Make these easy DIY snow globes with jars, glitter, glue and water in under 10 minutes! Add a fun DIY touch to the classic Christmas snow globe with this homemade version you’ll treasure for years.
These DIY snow globes are one of my favorite Christmas projects! They’re so sweet and nostalgic and they’re also a cinch to make so this is a great project for the kids to help with if you have little ones.
I know I’m not alone in being completely charmed by all of the pretty snow globes that have popped up all over Pinterest the past several holiday seasons. There’s just about nothing as charming as a pretty Christmas snow globe!
Several years ago I decided to try my hand at making my own DIY snow globes and I was surprised at just how easy they are to make. Here I’m sharing all of my tips and tricks I’ve learned along the way.
Supplies to Make DIY Snow Globes
To make these easy DIY snow globes you’ll need a few basic supplies. 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.
How to Make DIY Snow Globes
Here I am sharing a complete explanation of how I make DIY snow globes. You can also keep scrolling below for the printable DIY instructions card to make your crafting even easier.
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.
2. Using your sandpaper, scuff up the underside of the lid. This will help the epoxy to hold in the next 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.
4. Next up, fill your jar just short of full with distilled water. You can generally purchase distilled water anywhere that you buy bottled water, such as the grocery store or pharmacy.
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. The hat said, don’t skip this step because the glycerin helps suspend the glitter in the water giving it that snowy effect.
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.
7. Insert your figurine and screw the lid on firmly and give it a good shake – making DIY snow globes is as easy as that! I absolutely love how these turn out every time I make them.
Aren’t these so cute?! For a bit of extra fun, you could also easily paint or decorate the lid of the jar to create an even more custom look.
The lid of my jar was white and I kind of liked the simple look so I opted to leave it as is, but I love the idea of dressing it up. You could spray paint the lids first (maybe white, green, red or gold) or cover it with a fun washi tape pattern.
These are perfect to give as gifts or to spend an afternoon crafting with the kiddos. Trust me, kids of all ages love snow globes!
[Photos by Alice G. Patterson.]
How to Make Homemade Snow Globes
Follow this easy DIY tutorial to make charming homemade snow globes - a beautiful, DIY twist on a classic holiday tradition.
Materials
- Clean jars with lids
- Distilled water
- Glycerin (available at most pharmacies)
- Plastic or ceramic animals, trees and/or figurines
- Tinsel glitter (mine is from Michaels)
- Epoxy
- Sand paper
Instructions
1. Make sure your jars are cleaned and dried thoroughly.
2. Using your sandpaper, scuff up the underside of the lid and then attach your chosen figurines using a bit of epoxy. (You can find mini Christmas trees, plastic deer and other little characters at places like Hobby Lobby and Michaels.) 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.
3. Let the epoxy set completely and then fill your jar just short of full with distilled water. (You can get distilled water anywhere that you buy bottled water.)
4. Add the tiniest drop of glycerin to the water. 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.
5. 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 best snow-like look.
6. Insert your figurine and screw the lid on firmly and give it a good shake!
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Christopher Weaver
Wednesday 2nd of September 2020
What size of jar did you use? I don't want to get a jar that is to small. Please help.
Amanda McAleenan
Wednesday 26th of August 2020
Beautiful ideas.
Tony
Saturday 11th of July 2020
This looks like a great project! What did you use to make the tree snowy?
LilB
Tuesday 10th of December 2019
Question: why do you not fill the bottle a bit more full so there is less space left at the top when you upend it? Does being fuller hamper the distribution of the glitter?
Cyd Converse
Tuesday 10th of December 2019
Hi there! I just found it worked better that way. I played with a lot of different methods, and I just found it was best for shaking and glittering!
Sarah
Monday 9th of December 2019
Help! I made these and the jars leak! What do I do?
Cyd Converse
Tuesday 10th of December 2019
Hey Sarah! What kind of jar did you use? I've never had any issue with leaking. A small line of epoxy around the top of the jar before you close it up should help! I'd let it dry fully before flipping it back up. I hope this helps!