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I had so much fun making this next project! I tend to grab mason jars from garage sales and thrift stores whenever I can find them (today I actually snagged a turquoise one!). They have so many uses, from baking to crafts projects. This weekend I turned a few of my mason jars into snow globes for Christmas!
What you’ll need:
Distilled Water
Epoxy/Crazy Glue
Coat your figurines in the Mod Podge Sealer and let dry. This should help your figurines keep their coloring. Once the figurings are dry, use the Crazy Glue to attach them to the lid of the mason jar. Let them dry completely. (I waited 24 hours to be sure.)
Next, fill your jar almost to the top with distilled water. Add a dash of liquid glycerin (this is used to make the glitter fall more slowly). The amount is glitter you add is sort of at your own discretion. I ended up experimenting and some of mine have a lot of glitter and some don’t. Jordan’s has a ton. 😉 Screw the cap on tightly and shake your jar to get the glitter moving.
And you’re done! Give your Christmas decorations a pretty handmade touch this year using this easy tutorial!
HOLY CRAP. I’ve been making Christmas presents this year, and so I think this will be a wonderful addition to things I’m already doing! I have a ton of Mason jars, so I know it won’t be a problem. Thank you thank you thank you for sharing this.
…now here’s to hoping I won’t find a way to injure myself during said project. Knowing me, I will find a way.
I made these with my Brownie troop years ago, the girls loved making them, it was so much fun!
Do u still have alot left over
A fantastic project and idea! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Love this!
Those look fantastic! I would have never thought to use mason jars this way. Thanks for the tutorial! 🙂
This is so great! I will definitely need to Pin this for future reference 🙂
<3 Karen from
simplylovethisblog.blogspot.com
This is genius! I am so gonna make this.
I love this! So creative! 🙂
I love this! So simple! I’ve been wanting to make one for a while now
Next week I’m actually taking some vacation time from work. I plant to craft my heart out. So maybe I’ll finally get a chance to make one!
Hey! I just did this same thing a few days ago. 🙂
http://gentrilee.blogspot.com/2011/11/mason-jar-snow-globes-diy.html
Isn’t it so much fun?! I could make snow globes all day long!
so simple & lovely 🙂
so. freakin. cute. i wanna play with one!
I love that! So pretty. I’d love to make a bunch of them. Like a snow globe forest 🙂
fun! Great job 🙂
This is so simple, and I LOVE the end result! Wonderful tutorial, thank you! 🙂
So pretty!
your snow globes look absolutely fantastic! we shared a tutorial on our blog last year on how to make some. I’ve been making snow domes for many year and i strongly recommend using more than just a dash of glycerin, but destilled water and glycerin in a ratio of 1:1 for best results!
These are so cute! I love your blog! I’ve always loved those tiny prickly Christmas trees. 🙂
Um love this and featuring on my blog tomorrow =)
http://www.thehotgluehangover.com
Natalie
Where can you buy liquid glycerine?
I got my liquid glycerin at CVS in the pharmacy section. Any drug store should have it. Ask the pharmacists if you can’t find it!
I went to Target and they had some but it costs $5 a jar! I tried baby oil, but that didn’t work…then I tried light corn syrup and that worked a little better…
I will be making a few of these as gifts 🙂 thank you so much for sharing this!
What do you use to seal the jar?
Cannot wait to try this!
Who knew Mason jars could be used for things other than (blah) sauces & jams. I must try this! Thanks!
Your blog is amazing. I just found it and I’m kind of obsessed. I love your snow globes too! I just recently made some of my own (although not true snowglobes – no water included). http://makebakeandlove.blogspot.com/2011/12/diy-anthropologie-inspired-snow-globes.html
Thanks for sharing!
Had to share this in my DIY Tutorials post today 🙂
thanks for the great tutorial. where do yo find liquid glycerin? thank you!!
tessa
I got my liquid glycerin at CVS in the pharmacy section. Any drug store should have it. Ask the pharmacists if you can’t find it!
Where do you suggest buying the figurines? Or can you make them?
