Emily's Blog - DIY Snow Globe

DIY Christmas Gift Idea: A Handmade Snow Globe

With Christmas right around the corner and holidays starting soon, more and more people are going to search for last minute Christmas gift ideas. For students this can be especially difficult, seeing as getting meaningful gifts of good quality can be expensive. Luckily, nothing is more valuable than a handmade gift that can be created using items that can be found at home and/or with cheap craft supplies. This DIY Christmas snow globe is a very adaptable piece where you can replace many of the items with ones of your personal choice and make it your own unique creation. It can also be used as a decoration that will definitely bring some holiday cheer into someone’s life.

Use this tutorial as a guideline to make the perfect Christmas gift for a friend or family member!

What you will need:

• An empty glass jar (I cleaned and took the label off an empty jam jar)
• Christmas-themed figurines of your choice (my mini Christmas tree is from a small set I got in Ikea for £1.50)
• Cotton pads/balls
• Some string (my string is from a local craft store for £2.71) or ribbon
• Pine cone(s)
•  Glue
• Confetti (also from a local craft store for 63 pence)

Optional:

• Acrylic paint (my set is from a local craft store for £8.96, but if you do not have paint at home or don’t want to buy a set, this step is not necessary)
• Paintbrush

If you have a type of glass paint or acrylic markers, that  will also work for the step involving painting, as it will be done on the jar. Depending on the look you will be aiming for, something like glitter glue can also be used.

1. Begin by rinsing the jar and taking off the label.
Then unscrew the lid as you will be attaching some of the items to the internal side of it.
The outside part of the lid will work as a stand for the snow globe as it will be placed upside down.

2. Use superglue (or a glue gun, if you have one) to attach the figurine and pine cone to the lid, from the inside, so it stays in place. I used the base of the Christmas tree figurine to attach the pine cone to it with some string, then added glue for it to stay together firmly. Next, I put glue onto the base of the tree and attached it to the lid. Ensure the items on the lid will fit into the jar and their placement will not interfere with closing the snow globe.
If you don’t have a figurine with a base like that, superglue should work, but it will have to be kept still for a long time for it to dry properly (if large amounts are applied).

3. Place the cotton balls around the pine cone and figurine to create the snow for the snow globe.
If you are using cotton pads, take them apart and rip up the cotton fluff from the inside for a fluffy snow effect.
I used about 4-5 cotton pads

4. Next, add some of the confetti onto the cotton for a shimmer-y effect. It is also possible to glue big bits of confetti on for more security. I simply placed mine into the cotton.

5. The following step is optional but I found it to be a nice addition to my snow globe: use white and blue acrylic paint to paint some clouds around the top of the jar (on the outside of it). Begin by painting regular clouds in white paint and, before it dries, go over them and blend in some blue paint.

6. Close the lid of the jar, making sure everything fits, and screw it on gently so that none of the contents are damaged. Once it’s securely closed, place it on a flat surface, on the lid. It should look like the image below.

7. Take some more string and wrap it around the jar, right above the base/lid, multiple times.
The length depends on the size of your jar, but I cut off around 40 cm and wrapped it around the jar twice.
Finish off by tying a bow. And, you’re done!

This concludes the DIY snow globe tutorial! Hopefully you now have a lovely handmade snow globe or some inspiration to create something festive and beautiful. Don’t forget that this is just a guideline and this craft is one that is easy to experiment with, but if that isn’t what you want - that’s also perfectly fine! Just don’t forget to have fun with this and then it will definitely bring warmth and joy to you or your friends and family. I hope you find this useful and I want to wish everyone a merry Christmas and a happy new year!