A Home for the Holidays

It's never too early to get started on your holiday crafting!  So, today I have a project to share with you that makes for a lovely gift (or something wonderful to keep all for your own mantle).  *wink*  A home for the holidays...

 

This waterless snowglobe captures a glittery winter wonderland inside a gallon glass jar!  So, pour yourself a piping hot mug of hot chocolate, and join me for some holiday crafting fun!

Some basic supplies that you will need: a gallon glas jar (available at WalMart and some crafting stores), a thin piece of chipboard (like the kind you might find on the back of a paper slab), a craft knife, a corner-rounder punch, a ruler, a bone folder (or other scoring tool), a Xyron machines (or your favorite paper adhesive), hot glue, glue dots, pop dots, fake snow, fishing wire or clear/invisible jewelry thread, patterned paper, and various decorative elements.  Here are some embellishments that might suit your fancy...

We'll start off by constructing our house.  I used the Cottage House pattern featured here.  Don't worry about the roof or the base... we will create our own later.  Resize the pattern (either through Photoshop or on a copier) until the base of the triangular front of the house measures 3".  Any bigger, and it won't fit in the jar.  Print the pattern out on a thin piece of chipboard, then adhere the unprinted side of the chipboard to the back of a piece of patterned paper.  Use a craft knife to trim off the excess paper...

Next, use a bone folder and ruler to score along the fold lines...

Fold your house up, and use a line of hot glue along the edge to secure it together...

You'll end up with something that looks like this...

Now, we're ready to make the roof.  I used some of the new American Crafts pre-glittered cardstock (it's GORGEOUS), cut it to 2" x 6," then used a corner-rounder punch on the edges. Use a bone folder to score along the middle of the roof...

 

Secure the roof to the top of the house with hot glue...

Now, we'll make the base for the house.  I have this old plastic water glass that I saved for projects... it always seems to be the PERFECT-sized circle.  The diameter of the mouth of the glass measures 3 1/2".  Use a craft knife to trim around the glass onto another thin piece of chipboard, creating the base...

The chipboard I used is white on the backside, and will camoflage itself under the stove.  If yours is kraft on both size, either paint one side white or cover it with white cardstock.  Next, we'll make the door and windows for the house.  I made them using the same pre-glittered cardstock as the roof.  Cut a 3/4" x 1 1/4" door.  Adhere a stick-on jewel for the "door knob."  For the windows, cut (2) 6/8" x 7/8" pieces.  Let's create the "window panes."  You can see how I marked them off, and cut them here...

After you get one measured and cut, you can just lay it over the other piece and use it as a cutting guide.  Before we adhere the base, door and windows, let's create a miniature wreath. Wrap a silver pipe cleaner around your thumb twice, trim off the end, and secure with a dot of hot glue...

Use a piece of red and white baker's twine to tie a tiny bow, and attach it to the wreath with a small dot of hot glue.  Then, adhere all of the pieces to the house so that it looks like such...

This is a gift for my daughter, so I made a little tag and attached it to the back of the house using pop dots.  You don't have to do this, but here's what it looks like...

Next, use hot glue to adhere the house and trees to the inside of the glass jar...

Now, you can fill your snowglobe up with some pretty, glittery stuff.  I used a mixture of store-bought fake snow, clear mica flakes, and a sprinkling of the pink mica flakes by Melissa Frances that you will find in your October kits!  Looks how pretty...

Time to decorate the lid!  You can do whatever you'd like.  Coincidentally... that plastic glass makes the perfect circle to fir on the lid!  I edged the rim of the jar with some velvet scalloped ribbon, then added some chipboard touches.  The candy canes can be made by twisting together two pieces of pipecleaners.  OR... Bethany Lowe makes a lovely package of pre-made ones with a super-vintage look that I used here...

Now comes the most tedious and nit-picky part of this project... the dangling snowflakes.  I used these pearl snowflakes buttons from the craft store.  They have button loops on the back, so be sure to trim them off first...

Add a drop of hot glue to the back, then quickly (before it dries) smash the end of some fishing line into it...

Repeat until you have 5 snowflakes on fishing line.  I cut the lengths of fishing line at varying measurements between 3" to 5".  Use hot glue dots to adhere the other ends of the fishing line to the top of the jar as such...

Here's where the nit-picky part comes in... you'll have to fiddle with and adjust the snowflakes until the all face the same way (the front of the jar).  That's why I used GLUE DOTS instead of hot glue.  You can reposition the wire with glue dots.  Then, you can add some pretty pink jewels to the middle of the snowflakes, and have something that looks like this...

Then, just screw the lid onto the jar.  And, there you have it... a vintagey little snowglob filled with all the prerequisite sparkle of the season!  

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions regarding this project.  Happy crafting!

xoxo,

Holly

Comments

[Toni]

Totally cute project!!!

[Celly]

Fantastic project ! Thanks so much for sharing !

[Anja]

That's so sweeeeeet!!

[Danielle Vellozo]

Wow!
I loved this house!
Thanks for sharing the tutorial!
I'll try make something like this. I love snowglobes!
Greetings from Brazil!
Dani.

[sally lynn macdonald]

that is so cute!

[Lara]

This is so cute!! I want to make one!!

[Larajc]

I love this! I think I will try and make one too!

[stove pipe]

Great post. I will have to bookmark your site for later reading.

[janet robson]

what a unique project and think of the keepsakes you could make..xmas time..new year, family home, new house, wonderful!

[Tania]

this is totally cute!

[Sasha]

magnificant

[Steph]

Really awesome project. I love the little box template and the American Crafts cardstock & rub-ons. I didn't know about these and I'm already brewing with ideas on how to use them for the holidays!

[Karen Dodson]

LOVE IT!!!! Thanks so much for the tutorial!!!

[angie backen]

so so hecka cute! this would be a fun project to do with my girls.
thanks, holly! :)

[liz kartchner]

SO cute! love that glitter cardstock. thanks for sharing!

[hartofthemountain.blogspot.com]

LOVE--so cute! great job, thanks for the inspiration.

[Caroline K]

I love this project!! Where did you get your trees?

[Eveline van Heijst]

I came here through the Cosmo Cricket blog. Love the little house in the jar. Thanks for the very clear tutorial and house pattern.
Eveline.

[Fifi-T]

Stunning, so cute

[Sondra]

This is so DARLING!!!

[Marissa]

This is so very adorable! Love all of the details that you added. Thanks for sharing, Holly.

[nazarulika_md]

огромное спасибо за такую красоту
Many thanks for such beauty

[Holly Hanks]

Caroline... the trees are available at Hobby Lobby and Michael's. Check in the section of the store where the Christmas villages are stocked. Hope that helps!

[Beth Perry]

what an amazing project!

[Keely Yowler]

This is fantastic and SO creative!