Craft stores tend to have a lot of miniatures for these type of projects: Hobby Lobby, Michael’s & so on. I want to know if I can use mineral oil so I can put some lights in it.
I got all of mine at Michael’s.
I got my liquid glycerin at CVS in the pharmacy section. Any drug store should have it. Ask the pharmacists if you can’t find it!
thank you soooooooo much!! a really pretty additon to my christmas collection 🙂
I have tried 3 different glitters and they ALL float. Any suggestions?
mine did the same thing I added a lil more glycerin and that fixed it. Good luck.
Hi SKemp! Maybe you are using too much glycerin? I did shake mine up a LOT in the beginning to get it to all break apart and fall.
Hi Julie Ann,
I featured your snow globe project in the 15 DIY snow globes today.. http://craftionary.blogspot.com/2012/01/wednesday-wordplay-15-diy-snow-globes.html
Thanks for the snowy inspiration
Lovely idea.. thanks for the inspiration! Trackback: http://blog.joyhey.com/2012/01/25/inspiration-mason-jars/
wooooow very nice thank you so much 🙂
i am going to try this for my christmas party this year thank you very much for sharing
What a cute project! I love it so much that I decided to feature it in my roundup of mason jar craft tutorials on the FaveCrafts Blog! Check it out here: http://www.favecraftsblog.com/link-love-mason-jar-craft-ideas/
Have a great day!
It would be cute to use baby food jars instead of the mason jars for mini snow globe, or you could make them into baby shower favors
When I was a kid my mom and I made them with little plastic mini figurines out of my brother’s baby food jars. I use the plastic twin packs for my daughter, but I wish I had some jars, too, now. Might have to splurge on some lol.
Thank you so much for sharing this project with us. I am going out and purchase mason jars to decorate for Thanksgiving & Christmas, GREAT IDEA!!
I try to glue it on the lid..but i doesn’t stick well :/..is there other material to put on it?
Could you try waiting longer? I think the glue needs more time. If you did that already, then use a different brand of glue. Use Elmer’s or something. My first one did not go very well….not only did I end up shaking glitter but I was also shaking a jar filled with a few hairs…I know its gross 🙁
Did your glitter…float? I just made one, and my glitter floats. Too much glycerin/not enough glycerin?
The purpose of the glycerin is to keep the glitter from falling too quickly. If your glitter is not falling at all I would think it would be too much glycerin.
Aww! I’ll try and pour some of the liquid out and top it back up with just water. I only put in a splash, into a glass PB jar, but maybe I ‘splashed’ too much…
Thanks! 🙂 It was a fun little tutorial to do.
I used coarse glitter , I think it’s a little more heavy that the dust like stuff. It’s martha stewart brand, it worked well, the problem I had is the water turned green from the trees so now it’s all cloudy!
I made one of these snow globes and the dye came right off the tree figurines I used. Do you have any suggestions for what types of figurines I can use that won’t bleed?
If you soak them in warm water over night then since them off & lay them down on a paper towel to dry.
That’s the same issue I’m having. I used the same tree in the picture. The dye made the water green. I didn’t use glycerin so maybe that’s it?
I used glycerin and the water still went green.
Hi guys! I just pulled my snow globe out of my Christmas decorations box and found out that my snow globe water turned green too! I’m so bummed. Still looking for a solution. Sorry about that!
My water turned green also 🙁 I was so bummed! Any tips would be helpful!
My husband said he’s made them with mineral oil.
I love this!
Thank you for sharing. Perhaps if you start with an undyed tree, then tried different types of dye to see what doesn’t fade?
Just beautiful. Sorry it didn’t last past one year but it is so pretty it’s still worth making them.
You could bleach the color out. I saw a pin on Pinterest where someone did that to make white trees. Maybe that would work???
Does any one know if this would work with a hot glue gun instead of epoxy?
Hot glue is not waterproof. The tree could potentially de-attach and start floating. I used Gorilla Glue, works really well.
