DIY gift idea: Homemade snow globes.

 

Homemade gifts are creative, fun to make, will most certainly be cherished by the receiver, and many can be done on a thrifty budget. Since I am on a tight budget this year, and I absolutely love to make things from home, I am going to be making a lot of my own Christmas gifts to give this holiday.

One such gift was inspired by these adorable Mason Jar Snow Globes I spotted at Anthropologie. The cost for these ranges from $25.00-$38.00, plus shipping if you order online. I decided to make them myself for much less, and this is how...

Materials:

• A jar with a secure lid
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Artificial craft snow (glitter, sequins, beads, etc.)
• Tiny figurines or trinkets
• Felt
• Scissors

Note: You can purchase a variety of jars at Walmart or any craft store, or you can clean and save your old jars from jelly, cherries, pickles etc. to save cash! If your jar has a spaghetti sauce lid just spray paint it the color of your choice and let it dry completely before beginning to assemble your snow globe.

How-To:

1. First, pick out the figures or trinkets you want to use for your globe. This could be anything from pine cones to a tiny Elvis figurine (I may be making one of those for my mama!). You are going to hot glue your figure to the inside of the lid. For mine, I placed a large blob of glue in the middle of the lid and pressed the base of the tree down onto it. I made a second globe in which I stacked three silver painted pine cones on top of each other, also securing them with hot glue. Just hold them in place till the glue dries completely (it only takes a minute!).

2. Next, add your glitter, sequins, etc. to the jar.

3. Once you've got your trinkets glued securely to the lid, go ahead and turn it upside down and place it on the jar slowly. Twist the lid on tight and shake it up to see how you like it. The hot glue is strong, but not too much so that you can't make changes if you must.

4. Place your jar lid side down on the piece of felt and trace around it. Cut out the shape and hot glue it to the top of the lid. This will keep it from sliding on the shelf too easily and protect both surfaces from scratches.

Now shake it up and admire your beautiful snow globe!

I had a hard time capturing the glitter with the camera but I assure you it is lovely :)

 

** If you want to add liquid to your globe, you can use distilled water or baby oil. I noticed after some time the baby oil turned fuzzy/yellowish but it could easily be dumped out and refilled each year.

 

The cost for one inspiration globe: $25.00-$38.00.
The DIY cost for two globes: $8.71 with materials to spare!