DIY Snow Globe

I remember as a kid that one of my favourite Christmas toys ever was a snow globe a relative gave me from her vacation in Switzerland. And since we don't get much snow in Australia this was the only one I could see. If you want to add some extra joyfulness and holiday spirit in your home I would suggest you make a couple of snow globes yourself. That's right, don't buy them this year, but make them instead. How? Easy - using empty jars.

What you need

For this project you will need a couple of things:

– Empty and clean mason jars with solid lids. You can use jars in various sizes, depending on how big snow globe you want to make;
– Winter figurines like a skier, Christmas trees, a deer, etc. (make sure they do not contain any metal, otherwise they would rust over time);
– Distilled water;
– Artificial snow;
– Glitter;
– Epoxy glue;
– Glycerine.

Instructions

Start by setting up desired scenes inside the lids. Choose something that goes well with the winter, such as someone skiing – glue up together little stones and make them appear like a hill and glue the skier as if he is skiing down. Or simply glue a little Christmas tree, it’s really up to you. However, be careful and stay away from the seal when you start placing the figures. Even the smallest intrusion on the seal could cause a leak. So, when you are ready with your set up, mix the epoxy glue following the instructions. After that you have about five minutes to glue everything together. Also, be careful and try not to drop any glue on the floor or on the furniture, because it is quite difficult to clean it afterwards.

Leave the lids aside and fill the jars with distilled water and glycerine. The water should be about 3-4 cm away from the rim. Also be careful when you add the glycerine. It is used to keep the snow from falling too fast, but if you put too much it might cloud the water, while not enough would make the snow fall too fast. So, I’d suggest to put 1 teaspoon in regular jars and about 1/2 spoon in baby food jars. Next, add 1 teaspoon of artificial snow and just sprinkle some glitter.

Finally, place the lid with your scene upside down over the jar and seal it well. Now all you need is to shake the jar gently and let it snow!