This is absolutely great idea!!!! Wanna try this!!!
i made these with my class using babyfood jars and pictures i took of the students which i mounted on cardstock, glued and laminated at school. using sparkly white glitter for snow, they were adorable! i used regular tap water( why distilled?) and glycerin i ordered from amazon, a huge bottle for $11, much better price than cvs. this is a great craft, thanks for sharing!
I would suggest if painting or cover the lid at the end to hide the “lid” a little. There are so many ways to decorate it (glitter, fabric, bows, etc.)
You can get little white bottle brush trees at Michael’s
I LOVE THESE AND YOU MAKE FUNNY CARDS, I TRIED TO JOIN YOUR SITE, GOOGLE SAID TRY LATER!!! WHAT KIND OF GLUE DID YOU USE? I WANT TO MAKE A COUPLE, ALSO THOUGHT ABOUT PUTTING A PHOTO IN ONE, NOT SURE WHAT TO PROTECT IT WITH?
MY E-MAIL IS :cuddleyvt57@yahoo.com
Adorable, making these with our Girl Scout troop this week. Cant wait to see how they turn out. Thank you!
To keep the water from turning green, maybe add a drop or 2 of bleach? I made the mistake of roughing up the lid to keep the trees adhere better, the bit of exposed metal died my water a brownish yellow. Doh!
You can bleach the trees before putting them in. They will turn white. It’s possible that the RIT dye you will use to give the trees color, once set will not bleed after being set and dried.
Check with model railroaders supplies for trees. However, if you are using glycerin, it will preserve natural twigs and small plant life, often used by model railroaders for over 40 years of my life. There are model railroad “How To” books written specifically on scale plant life, using natures own produce. Worth a try when you are making scale scenery.
2013 Saw this in Southern Living Magazine and tried it. I too had the dye color transfer overnight to make green snowmen and other such silliness!!! I am looking for something that makes them colorfast! It’s a great idea and fun to do with children…. but the dye shaded the water and discolored the objects.
Has anyone else had one that went really cloudy?? I’ve changed the water 3 times and within an hour or so it goes cloudy again. Please help! My email address is hmlee1980@hotmail.com. Please feel free to email if u have any guess that might help. I know alot of people wondering about cloudy globes. Me and some friends decided to make them as gifts. I think a few will be late 🙁
I made some and my nephew had them now for 3 years and have not had a problem at all. I cant remember if his has a tree. I will have to look. I know it has a horse. and I used white outside chalking that made it look like piles of snow.
You can bleach green trees to make them cream colored if you want a vintage, cream colored theme.
Hey I love your blog 😀 I have a question: I want to put a photo inside of the jar. What should I do to protect picture from getting wet? Is there any way to do this?
I made some of the snow globes over the years and also had trouble with the water turning gross, no matter what ratio of water and glycerin that I used. Someone finally said it’s because algae grows in the water. They suggested using a water bed algae eating treatment, if you can find it. Surely, there has to be some of that out there somewhere. I know that most people don’t have waterbeds these days, but I’m betting there are still a few of them somewhere. Good luck. : )..
to keep the water from turning green, try buy the plastic kind of tiny trees. most craft stores have them. hobby shops that specialize in train sets also have them. and we all know that plastic does not rot, change color or disintegrate for eons
Hi, have you found a way to stop the trees from transferring color? Is there like a special coat that can do that?
Does the lid seal tight enough? I’m afraid mine would leak?
Modge podge sealer spray adhesive I beleive its called spray your trees with that the glossy kind! So far so good! And an addition to the figurines i sorted through all my Christmas village stuff which can be bought at pretty much any retail store in season and so much fun! And a tip i thought of that i havent tried yet would to be…seal it as if your canning a good like tomatoes? ! Perhaps with the glue too? Idk worth the try!
how did you get yours to not leak? i did this and mine is leaking water. i even tried gluing the edges to stop water but water and super glue or ht glue from glue gun isnt working
Try loctite silicone glue
Maybe you need to apply a bath & kitchen silicone sealant or an acrylic caulk, you can find them in places like Home Depot.
They’re good to seal leaks in acrylic sheets used in bathrooms, toilets and sinks.