How to Make a Winter Woodland Snow Globe
Growing up in Southern California with parents who weren’t big on traveling, I didn’t have a chance to fully experience a white winter until my thirties. I’ve always had a soft spot in my heart for snow, maybe since I rarely saw it. During November trips home for college driving down Interstate 5 though the grapevine I’d always cross my fingers that we’d get caught in a snowstorm. During the eight years that I lived in San Francisco and drove back and forth across California, that never happened. However a few times I did catch a glimpse of snow on that drive and pull over and relish in the precious chilly flakes falling on my tongue as I stood on the side of the road with my mouth open towards the sky like a kid.
People who have struggled through bitter snowy winters of tire chains, shoveling, plowing and getting trapped in your house for a day or so with no heat, water or electricity have told me that I might not love snow so much if I had experienced that kind of hardship. Then I did. On an east coast trip with my ex I experienced my first blizzard. Knowing my snow obsession, my ex woke me up in the middle of the night when the blizzard began. We sat in the warn house for an hour or so while I held my hand outside the window we’d cracked open so I could feel the snowflakes fall and disappear on my fingertips.
In the morning the aftermath of the blizzard meant having to plow a driveway as our eyelids nearly froze together so we could get in the car and drive to the bus station for the final leg of our trip. We slowly rolled though the streets info and overwhelmed by white all around us but eventually we made it to the bus station where I slipped and slid on icy sidewalks to our bus.
My ex thought the whole experience of the not-so-pretty-side of snow would make me love it less but it made love it more. Since then I’ve been in a few snowstorms and I’m still not over the beauty of everything being covered in a blanket of shimmering white.
I still live in an area where snow doesn’t grace us with its presence but I long for it. I may not be able to get my snow fix in California but I live vicariously though the DIY snow globe I made this week. One of the things I love about this DIY project is that you can make it using repurposed supplies. I used a mason jar for mine but you can grab any jar sitting in your recycling bin and turn it into something awesome when you add some plastic trees or animals and a little bit of glitter.
-Nicole S.
WHAT TO GET:
-Plastic animals and trees (the number depends on the size of your jar) *I really like this deer , just make sure it will fit in your jar, and these trees were perfect!
-Glue gun + glue sticks
-Scissors
-Paintbrush
-Fabric
-If you need to build a ‘hill’ inside your jar so you can see your animals and trees, you’ll need something waterproof to build it. Replacement plastic tiles for games like Scrabble or Rummikib like these work well.
-Paint
-Mason jar
WHAT TO DO:
1. Trace the outline of your lid on card stock to create a template for the fabric that will cover the lid. Cut out the template.
2. Create a template for the strip of fabric that goes around the edge of the lid using card stock and a ruler. Cut out the template.
3. Trace your templates on the wrong (not printed) side of your fabric.
4. Cut the fabric.
5. Using your glue gun run a strip of glue along the inside ring of the jar then place the center on top.
6. If you’re building a ‘hill’ inside your jar, Use your glue gun to glue your dominoes in place in the center of the lid.
7. Mix your paint. I used green since it matched my trees.
8. Paint the inside of the jar and let it dry completely.
9. Paint Mod Podge on the lid.
10. Place the fabric on top of the lid and paint more Mod Podge on top pressing down to adhere the fabric completely.
11. Using Mod Podge adhere the fabric across the edge of the lid.
12. Adhere the long strip of fabric to the edge of the lid using Mod Podge.
13. Attach your animal and trees to the ‘hill’. My trees were big so I had to cut them down to cover the ‘hill’.
14. Once all of your plastic trees and animals are in place, fill your jar with water almost to the top. You want to leave a little room for a bit of air for when you shake it.
15. Add glitter to the water inside the jar and screw the top on. Then shake it up.
I love snow globes and snow too! And since I’ve always lived in California, I’ve had to get my fix on wintertime trips to New York and London. There’s nothing like walking through a big city in a snowstorm! And my husband knows the rule: Whenever, wherever — if it starts to snow, wake me up immediately!