IKEA Ice Straws

Add a cool zing to your summer cocktails with this totally cool straw!

Step 1 Materials

IKEA, the horror show that it is, sells an ice tray that makes cube sticks that fit into water bottles.

You'll need:
1 Ice cube tray (as mentioned above)
Enough straws to fit in each compartment
a Small bit of clay

Comments

[iminthebathroom]

so sneaky, luv it

[ClicktoFLY]

COOOOOL ))))

[Wizardofwesley]

Great Idea... Making them now.. It gets real Hot here in Paradise....lol.. Cheers..

[tytanic11]

You can find these ice cube trays for next to nothing on Ebay.. i just got one myself

[Rmg12]

what would be the point if you can get them for next to nothing in ikea anyway? It would be wasting time bidding on one

[BuckyOHare]

IKEA USA
"Sorry, this product is not for sale on our website, check if it is available in your local store."
IKEA UK
"Currently this product is not available to buy online. Check below for availability at your local store."

My 'local' store is missions away off a junction of a motorway (M6). I can't drive, petrol is GBP£1 per litre anyway, all forms of public transport in UK are expensive, inadequate and unpredictable (yes, so is the Royal Mail). Buying off eBay will mean you get it delivered to you (eventually) and you can actually buy it online...progress!
I'm sure the cost of postage is negated by any petrol or other forms of transport costs needed to get to an IKEA store AND you don't have to go to IKEA. Bonus! Time Extended!
IKEA-YELLOW-TEST-TUBE-SHAPED-ICE-CUBE-TRAY
£1.99 + £1.25 = £3.24

BRAND-NEW-IKEA-RED-PLASTIS-Cool-Ice-Cube-tube-tray
£1.99 + £1.50 = £3.49

Short Straw

USA: IKEA-SET-OF-6-ICE-CUBE-TRAYS

Or you could try and make your own tray with potato plastic and test tubes... maybe.

[Heliosphan]

Look what I found Bucky - http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/60146194
Yes this is the UK site.
On initial inspection it just appeared to be a heart shaped ice cube tray, but the photo clearly shows a black striped one the same as in this Instructable.
A new ikea opened up in the same town as I live last year, so fetching them is far easier for some, indeed. Agreed tho- finding your way around an ikea is similar to using a powerdrill on your eyeballs.
Its interesting tho that they have two near identical 'ice cube tray' product listings, albeit with two different codes. I wonder if one of them has been discontinued or something.
Regardless, for the better solution, I'd suggest doing-it-yourself in true Instructables ideals by getting hold of a small amount of silicone rubber, its not difficult, I've made molds myself of quite intricate shapes, and air bubbles aren't that much a problem, esp. for this idea.
Or maybe an even cheaper rubber substance - not sure if all grades of latex are food safe tho!

[Heliosphan]

S**t, only just realised you posted that TWO YEARS ago!

[elleonheels]

Oh heck, I was about to click a insightful reply and realized you posted this a year ago. :D Time keeps on slipping, slipping, slipping....

[pedla]

Time keeps on slipping into the future, you old music fan?

[PACW]

I'm not sure but I think the "Time Keeps on Slipping. . ." song might have been used in the US for a post office television commercial many years ago. Time is fleeting, Madness takes its toll. . .

[Kasm279]

Yeah, I can kinda remember the commercial... btw for those who don't know the song its Fly Like An Eagle by The Steve Miller Band

[PACW]

Ahhh. makes sense now. I could not figure out why the post office was singing about time slipping into the future. Thanks - nice to know I'm not losing my mind!

[elleonheels]

No, just old. ;) Uh oh, should I have waited a year before replying?

[criggie]

I was going to give a witty reply, but realised that you've posted this today. So that's not gonna work. [cancel]

[elleonheels]

That's what happens when lurkers like me try to post. We mess up the time/space continu..thingie.

[Taurgus]

When you consider quantum entanglement and future causality, you may have actually posted before the instructable.

[elleonheels]

At least I didn't divide by zer....+++carrier lost+++

[Rmg12]

Yeah our nearest store is warrington and I also think that buying online is better, and eBay is great, but I just wouldn't waste buying it off eBay especially with the postage strike, and also I can't drive yet (next year woo)

[trebuchet03]

Ikea hasn't (yet) taken over the world - so not everyone has access ;)

[IW5 Industries]

honestly ive never heard of ikea

[Bright Shadow]

yea, they have to get through wal-mart first I swear... there's 3 within 10 miles of my house.

[Rmg12]

Well we don't have Wal-mart here in the UK but they own a british supermarket called ASDA. its not as big as wal-mart but probably the British equivalent would be Tesco. They are everywhere.

[Yerboogieman]

Bloody Marry? Pretty sure you misspelled Mary.

[Phil11]

maybe he tested his 'ible like all good iblers ;p

[Nox Caulis]

I imagine chopsticks would work just as well as straws. Then you don't have to bother with clay.

[trebuchet03]

I thought the same.... In practice, this is not the case. The ice forms a tight bond... Perhaps if they had a polished and thermally conductive surface (stainless steel, for example) it could work... But that's a lot of infrastructure for a quick project. As suggested somewhere in the comments - soft fruit makes a good/edible alternative to clay. Either way, it's no bother.

[lindasew47]

I'm going to try using the microwave bacon cooker as a mold instead of having to purchase something special. My grandkids will love this!

[Questor]

Be carfull removing the finished straws those trays can become brittle if frozen.

[CopperScaleDragon]

Be careful on the choice of clay. Polyform clays can be toxic. Other than that, great idea! Jane

[timberW]

I would think bee's wax or paraffin used for sealing jelly jars would be a better choice.

[xxxafterglow]

Wonder if you could stuff the straws with some kind of food (fruit pulp?) that has an agreeable or no flavor? Apple flesh? Awesome instructable... enhancing normal activity, one straw at a time.

[dogbeardbirdbeer]

nice improvement of a fine idea. now, how do i make a bendy ice straw?

[colterczyruk]

yoo i jst make a spacer where the bendy part goes lol, it would work but it would just fall down as soon as u let go

[typenamehere_____]

Very nice idea. What I would do though, is to get a wide fast food straw and a slim store-bought straw, cover one end of both with clay, and insert the open end of the smaller one into the clay- covered end of the larger. Pour in water (not all the way!) and freeze. (you may want to use two pairs of cut straws, taped together, so that you can later remove the tape and pull them off instead of having to cut them open.

[naomi1431]

Hm. . . I wonder if you could use cut-down bbq skewers to make a thicker straw and avoid the clay. . . .

[audwee]

that is the easy one. replug one end with the clay then fill straw with strawberry nectar, replug, refreeze. to serve take out clay plugs and thread on fresh strawberries and float in punch bowl or just eat.

[astrong0]

...So simple... yet so elegant... the circle is complete.

[renegade9]

I hate to do this, but ThinkGeek is selling a silicon ice-straw tray . . . with that center piece built into the tray . . . great hack, though, although I'd think the clay would add a wierd taste . . .

[trebuchet03]

I'm glad someone commercialized it :) It only took ~3 years :D