting the ends off varying the heights of each chunk from 1/2 an inch to about 1 1/2 to 2 inches.

Tip #2: Use a self-healing cutting mat and cut down toward the mat with the utility knife. You won't cut yourself quite as easily this way and it's just a little more stable feeling.

Once you've got the glue sticks cut and chunked up, sort the pieces into 3 piles based on size (the large chunks, the medium-sized slices, and the small slices).

Step 3: Color the Ends

Color the bottom, flat ends of each large glue stick chunk, and slightly up the sides with a Sharpie in the color of your choice. Make your coloring very jagged and natural (no coloring inside the lines here!)

Tip #3: The tutorial calls for an alcohol marker... Sharpies are alcohol-based markers 😃

Step 4: Make a Base

Tip #4: A condiment cup works great for making the glue base of your geode. You can also use foil that is balled up and shaped into a cup.

Pump a bunch of hot glue into the bottom of the condiment cup, then begin tilting the cup and building the glue up around the edges. You want a rounded cup shape so that you have a place to nestle all the crystals.

Let it dry and then pop it out of the cup.

Tip #5: Get approval from your fur babies 😁

Step 5: Paint the Bottom

Tip #6: The tutorial calls for black sand to cover the back. I didn't have that and instead chose to paint mine with black craft paint first, and then metallic gold craft paint.

If you have black sand, then you can use Mod Podge or white craft glue to coat the back of the glue cup with sand.

If you are painting yours like I did, then paint the bottom first with black. Once that is dry, then paint over the black roughly with gold allowing some areas of the black to show through.

Step 6: Add the crystals

Place the large glue stick crystals in first by placing a bit of hot glue in the cup and then sticking the glue stick on top of it.

Then add in all of the medium and small pieces all around the large crystals. Be very random with the placement... some should stick straight up and down, some should be lying on their sides, some on top of others, some down in between the large crystals, etc.