History of Snow Globes
You place the dome in your hand, turn it over, and beautifully, magically the New Orleans skyline or your favorite character is engulfed in a swirling slow-motion blizzard. Everyone can relate to them evoking a childhood memory or nostalgia of a simpler time. For the moment, that snow descends, we've created a whole new landscape where everything is quiet and all you can do is watch the flitter fall
Snowdomes, snow globes, paperweights, snow machines, snow shakers, snow scenes, water domes, water balls, dream globes, blizzard weights, or dream balls were likely derived from heavy glass paperweights which were popular in the latter part of the 1800s. The glass paperweights were made from costly materials which made the popular item inaccessible to the general public. Not only were snow globes less expensive, but they also engaged the viewer. Snow globes are dynamic -- creating a miniature snowstorm descending on the encased diorama.
The first mention of a snow globe featured a man with an umbrella displayed at the Paris Exposition of 1878. Eleven years later at the 1889 Exposition, visitors came to marvel at the steel structure of the Eiffel Tower. There are no examples remaining of these first souvenir globes – but others introduced later suggest that domes were created to commemorate the inauguration of the Tower. The concept quickly became popular throughout Victorian Europe featuring religious themes and pilgrimage sites.
A few years later, a Viennese man Edwin Perzy developed the same idea when researching a way to improve operating room lights. A glass globe filled with water creates a magnifying lens by increasing refraction. To enhance the reflected light, Perzy put ground glass in the water. When it quickly sank, he tried semolina which floated slowly to the bottom of the globe. It did nothing to improve the light quality, but the snowfall inspired him to make his first snow globe: a reproduction of a Viennese shrine in a glass bulb with water, magnesium powder, and rock. The snow domes were exquisitely and painstakingly produced and are still in production today where they make around 200,000 a year outside of Vienna.
To become a widespread global gift, globes needed to be manufactured more efficiently. In 1927, an American, Joseph Garaja pioneered production improvements filling snow globes underwater. They went from expensive individually crafted objects to cheaply made mass-produced objects. Mass popularity grew in the 1940s with the increased use of plastic and the development of the tourist industry. For those who could afford to travel with their families, souvenirs were in high demand. In response to this new market, the snow globe became lighter in weight, dome-shaped, and placed on the top of an opaque colorful base.
Snowdomes, snow globes, paperweights, snow machines, snow shakers, snow scenes, water domes, water balls, dream globes, blizzard weights, or dream balls were likely derived from heavy glass paperweights which were popular in the latter part of the 1800s. The glass paperweights were made from costly materials which made the popular item inaccessible to the general public. Not only were snow globes less expensive, but they also engaged the viewer. Snow globes are dynamic -- creating a miniature snowstorm descending on the encased diorama.
The first mention of a snow globe featured a man with an umbrella displayed at the Paris Exposition of 1878. Eleven years later at the 1889 Exposition, visitors came to marvel at the steel structure of the Eiffel Tower. There are no examples remaining of these first souvenir globes – but others introduced later suggest that domes were created to commemorate the inauguration of the Tower. The concept quickly became popular throughout Victorian Europe featuring religious themes and pilgrimage sites.
A few years later, a Viennese man Edwin Perzy developed the same idea when researching a way to improve operating room lights. A glass globe filled with water creates a magnifying lens by increasing refraction. To enhance the reflected light, Perzy put ground glass in the water. When it quickly sank, he tried semolina which floated slowly to the bottom of the globe. It did nothing to improve the light quality, but the snowfall inspired him to make his first snow globe: a reproduction of a Viennese shrine in a glass bulb with water, magnesium powder, and rock. The snow domes were exquisitely and painstakingly produced and are still in production today where they make around 200,000 a year outside of Vienna.
To become a widespread global gift, globes needed to be manufactured more efficiently. In 1927, an American, Joseph Garaja pioneered production improvements filling snow globes underwater. They went from expensive individually crafted objects to cheaply made mass-produced objects. Mass popularity grew in the 1940s with the increased use of plastic and the development of the tourist industry. For those who could afford to travel with their families, souvenirs were in high demand. In response to this new market, the snow globe became lighter in weight, dome-shaped, and placed on the top of an opaque colorful base.
Modern Globes:
The snow globe fell out of favor in the 1970s when it epitomized kitsch –but has evolved into something more sophisticated, intricately modeled, and valued among designers and collectors. Novelty gift manufacturers have upgraded the designs and components making them unique gift items often including beautifully modeled landscapes. Some incorporate lights, music, and motors eliminating the need for shaking. Many high-end department stores introduce a custom design every year to commemorate the Christmas season.
Anatomy of a Snow Globe:
Originally the globes were made of glass and the figures inside were made of porcelain, bone, metals, minerals, rubber, or wax. The snow or "flitter" as it's called, could have been ground rice, wax, soap, sand, bone fragments, metal flakes, or sawdust. Producers tied everything. The base was either round or square and may have been made of stone, marble, ceramic, or wood. Today, all but the best quality globes are plastic.
