do-it-yourself: snow domes - a tutorial



a few years back i was totally into snow domes (also known as snow globes). i made them all myself, out of little glass jars, with a little animal and tree inside. i just asked my mum whether she still has some of my old ones and if so i will add photos of them at a later point. i made 2 new ones today though. so here are instructions on how to make your own cute little winter decoration. and if you live in the southern hemisphere - you might enjoy the thought of them as well just to cool down a little :)

what you need:




* clean glass jars with lid, please make sure they still close well, or you might get frustrated when everything is almost done and the glass leaks (i speak from experience), marmelade jars work well and small baby food jars are perfect for mini snow domes...
* water-resistant glue
* destilled water
* glycerin (i bought mine at the pharmacy)
* glitter flakes
* little animals, cars, snowmen, trees, whatever you'd like in your snow dome (try the model railroad section in the toys department for trees i.e.) i find it's best to collect little things for the snow domes over the months instead of starting to search for something fitting when you want to make them...

what to do:

* glue the animals/trees etc. to the inside of the lid, making sure that you can still close the glass




* pour water and glycerin into the glass jar at a ratio of 1:1
* at this point you might try to put the lid onto the glass (make sure the glue has dried) in order to test how much you need to top up with water/glycerin
* add glitter flakes




* screw lid to glass really tight, turn around, shake, enjoy!



(um, well i have to admit, the toadstool one didn't work out - i was too much in a hurry and the glue hadn't dried yet, i'll have to re-do this one :(( so, yes, make sure the glue is dry and everything's fixed)




(you might want to glue the lid to the glass as well, but make sure to test if you're happy with the amount of water/glycerin and glitter before doing that!)

you have the option of putting a piece of fabric and twine around the lid to make the snow dome look a little more pretty :)

if you made a snow dome with this tutorial, we'd be happy to receive feedback here in the comments section. in case you share it on your blog, please leave a link so we can come visit and have a look at it!



See more projects and tutorials:

Aspic-Preserved Hippos – a fun d.i.y. gift idea
Magic Bottle Tutorial - make it sparkle


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16 comments:

Marianne said...

Oh, those snow-domes remind me sooo much of "the good old days", when I was able to see you making them. The little deer has been standing right next to the pine tree on my kitchen-window-sill ever since! (And visitors still admire it).

Stefanie Elisabeth said...

die sind echt süüüüüß!!! meine eltern haben mir aus norddeutschland schneekugeln mitgebracht, mit seemann und möve. ich finde, die haben echt was märchenhaftes... :)

Karolina Pettersson said...

oh this is so fun! I have wanted to do this for years, but never got around to do it! maybe I will find some time this last weeks of the year!
and I received my little owl kit by mail today, it's so fun to get proper mail in your real mailbox! so thanks again!!

simona said...

I love these! I guess they can even be personalized for gifts. This means I need to collect little items that won't dissolve in the liquid and then get creative!

krys kirkpatrick said...

Great project...love it. And you make it look so easy. Happy Jolly Winter to you.

sylvia said...

simona: good point, plastic certainly works best for items inside the glass!

Nannieflash said...

Oh Wow its a long time since Ive seen this done, and your created a fabulous snowdome for a gift. Thanks for joining us at CFM, good luck with the challenge and bloghop. With hugs Shirleyxxxx

Teresa said...

These are fantastic, I am definitely going to give this a try. Love the ones you've made, just gorgeous.

Kym Weber said...

Oh my! What a spectacular snow globe! I absolutely love it! You've done a wonderful job! Thanks so much for playing along with us at Cards For Men. Hope you’ll be joining us for the next challenge.

~Hugs~Kym

Donnas Den said...

Wonderful project, Sylvia. I haven't seen this before. Thanks for joining us over at Cards for Men and good luck with the challenge.

Donna x

Sophia said...

These are all so perfect, thank you for sharing!
I'm going to give away a hundred of these for Christmas! :)
Sophia x

Hannah said...

Wow! Love the idea, I might try to make some of these :)

Unknown said...

Beautifull! Do you mind, if I link this snowglobe tutorial to my blog in hungarian, like this? http://karacsonyidekoraciok.blogspot.com/2011/11/sajat-keszitesu-hogomb-leiras.html

marissa | Rae Gun Ramblings said...

This is so darling! I'd love it if you'd add this to my link party over at http://raegunwear.blogspot.com/2011/11/link-party-what-we-wore-and-made_29.html

Broochy said...

thanks for sharing :)

Unknown said...

Hi, i know that this post was done long time ago, but I came across just last week.
After searching for everything I needed (glycerine was quite difficult to find and not to cheap) I decided to do it today with my daughter. Problem: the glitter rests at the top, it does not fall down, is it normal?
Thank you
Lili

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