Valentine Snow Globes by Lori Gentile

Lori Gentile created an awesome How to for this adorable Valentine's Day project!!

Supplies Needed:
Larger size baby food jars
Enamel paint
Foam brushes
Glitter (fine or light weight)
Glycerine (found in the cake decorating section or the drug store)
Ribbon and other Valentine's Day looking embellishments
Glue Dots
Self-Sealing Laminating sheets or Xyron machine

I found this fun article in a Martha Stewart Holiday Projects Idea book on making snow globes out of food jars. You can use any jar, baby food jars, olive jars, etc. I thought it would make an adorable gift for Valentine's day and being the scrapbooker that I am, I wanted to include photos inside the jars, instead of just plastic or ceramic pieces. This project is super easy to do. It's really fun and your recipient will LOVE them. This is a great craft to do with children, as well.

How to:

1. Remove the label from the jar.
2. Remove any food from the jar and wash. Soak the jar for a while in hot water to remove the label adhesive on the outside of the jar.
3. Paint the lid the color of your choice. Use an enamel paint to prevent chipping. Set it aside to dry. Mine took two coats.
4. Print a vertical photo that is between .25" - .5" less than the width of your lid. My photo was 1.5" x 2.25" for my baby food jar.
5. Make a duplicate photo that is exactly the same size (or use a different image, if you like) and adhere them back to back making one image.
6. Run the photo through the Xyron to laminate. If you don't have a Xyron you can use self-sealing laminating sheets found in any office supply section or store. If you use these sheets, you will want to cut two of the same size pieces that are around 1.5" larger than your photo all the way around. Remove the backing from one piece and place your photo in the center. Make sure to rub out any bubbles. Remove the backing from the second piece and place the adhesive side onto the adhesive side of your photo piece. Rub out any bubbles and run your nails along the edges of your photo to get a good seal. Cut the excess laminate from around your picture. Leave about a .25" of adhesive around the photo and be sure there is no air between the layers.
7. Fill the empty jar to the top with water.
8. Add in a pinch or two of glitter.
9. Add a tiny drop of glycerine to keep the glitter from falling too fast to the bottom. Too much glycerine will cause the glitter to stick to the bottom of the jar.
10. Turn your photo upside down and place it into the water.
11. Carefully tighten the lid onto the jar.
12. Turn it over and give it a shake. Isn't the float-y effect of the loose image (this is why you want an image on both sides, so it can turn around in the jar) with all the fun glitter snow super cool?
13. Place the jar on it's painted lid and decorate the outside at will. You can put things on the very top or anywhere you like. Just keep in mind you still need to see the image in the jar when you are done.

If you want to include other things inside the jar, use only plastic or ceramic pieces. Metal pieces will rust in the water. You will want to sand the inside of your lid and use an epoxy adhesive to glue down any plastic or ceramic objects. Some fun ideas are plastic hearts, plastic flowers, and white plastic trees. This can be a great homemade gift idea for a Teacher, Aunt, Grandmother, Father, etc., for the holiday. Enjoy!

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