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A Huge Ice Cube Bling Necklace
Nobody gave me a huge diamond chain for the holidays this year, so I had to make my own.

I used the typical cooler method for directional freezing, and
- Put a clear plastic box with holes drilled in the bottom in the cooler. The holes allow trapped air/impurities to be pushed out below it.
- Put this box on a salsa tub as a riser to keep it off the bottom of the cooler so that the trapped air had somewhere to go.
- Hung a "gold" chain dipping into the middle of the plastic box from the handle of the cooler.
- Let it freeze for about 3 days until it was just below the level of the plastic box.
- Chipped away at the extra ice so that there was just the box, then slid the big cube out of the plastic box.
- Looked good wearing it.
The index of all the ice projects on Alcademics is here.
December 28, 2021
Cutting Up a Slab of Ice Using an Ice Pick or Bread Knife
Years ago I learned how to cut up slabs of ice using only an ice pick, but boy have I improved my technique since then.

But the method is the same:
- Fill a cooler with water and put it in the freezer with the top off.
- After a couple days pull it out and dump out the unfrozen water. You'll have just a clear slab.
- Wait for it to temper before cutting.
- With a bread knife or an ice pick, score a line across the surface.
- Set the knife across the surface in the groove, or put the ice pick in the center of the line.
- With a mallet or muddler or hammer or (in my case the back of another ice pick) whack the knife or ice pick.
- The ice should split into two.
- Repeat, cutting the block in half each time – I think it's easier/less prone to splitting unevenly than trying to cut a cube off the side.
Here are some new pictures I took:

All of the ice posts can be found at the Index of Ice Experiments.
December 27, 2021
Ice Shot Glasses With a Drill and a Knife

I decided to try to make shot glasses out of ice slabs made in a cooler. I froze water, cut it into big cubes and then bought a 1.5 inch drill bit.

I was surprised to find how easy it was after that. I drilled a hole in the middle of each. Then, knowing that with the huge amount of room outside the hole it would be impossible to actually drink a shot out of them without spilling it everywhere, I decided to chop off some of the side of each cube with a big knife.

Oddly, though I've been making shapes with ice blocks for a decade, I don't think I've ever tried to carve it with a knife. Turns out it's super easy.

So these will make shot glasses and/or votive candle holders.

December 5, 2021
Halloween Ice: Magic Wand and Plastic Rat

Over on my Instagram account, I posted a lot of pictures of goofy ice projects for Halloween. I realized I should also share them here on the blog for posterity. This is one of several posts. All my 10+ years of ice posts are here.

I bought a bunch of silly junk at the Halloween store and froze it into ice blocks. On this post there are pics of a magic wand and a plastic rat that I froze.

December 4, 2021
Halloween Ice: Skeletons and Spiders in Ice Cubes

Over on my Instagram account, I posted a lot of pictures of goofy ice projects for Halloween. I realized I should also share them here on the blog for posterity. This is one of several posts. All my 10+ years of ice posts are here.

I bought some small plastic skeletons and spiders at the Halloween store and frozen them into cubes, mostly using the Ghost Ice system or the Clearly Frozen tray (see recommended trays by following link above). Oh and it's hard to tell but the last spider pic is of a giant plastic spider I froze into an ice block using a cooler.

December 3, 2021
Halloween Ice: Eyes in Ice Spheres and Cubes

Over on my Instagram account, I posted a lot of pictures of goofy ice projects for Halloween. I realized I should also share them here on the blog for posterity. This is one of several posts. All my 10+ years of ice posts are here.

These pictures are of various eyes I scored from a few stores. There are eyes on ping pong balls (that float), rubber ball eyes (that sink), and some flat googly eyes.

December 2, 2021
Halloween Ice: Masks Frozen in Ice Block

Over on my Instagram account, I posted a lot of pictures of goofy ice projects for Halloween. I realized I should also share them here on the blog for posterity. This is one of several posts. All my 10+ years of ice posts are here.

I bought a few masks at the Halloween store, including a plague doctor mask. I then frozen them in an ice block and let them melt.

December 1, 2021
Halloween Ice: Severed Hand in Ice Block

Over on my Instagram account, I posted a lot of pictures of goofy ice projects for Halloween. I realized I should also share them here on the blog for posterity. This is one of several posts.

I bought this plastic severed hand at the Halloween store. To get the fingers to freeze in side the ice block, I raised the handle on the cooler and held the hand in place using tape. The hand floats otherwise.

November 30, 2021
Halloween Ice: Frozen Skull

Over on my Instagram account, I posted a lot of pictures of goofy ice projects for Halloween. I realized I should also share them here on the blog for posterity. This is one of several posts.

This is a plastic skull I bought at the Halloween store and froze in an ice block in my cooler. It looked pretty amazing as it melted.

November 29, 2021
Cranberries Frozen In Ice Sheets and Spheres

I covered it on my Instagram account, but I made some simple cranberry ice cubes.

For the spheres, I simply added cranberries to clear ice molds. [list of recommended products here]

For the spears/sheets, I floated some cranberries in a cooler and let it freeze for about a day. I then broke up the slab into spears. These look cool but the cranberries don't stay stuck into the ice for very long.

November 27, 2021