Halloween Snow Globes (minus the snow)

We have been having an annual apple picking party and harvest dinner for about 10 years now, and for the last three or four, I’ve set up a craft table for the kids. I’d like to say that the projects have gotten more involved because the kids are getting older, which is true, but also I think I feel the need to “top” whatever we did the year before.

The party was Saturday, and there were probably about 30 kids, most of them my son’s kindergarten buddies. I felt like every time I turned around I would see a PILE of boys rolling across the yard. It was a little hectic. But most of them did stop by the craft table to make these little Halloween-themed snow globes.

They were easy to make, but definitely required adult help given the glass, glitter and water. I found several other tutorials online that suggested using floral clay to adhere the figurines. I tried it and it worked great for that purpose, but the glitter also stuck to the clay, which resulted in nothing but a few flecks of glitter swirling around after the first shake. Others also suggest using hot glue to adhere the figures, and seal the jars, but I figured hot glue plus 30 kids was asking for trouble.

*** EDITED TO ADD: after a few days, even some of the figures that seemed secure started to float around, so I’m not sure what to suggest in terms of adhering them. I haven’t tried the hot glue idea, but if you’re making these with only a kid or two instead of 30, that might be the way to go ****

Materials:

_ glass jar with lid

_ distilled water

_ polymer clay

_ thread seal tape (found with plumbing supplies at hardware stores)

_ small plastic figurines (I used cupcake picks)

_ glycerin (found with the baking supplies at craft stores)

_ glitter (I also had a small set of autumn/Halloween colors but those went fast)

_ ribbon

_ scissors

_ double-stick tape (not shown)

Instructions:

1) Pinch off a small amount of clay and squeeze it in your hands for a few minutes to soften and condition it. I did this ahead of time for the party, and set the clay on a heating pad for a few minutes to warm it up. It’s possible I have very weak hands, but this took some muscle.

2) Roll the clay into a ball. Insert figurines into the clay, and stick the whole ball onto the underside of the lid. Press firmly, building the clay around the figurine’s base. We had some trouble with the figurines coming un-stuck and floating around. Make sure the figurines aren’t spread out so widely that they won’t fit in the mouth of the jar.

3) Add a small amount of glitter to jar.

4) Fill jars with water almost to the top. Add a few drops of glycerin, which is supposed to make the glitter fall more slowly.

5) Wrap thread seal tape around the rim of the jar. This stuff is a bit tricky to work with. It’s not really sticky, but it it twists on itself rather easily. My jar lids weren’t very deep, so I tried to wrap the tape only around the very top of the jars so it wouldn’t be peaking out from under the lid later. If your jar has a tight seal, you might want to skip this step.

6) Carefully invert the figurines into the jar and screw the lid on.

7) Use double-stick tape to wrap a ribbon around the lid to decorate if desired.