Almost everyone enjoys snow globes. Why not have your child create a unique snow globe that reflects his or her interests and obsessions? How about a snow globe with a dinosaur? Shake it up and imagine the dinosaur in the middle of a snow storm! Does your child like Bert and Earnie or Big Bird from Sesame Street? Why not put them inside a snow globe? Snow globes are easy and fun to make!

Difficulty: Easy

Time Required: Varies

Here's How:

1. Wash and dry the jar
   Be sure that the jar and the lid are completely clean. The lid needs to be completely dry since you need to attach the florist clay to it.
2. Attach figurine to jar lid
   Cover the inside of the jar lid with some florist clay. Press the figurine into the clay. (See tips #3 and #4.) Cover the lid with the jar to make sure the figurine fits inside the jar.
3. Add snow globe decor
   A figurine all by itself makes for a rather dull snow globe! Little branches, trees, presents, rocks -- all these can create a an interesting environment for the figurine. What the kids choose to add could be determined by the figurine. A Santa would have little presents around him. A dinosaur would have greenery and perhaps rocks. Or you could have a Santa dinosaur -- a dinosaur figurine surrounded by presents. The possibilities are limited only by your child's imagination.
4. Fill jar with water and "snow"
   The jar should be filled to about 1/2" from the top. If it's too full, it won't be possible for the glitter to swirl around to create the snow storm effect. If it's not full enough, it won't look like a snow storm. Add enough snow or glitter to create the look of a storm, but not so much that it looks like a blinding blizzard!

1. Glue the lid to the jar
   Wipe off any water from the jar lid and jar rim. Put some glue around the rim. Then screw the lid onto the jar. If you tried the fit out earlier (step #2), you should have no problem with the fit. Let the glue dry overnight, with the lid side up.
2. Decorate the lid rim[Optional]
   The kids can leave the lid plain, but they will probably enjoy doing it. The can use ribbons, felt, sequins -- anything they think would spruce it up.

Tips:

1. Jars
   Baby food jars are perfect for making snow globes, especially the larger ones. Any empty jar will do, however. Just make sure that it's large enough for the figurine that will go inside. If you plan to put other items like berries or some kind of greenery inside too, be sure that there will be enough room for it.
2. Glitter
   If you want the snow to look as much like snow as possible, use fake snow (available at most craft stores). If you want a little sparkle to the snow, get white glitter. You can get get creative with the glitter too. You can get snowflake shaped glitter and even different colors and other shapes.
3. Using the florist clay
   If the figurine is small, you might want to make a little mound of clay to raise the figure a bit. You could also use the clay to create a very small landscape.
4. Attaching the figurine to the jar lid
   If you are concerned that the clay might get detached from the lid, you can use a little glue on the clay. You can use a little glue with the other items you attach to the clay as well.

What You Need:

• Small or medium size jar
• Waterproof glue (such as Gorilla Glue)
• Florist Clay (available at craft stores)
• Waterproof figurine
• Glitter or fake snow
• Waterproof "decor" to put around the figurine
• Materials to decorate the outside of the snow globe (optional)