The holidays present so many opportunities for DIY crafts! It’s so hard for me to pick which project I should work on when there are so many to choose from… This year while I was visiting relatives I saw a wine glass snow globe and immediately fell in love with how it looked!
The wine glass snow globe I saw was being used as a candle-holder (which is awesome!) and I knew that there would soon be some of these cute wine glass snow globes holding candles in my house.
I checked out the craftsmanship and did a little Pinteresting and soon had a plan for how to build my very own snow globes. I even managed to change the design up a little bit to make mine look a bit fancier. Check out the instructions below to see how easy it is to make your very own holiday snow globe!
What You’ll Need
Materials
- wine glass(es)
- canning jar lid(s)
or - cardstock
- figurine(s)
- artificial snow
- ribbon
- white spray paint
Tools
If you’re a heavy-duty crafter, you probably have at least a few of these materials already.
Wine Glasses
Where to Get Wine Glasses
You don’t need to go out and buy a set of new wine glasses for this project. You can, of course, but your local thrift store will have a good selection of glasses that will work for around $.99 – $2.49 each. I picked up a dozen glasses at the local Goodwill on 1/2 price day for under $10!
How to Choose Wine Glasses
Look for glasses that are plain; no fancy prints, etchings, colors or shapes. I used stemmed wine glasses for my snow globes, but you could also use stemless. Hold the glass up to the light and check for any scratches or chips. It’s ok if the glass is dirty as you will wash it anyway.
Most standard wine glasses will work with canning lids for the base, but you can always make a base from cardstock if you find an odd-sized glass that you really like.
Avoid champagne flutes, margarita glasses, etc. Nothing fancy; just regular wine glasses with stems work best.
Clean and Prepare Wine Glasses
When you are ready to put your wine glass snow globes together, you’ll need to make sure the glasses are really really clean, especially on the inside. You don’t want to get everything glued together and realize there is a smudge on the inside of your snow globe!
Wash the glasses in warm, soapy water, rinse in cold water and then wipe thoroughly with a lint-free cloth. Hold it up to the light and make sure it’s spotless and blem-free.
If your wine glasses have super-sticky price tags on them, run it under some hot water and it should slide right off.
Figurines
Where to Get Figurines
While you’re at the thrift store picking your wine glasses, look around and see if you can find any figurines. There should be at least a few Christmas figurines around the holidays, but you can build a wine glass snow globe for any occasion (they’re not just for Christmas!) so see if there’s anything that you like.
You can also find a good selection at department stores like Target or Walmart, and Amazon always has plenty.
Choosing Figurines
You’re looking for something that will look good sitting in the snow, so something with a white base works really well. Make sure it’s not too tall or big around to fit inside of the rim of the wine glass.
I also picked up a few small trees to add a little somethin’ extra to my wine glass snow globes.
Other Supplies
Artificial Snow
Easy to find in any craft store or craft section of a department store. Some people use little styrofoam ball packages for snow, but I think the actual artificial snowflakes look better. White works best, but the sparkly kind looks good too. Just make sure it will match the figurine and base.
Canning Lids
Most standard wine glass rims will fit on a standard canning jar lid. The most common is the large lid size, but you’ll need to check to see what fits your glasses.
Ribbon
You’ll need to get some ribbon to put around the base of the glass and ribbon to make a bow for the stem of the glass.
The ribbon around the base should be some type of string or twisted cotton twine.
Choose a fairly wide (1 inch or so) ribbon to make your bow around the stem.
Assembling Your Wine Glass Snow Globes
1. The very first thing you’ll want to do is paint the canning jar lid(s). Place them rubber-seal side up on something you don’t mind being painted and coat them with a light layer of white paint.
If you’re using a non-standard size wine glass, or if your wine glass rim doesn’t fit in the canning jar lid, you can make a base using cardstock
Paint the inside of the wine glass lid as white as snow… this will be the base for your snow globe.
While the paint dries, plug in your hot glue gun and get all of your supplies in one place.
2. Put a bit of hot glue on the base of the figurine, and then attach it to the canning jar lid. Make sure you leave enough room to fit the wine glass over the top.
Put a bit of hot glue on the bottom of the figurine and set it on the canning jar lid/base.
3. Put a little bit of artificial snow inside the wine glass. You will need less snow than you think you will!
Just a few pinches of snow is all you need…
You want to make sure you don’t put in so much snow that it covers your figurine when it’s flipped over. Try putting a few pinches of snow in the glass, then hold the figurine and base firmly to the glass and tip it over to see how much snow you have vs how much you need.
You want just enough to cover the base of the figurine.
Make sure you have the lid/base held firmly to the glass. Keep the snow in the globe!
4. With the wine glass stem up (and the base and rim down) put a fine bead of hot glue around the rim of the glass so that it attaches to the canning jar lid.
Some people have tried to put a fine bead of glue on the rim of the wine glass and then place the base on it…. that just leads to hot glue dripping down the glass and half of the glue drying before you get it all glued.
Put a fine layer of glue around the base… just enough to keep it together.
5. Using another fine bead of glue, attach the base ribbon to your glass.
Attach this detail a little at a time to keep the glue sticky and the ribbon straight.
6. Tie the ribbon into a neat little bow and attach it to the stem.
You can either tie the bow around the stem or make a bow and attach it using thin wire or pipe cleaner.
Ta Done!
That’s it! It’s just that simple to make this DIY wine glass snow globe that you can proudly display on your mantle, centerpiece or pretty much any other place in your house!
They work great as candle holders too!
Your imagination is the only limit on how you decorate your snow globe!
Tell me about it!
If you make one of these DIY snow globes, let me know about it! I wanna see how yours turns out. 🙂
Merry Christmas,
Dee
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….wife, mom, Mimi (aka grandma) and home décor enthusiast.
