This article was originally written by Ben Barry for SWNS — the U.K.’s largest independent news agency, providing globally relevant original, verified, and engaging content to the world’s leading media outlets.
As temperatures plunged throughout the U.S. during Storm Fern last month, one family found the silver — or, should we say, rainbow — lining. When heavy snow fell across Pennsylvania, Ashley Barron decided to embrace the freeze by creating a multicolored igloo with her family out of 342 blocks of ice.
Inspiration struck the nurse practitioner after she saw others posting their own rainbow igloos to social media. At first, her husband Brandon Barron and their children — Colton, 17, Coy, 16, and Kaia, 2 — weren’t eager to brave the cold, but it wasn’t long before everyone got in on the fun.
“Initially, I thought this would be something that everyone was up for,” Ashley, 43, told SWNS. “My husband thought I was crazy, so I said, ‘OK, I will do it myself.’ I started work on the igloo, and I think everyone felt bad, so they all started joining in — and even had fun doing it. My father-in-law came around to help, and so did my brother and his girlfriend.”
Ashley began by freezing large tins of water on Jan. 19. She used food coloring to get the different hues of ice, and once the blocks were fully frozen, she and her family built the igloo row by row.
“It would take the water a bit to freeze in the tins. We would freeze them at 6 p.m., and they would be ready by the afternoon the following day,” she said, adding: “On Wednesday, I set the first two layers, and each night my husband and I spent an hour or two building it.”
After six days of construction, the Barrons completed the project on Jan. 24. “I don’t like being cold, so at first, I wasn’t sure if it was a good idea,” Ashley said. “But it was one of those things where I was like, I have started this, so I have to finish it. I was super proud of us when we finished it, it was exciting, all my children were excited — it was super fun.”
As of Jan. 30, the igloo was still in perfect condition, and thanks to the freezing temperatures, it could remain intact until March.
The icy artwork has also drawn visitors. “People have been stopping by to see it,” said Ashley, who noted that she and her daughter enjoyed a tea party as well as an evening sipping hot chocolate under the dome. “Everyone has been enjoying the igloo.”
How To Build Your Own
Watch this tutorial for step-by-step instructions on creating your own rainbow masterpiece.
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