
Materials:
– 1 glass or plastic jar with tight lid (at least 24 oz) A spaghetti sauce jar will work perfectly.
– a dab of paint or spray paint (optional) for painting the lid (not necessary, just for looks)
– hot water (enough to fill the jar up almost to the top)
– liquid glue (like Elmer’s glue)
– glitter in preferred colors
– food coloring
– a skewer or a long stick to stir
– hot glue gun (for sealing lid when project is completed)
How to:
0. (OPTIONAL) You can paint or spray paint the lid for your jar if you’d like. If so, do this first
so it will be dry by the time you are done making your mind/serenity jar.
1. Put hot water in the jar. The water has to be almost boiling, but not quite. Fill it up almost
to the top.
2. Next comes the glue. You know how some snow globes have the snow fall really fast
and some take a long time? Well, the more glue you pour in, the slower the glitter will fall
because the water will get thicker. If you want the glitter to fall fast, then put less glue in.
A good tip to keep in mind is that if you want to use this as a “let’s take a break” activity,
then you want it to last at least 2 minutes (in other words, you want the glitter to take at
least 2 minutes to settle completely to the bottom).
You will be able to assess as you go, so start with a little bit (take the lid off the glue
bottle and squeeze a couple of dollops out to begin with).
Mix well with stick. Make sure the glue dissolves completely.
3. Add your favorite glitter. We had the bigger glitter and the tiny kinds. I mad a blue one
and a purple one. In the blue one, I added blue and gold glitter and in the purple on I
added purple and orange glitter. The gold and orange gave the blue and purple nice
contrasts.
Mix well with stick. This is when you will see whether you need more glue (if the glitter
settles too fast) or if you got the right amount).
4. Add a drop or two of food coloring of choice. Adjust as needed. Some people like theirs
really dark and others really light. The lighter they are, the more the glitter will show, but
the darker it is, the more contrast the glitter will have.
Mix well with stick.
5. Fill up the jar with water if it needs more. Leave a half inch space (see picture below).
6. When you are absolutely ready to seal it (no more glue or glitter or food coloring
needed), put a little bit of hot glue on the inside edge of the lid and close immediately.
You might need a rag because the hot glue might make the lid too hot to handle with
bare hands. Let glue dry.
7. Enjoy! (Note: if the jar you use is glass, make sure you leave it out of your child’s reach while they are staring at its beauty.)
Emma @ P is for Preschooler says
These are gorgeous! We tried something like this once but I must have done it wrong. This post makes me want to give it another shot!
BlogTanya Wright says
You should! Ours turned out great. ๐
Dana says
Do I have to use the gel glue? Can I use white elmers? Thank you! They turned out beautifully for you all!
BlogTanya Wright says
You can use regular Elmer’s glue, just make sure the water is hot enough for it to melt and dissolve well. Try almost boiling, but be careful with the littles. ๐
Tina Hardesty says
I had to travel with these and it was winter time. I once made snow globes that got too cold and the seal broke. Now I use E 6000 Glue for a permanent bond that can handle cold or heat. Just my 2 cents for anybody else that had an issue.