The liquid is just water in the plastic snow globes. Glass ones though often have glycol, an antifreeze, to keep the glass from breaking if it becomes frozen.
A little dust won't bother snow globes, but you should keep them out of direct sunlight.
How to Make Your Own Snow Globes:
💛Method 1💛
Making a Snow Globe from Household Items
1. Find a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Any size will do, as long as you have figurines that will fit inside them.
- Pimiento jars, olive jars, baby food jars, and mason jars are all great choices, but anything with a tight-fitting lid will do the trick. Just take a look around. you'll be amazed at what you can find to make snow globes with.
- Wash the jars inside and out. If you're having trouble removing the label, try rubbing it with hot soapy water and using a plastic card or knife to scrape it off. Dry thoroughly.
2. Decide what you want to put inside. You can put anything you like inside your snow globe. Small children's toys are good options, as are winter-themed figurines, or even cake toppers from craft stores.
- Just make sure the figurines are plastic, ceramic, or resin figurines, as other materials like metal may start to rust or turn weird after being submerged in water.
- If you want to get a little more creative, try making your own figurines from clay. You can buy clay from any craft supply store, or where crafting items are sold. Shape them into any form you want and bake them in the oven. When completely cool paint them with water-proof paint and they're ready to use.
- Another idea is to take pictures of yourself, your family, or your pets and laminate them. You can then cut around the outline of each person and place their photo in the snow globe, for a great personalized touch.
- Even though it's called a snow globe you don't need to limit yourself to creating just a winter scene. You can create any kind of scene you wish. The possibilities are endless.
3. Create the scene on the underside of the jar lid. Take the lid of your jar and cover the underside with a layer of hot glue, super glue, or epoxy. If you like, you can sand the lid with some sandpaper first so it can create a rougher surface, so the glue sticks better.
- While the glue is still wet, build your scene on the underside of the jar. Stick in your figurines, your laminated photos, your clay sculptures, or anything else you want to put in there.
- If the item you are sticking in the globe has a narrow base such as a laminated photo, a snipping from a garland, or even a plastic tree. It might be helpful to stick a few colored pebbles to the underside of the lid. Then you can just wedge your item between the pebbles.
- Keep in mind that the scene you create will need to fit inside the jar opening, so don't make it too wide. Keep your figurines in the center of the lid.
- Once you have created your scene, set the jar lid aside for a while to dry preferably overnight. The glue needs time to be fully set before you can submerge it in water.
4. Fill the jar with water, glycerin, and glitter.
- Fill your jar almost to the brim with water and then add 2 to 3 teaspoons of glycerin which can be found in the baking section at your local supermarket. The glycerin "thickens" the water, allowing the glitter to fall more slowly. You can also achieve a similar effect with baby oil.
- Next, add the glitter. How much will depend on the size of the jar and your own personal preferences. You want to add enough to make up for the fact that some will get stuck to the bottom of the jar, but not so much that it obscures the scene you've created.
- Silver and gold glitter are good options for winter or Christmas scenes, but you can choose any color you like. You can also buy special snow globe "snow" online and even in craft stores if you prefer.
- If you have no glitter on hand, you can make pretty convincing snow from just crushed up eggshells. Just use a plastic baggie and something to crush them with and crush up the shell nice and fine.
5. Carefully put the lid on.
- Take the lid and carefully screw it onto the jar. Make sure to close it as tightly as you can and wipe up any displaced water with some paper towel.
- If you are worried about the lid coming loose, you can place a ring of glue or epoxy around the rim of the jar before you close it. You can also decorate around the lid by wrapping some colored tape around it.
- However, sometimes you may need to reopen the jar to fix something that may have come loose or to add freshwater, or more glitter, so think about that before you seal it up.
6. Decorating the lid (optional). If you want, you can finish off your snow globe by decorating the lid.
- You can paint it a bright color, wrap a decorative ribbon around it, cover it in felt or stick festive berries, holly, or jingle bells to it.
- Once that's done, all that's left is to give your new snow globe a good shake and watch the glitter or snow fall gently around the beautiful scene you've just created.
💛Method 2💛
Making a Snow Globe from a Store-Bought Kit
1. Purchase a snow globe kit online or from a craft store. There are many different kits available, some of which allow you to simply slot in a photo, some clay figurines, or there are even some kits that come with everything you may need for making a professional-looking snow globe.
2. Construct the snow globe. Once you have your kit, just follow the instructions on the packaging to put it together. Some will require you to paint the parts and glue figurines to the base. Once the scene is set, you will usually need to glue the glass or plastic dome to the base, then fill the dome with water and glitter or snow from a hole in the base. You will then use the stopper provided to seal the snow globe.
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