Valentine's Day Crafts: Snow Globes

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At Christmas time this past year, it was jar-crazy in our kitchen and dining room. We had saved jars all year long for crafty presents.

We made snow globes, jars of sugar scrub and jars filled with snowmen made of homemade no-bake cookies and fudge.

You can turn any one of these thrifty crafts into a cute Valentine's Day gift.

The snow globe, especially, is nice for a sentimental present because you can put your sweetie's favorite character, animal or place in the snow globe. Adapt it to the lovers' holiday by using red or pink glitter rather than white for the snow. Or, use heart-shaped confetti instead of glitter.

Snow Globe Jars:


Madame Alexander doll from a McDonald's Kid's Meal.
You Need:
Jar with lid
Hot glue or other strong, water-proof glue
Figurine
Water
Glitter

Step 1. Pick a figurine to put in the jar and ensure the base of the figurine fits inside the bottom of the jar's lid and that the figurine fits easily within the jar when it's sealed.

Step 2. Wash and dry the jar thoroughly.

Step 3. Cover your base, which is the outside of the lid, for decorative purposes. I hot-glued felt on one lid and and used colored Duck Tape on others. You could also glue scrap-booking paper.

Step 4. Glue the base of the figurine inside your jar lid. I found hot glue worked best. I ran into problems with epoxy glue. Let dry.

Step 5. Fill up the inside of the jar with water, leaving about 1/2 inch or so for air. Add glitter. I've read glycerine helps thicken the water so the glitter falls slower, but I found that the glitter falls just fine in water alone.* 

Step 6. Add hot glue inside the rim of the jar lid and quickly screw the lid on the jar.

Step 7. Add hot glue around the outside rim of the jar to seal in the water. Let dry with the jar standing upside down.

Step 8. Flip over the jar the next day to test the seal. If it feels secure, give it a few good shakes. If water leaks, add more glue or add a stronger sealant. I ended up caulking my jars as you would a toilet. Just make sure to spread the caulking around smoothly and it will add a nice white base to your snow globe.


Sleeping Beauty figurine from 99 Cent Only Store.

*I also read a blog that suggested adding baby oil to thicken the water, but dummy me forget water and oil do not mix. All the glitter settled in the top layer of oil. 

Luckily, I've put the baby oil to good use as an eye-makeup remover. I use cotton pads from the 99Cent Store, add a little water and a little baby oil and my waterproof-eye makeup comes off easily. This combo is a little oilier than the Neutrogena eye-makeup remover pads I normally buy, but not as oily as the generic ones CVS sells. Much cheaper on both accounts. 






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