Making a Snow Globe as a Gift

Ever find yourself stuck trying to figure out an original gift to give someone? Worry no more. When it comes to hand crafted gifts you'll always score major points. I racked my brain for weeks trying to figure out the perfect gift for my finance and I came up with a Snow Globe.

I've always thought of a snow globe as something that was manufactured and wouldn't be easy to make by hand. I was wrong. It's actually quite simple to make and most the pieces required can be purchased at a local craft store such as Michaels.

Below is a list of things needed to make your snow globe; you can add different things to make it even more original.

Ingredient list:

· Water bottle or empty jar.

· Two pictures or other objects to make your scene.

· Clear packing tape, wide is good.

· Scissors

· Goo Gone

· Super Glue

· Glitter and/or sparkles

· Clear (light) Corn Syrup

· Distilled Water is recommended

Several things can be substituted here based on preference. You can make this a photo snow globe which has a picture of you and your significant other or you can make a scene which is what normal snow globes contain. I've found the scenes to be a lot more fun to create but they also take more time and pieces.

Instead of a water bottle or an empty jar you can buy snow globe domes online from places such as www.snowdomes.com. These are very authentic looking since the kits include the typical snow globe domes. They also come with the snow that's normally used in snow globes. I feel this looks better then glitter or sparkles.

I'm going to give you instructions for creating a photo snow globe next. Then I'll give you some pointers on creating a snow globe with a scene. Most of the snow globe domes you purchase will come with instructions for sealing and filling your snow globe, so I won't go into those details here.

Step 1: Clean up your bottle

Make sure the bottle you chose has no labels or stickers on it. If there is, peel off all labels and stickers, then use the Goo Gone to remove any left overs.

Step 2: Crop your Photos

Cut around your pictures and make sure they are at least half an inch thinner then your bottle or jar. This will give the photo enough room to move around but not be too snug.

Step 3: Water Proof your pictures

Measure out enough tape to cover your photos. Lay down a strip of tape and push the first photo face down onto it. Press on the photo to remove any air bubbles. Add another piece of tape to cover the rest of the photo. Do the same with your second photo. Make sure no part of the pictures is left uncovered. Make sure the edges are tightly closed.

Step 4: Put the photos into the bottle

Roll up your photos and put them into the bottle. Do this quickly and the photo should unroll after awhile.

Step 5: Add contents to bottle

Now pour your water, corn syrup and glitter/sparkles to the bottle. A 50/50 mix of water and corn syrup should slow the falling contents just enough.

That's it. Shake your new photo snow globe up and enjoy!

Tips for creating a snow globe with a scene

As I said before, most snow domes will come with instructions for piecing your snow globe together. Since I just completed my snow globe scene, I'll give you a few pointers from my experience.

I created a snow globe with a Hawaiian theme. I found some paper that had a beach with sea shells printed on it and some people with realistic water looking patterns on it. I glued these to the snow globes base to make my beach. Then I went to a crafts store (Michaels) and purchased some wooden sea shells and palm trees. I then glued the sea shells to the snow globe base and let them dry over night. I had a real hard time gluing the palm trees to the base. For some reason the material or the paint on the wooden palm trees would not stick to the base even with super glue. I would highly recommend finding material that will stick well with super glue. That was my main issue.

When I got these items glued to the base, I glued the dome over the base. This is a very critical step because you don't want water leaking out of your snow globe later. You have to be careful because you need to seal the dome very well but if you use too much glue it can look sort of tacky. I lined the based with super glue, held it together firmly for about a minute and let it dry overnight.

The next step was adding the snow. I came to find out that I should have added the snow before I glued the dome onto the base. It was very hard to get the damp snow in through the tiny hole in the base. I ended up leaving the snow on a paper towel in front of a heater to dry it out so it wouldn't stick. Once I did this I was able to get the snow through the hole without too much of a problem. I suggest finding a good funnel before doing this step.

After adding the snow, I added the water and the corn syrup. It was pretty hard to get it through the tiny hole, so again try and find a good funnel if you can before doing this.

Once everything was in place I plugged the hole and started shaking my newly completed snow globe. Everything looked great. It was a snowy beach with palm trees. Later on I shook the globe a bit and the palm trees came unattached. I realized that I probably should have either found a better glue to use with them, or came up with some sort of stake to put through them so they wouldn't come unattached.

In the end I was happy with the finished product. You can be very creative and create all sorts of cool scenes. If it works out well, you could possibly make snow globes and sell them online. A lot of people collect snow globes and would be anxious to add your creations to their collection. Good luck creating your snow globes and have fun!