To gift them, I’d tie them with a pretty gift tag and a piece of satin ribbon tied into a pretty oversized bow.
Lewiston Sun Journal
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ANSWER: Snow globes are so lovely and often quite sentimental. It is a shame when they get damaged, especially because it is difficult to find a local repair person. You may, however, be able to fix the water in your snow globe yourself.
Older snow globes are filled with distilled water which can grow murky with algae if exposed to heat or too much sunlight. The way to remedy this dark water is to drain and change it. If your snow globe has a plug, you can carefully empty the water and refill with distilled water using a turkey baster. If your snow globe does not have a plug but is sealed, you will have to send it to a skilled restorer to take it apart for cleaning.
Newer snow globes are manufactured with a synthetic, glycol-based liquid. If you believe that you have a newer globe, use extra caution or leave the changing to a professional as this liquid is potentially toxic.
If any readers are aware of a skilled snow globe restorer or repair person, please write in to Sun Spots. Otherwise, you may have to ship your snow globe to a professional. Sun Spots was able to find these two out-of-state companies:
Gifts Online Inc. is located in Tennessee. Check their website, www.snowgloberepaircenter.com, for details, shipping directions and a very nice photo gallery of past snow globe repairs. They can be reached by calling 423-639-5850 or email [email protected].
Snow Globe Central, www.snowglobecentral.com, based in Colorado, also offers snow globe repair. They can be reached by calling 303-294-9469 or email [email protected].
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If you know someone who has the skills but not the equipment, snow globe supplies are available from snowdomes.com or NationalArtCraft.com.
DEAR SUN SPOTS: Fundraising for Maine’s first universally accessible playground, planned for Marcotte Park in Lewiston, is underway. The playground is designed to serve children and adults, regardless of physical or developmental challenges. The playground will be built in Marcotte Park next to the proposed new Lewiston High School athletic fields. The playground committee is working with the Lewiston School Department so both projects can co-exist. To watch a video about the project and to make a donation to the campaign, visit gofundme.com/lewiston-inclusive-playground.
DEAR SUN SPOTS: Farmington’s Winter Farmers Market at the Farmington Grange Hall, 124 Bridge St. in West Farmington, will be from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. The Farmington Grange Hall is located just across the Rt 2 bridge and to the right at the stop light. The Farmers Market will be held every Saturday from November until the end of April. For questions, call Bonnie Clark at 207-778-6637. For general information about the Grange and the work that they do, to get involved or to become a member, call 207-778-3298.
DIY Snow Globe Supplies
To make these easy DIY snow globes you’ll need a few basic supplies. Snow globe supplies are pretty affordable and you may even already have many of them at home!
- Clean jars with lids – You can either use recycled jars or mason jars, you just want to be sure to use something with smooth sides so you can easily see inside the jar when the snow is swirling around.
- Distilled water – Using clean distilled water will help prevent any sediment or rusting of your snow globe.
- Glycerin – You can find glycerin at most pharmacies. It thickens the water just slightly to help the glitter fall more slowly to emulate snow.
- Figurines/trees – Choose whatever you’d like to place in the jar such as plastic or ceramic animals, trees and/or figurines.
- Tinsel glitter – After much experimenting I found that tinsel glitter, which has larger particles, worked best for making DIY snow globes as it looks most like snow when falling through the water.
- Epoxy – You’ll need a water resistant epoxy such as E6000 to permanently attach your trees or other figures to the lid of the jar.
- Sand paper – A bit of sand paper helps to rough up the lid to help your figures attach securely.
What Kind of Liquid Is in a Snow Globe?
In this version of a Christmas snow globe, I use distilled water as the liquid in my snow globes. Bonus – it’s easy to find and inexpensive!
You can generally purchase distilled water anywhere that you buy bottled water, such as the grocery store or pharmacy. It is often sold by the gallon which will make several snow globes.
Using distilled water to make Christmas snow globes will help to keep the water from getting murky and help reduce the likelihood of any rusting.
How to Make DIY Snow Globes
Here I am sharing a complete explanation of how I make DIY snow globes. Learning how to make homemade snow globes is fun and easy!
You can also keep scrolling below for the printable DIY instructions card to make your crafting even easier.
Step 1. First up, make sure your jars are cleaned and dried thoroughly. Once dried, you may want to use a lint-free cloth and glass cleaner to remove any smudges or fingerprints from the inside of the jars.
Step 2. Using your sandpaper, scuff up the underside of the lid. This will help the epoxy to hold in the next step.
Step 3. Attach your chosen figurines to the underside of each lid using a dollop of epoxy. Allow the epoxy to sit and dry until your trees or figurines are firmly adhered.
Note: Epoxy is going to be your best defense against water over time, but it can be a bit thick and stinky so be sure to use it according to the manufacturer’s instructions in a well ventilated area.
Step 4. Next up, fill your jar just short of full with distilled water. Don’t forget to leave room for your figurines
Step 5. Add the tiniest drop of glycerin to the water. For a larger jar you may want to add a tiny bit more.
If you add too much it’s going to make the water kind of thick and chunky so depending on the size of your jar, you’re likely not going to want more than one drop.
That said, I highly suggest that you don’t skip this step because the glycerin helps suspend the glitter in the water giving it that snowy effect.
Step 6. Add your glitter to the jar, using more or less depending on how snowy you’d like your snow globe to appear.
For best results, I found using tinsel glitter (which has larger glitter particles) worked best and gave the most snowy look.
When first experimenting with making homemade snow globes, I tried various sizes and types of glitter and the tinsel glitter worked best for me.
Step 7. Insert your figurine and screw the lid on firmly and give it a good shake – making DIY snow globes easy and I absolutely love how these turn out every time.
