Kid's snow globe craft hack
December 16, 2015 6:20 AM   Subscribe

I'm in charge of a second grade Christmas craft and would love to have them make snow globes. One problem, how to make objects adhere to the bottom of the globe in the absence of glue.

This snow globe how to looks pretty simple except for the step where the objects need to be stuck to the lid with glue. I have scoured the internet and have not found alternative methods that won't require lengthy gluing time. The kids will have about a half hour to complete the project. I thought perhaps prior to the project I could stick one side of velcro tape on the jar lid and then provide the kids with the other side of the velcro as small cutouts that they could stick on their objects as they are constructing their scenes. Not sure if velcro remains adherent in liquid or if this will be too tedious for the kids. Any ideas on how to make the objects solidly anchored to the bottom of the globe without using glue would be greatly appreciated. Also, awesome alternative projects for second graders that are not boring ornament crafts are welcome!
posted by waving to Media & Arts (15 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
Blu tack is I think largely unbothered by water if everything is dry when it is first applied. Not super strong but it may work in the short term. You'd have to experiment to check.

Double sided foam tape would also probably work, even the cheap stuff.

I'm not terribly familiar with second graders so this may be a stupid question, but can they be trusted with super glue, perhaps with nitrile gloves on? That certainly does not require a long setting time.
posted by deadwax at 6:31 AM on December 16, 2015


What about some kind of clay or play-do? It obviously won't dry in water, but it doesn't have to be dry to hold up the objects. Might make the water cloudy.

I would dry "embed in playdough, paint playdough with clear nail polish (or white, to look like snow) to seal in the playdough cloudiness. Add water once clear nail polish is dry. I don't know if you would want to do nail polish with little kids though unless you can trust them to neither eat nor sniff. I imagine it's somewhat toxic.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 6:32 AM on December 16, 2015 [1 favorite]


Admittedly, this may not be the best for 2nd graders, so I leave it to your judgement. But:

Cyanoacrylate glues (like superglue / modeling glue / various gorilla glue products, many available at hardware stores) can be sped up in their dry time in a couple of ways. For one thing, adding baking soda to the glue will speed up the dry time (making it nearly instant), and also make it bond better with certain materials. You can also buy products that accelerate the drying time (e.g. Zip Kicker, which can be bought in a small spray, that when you spray it on dries the glue basically instantly).
posted by tocts at 6:33 AM on December 16, 2015 [1 favorite]


How about: cut a circle of plastic out of a gallon milk or water jug that will fit inside the jar lid, then use a needle and thread to attach the figurine or whatever to the plastic circle. Use something like a foam or rubber sheet to cut the circle from instead of plastic if the plastic provides an insufficient seal.
posted by XMLicious at 6:43 AM on December 16, 2015


We use hot glue for all our snow globes. Cools/dries in about 10min, and the kids can be readying their glycerin/glitter mix in the meantime. I use a mini crafting glue gun.
posted by cocoagirl at 6:45 AM on December 16, 2015 [12 favorites]


I have scoured the internet and have not found alternative methods that won't require lengthy gluing time.

Your how to link says they used hot glue. Am I missing something? Why won't hot glue work? Hot glue, especially low temp hot glue which is what you should be using with young kids, cures in seconds.

Hot glue is what you want.
posted by phunniemee at 6:46 AM on December 16, 2015


Response by poster: I don't want hot or even warm glue guns because there are 25 second graders and 2 adults in the room who would need to do the gluing since there would only be one or two guns available. Super glue makes me uneasy too. I'm still looking and am wondering if I provide the lids with styrofoam glued to the bottom along with pipe cleaners that could be stuck into the foam to make trees, snowmen, etc?? May be difficult to stick the pipe cleaners in deeply enough so they don't float out, IDK.
posted by waving at 6:52 AM on December 16, 2015


I understand your concerns. For what it's worth, I have two low temperature glue guns that I let my Girl Scouts use. They get "oops, I shouldn't have touched that" hot, nowhere near hot enough to cause any damage. Your risk tolerance may vary but I have never had any problems.

Also, you'll be going to the store anyway to buy supplies for whatever method you decide on, right? Glue guns are in the $3-4 range these days, so there's little harm in buying a couple more if number of guns is a limiting factor.

Pipe cleaners stuck into styrofoam are just going to pop right out the second a kid swishes up his snow globe.

When I was younger I remember doing this with modeling clay (the waxy stuff) just built off of a solid smear of clay on the jar bottom, which lasted anywhere from a few minutes to a few days (based on how anchored the kid built it) before becoming unstuck.
posted by phunniemee at 7:15 AM on December 16, 2015 [1 favorite]


Styrofoam isn't really good at holding things fast.

I would buy something like this mounting tape.

But I'd try to make one as soon as you can to test it. My biggest concern with all your alternatives is not the effect that water would have on the adhesive, but that the shaking of the snowglobe can dislodge the decorations.

This craft seems a little too advanced for second graders, to be honest with you. I know ornaments don't seem exciting to you - but they're second graders. Foam adhesive shapes are made for them.
posted by INFJ at 7:17 AM on December 16, 2015 [1 favorite]


I teach second grade, and I really doubt you're going to be able to get this project done in 30 minutes, and the adults are going to have to do most of the attaching.

If it were me, I'd forget about attaching anything to the base of the globe and just find some cool stuff to shake around in there, like maybe snowflake or tree foil confetti.
posted by Huck500 at 7:21 AM on December 16, 2015 [8 favorites]


Response by poster: Huck500 has a great point, so in looking to simplify I found this confetti globe with stickers. This will be soooo much easier. Also, they can construct this so that the lid is on the top, which will ameliorate leaking issues arising from having the lid at the bottom. Awesome!
posted by waving at 7:37 AM on December 16, 2015


I would start with the kids selecting objects one day, hot glue them, and do assembly the next day. Alternatively, you can tape a picture to the back of the jar, and have the snow on the inside. perfectly reasonable for little kid project.
posted by theora55 at 8:14 AM on December 16, 2015 [1 favorite]


If only I had a penguin... and phunnimee are on to something. I've done a similar craft using modelling clay as the "base" in the lid into which little decorations were stuck.
posted by Coffeemate at 8:31 AM on December 16, 2015


Response by poster: And OMG this!!
posted by waving at 8:44 AM on December 16, 2015 [1 favorite]


Ah, just another logistical thing when doing craft projects with kids this age. If there's any writing involved, write it in large, neat letters up on the board for all to see as reference. Never assume a kid knows how to spell "Christmas" or "2015" or "from." If they'll be writing their names on their projects, give each kid a piece of paper and have them write their names on it FIRST to use as a reference because some of them WILL misspell their own names. If you want to cover all of your cultural bases and write a smattering of reference words up on the board, be prepared for at least one white kid to wish his white, Euro descent family a happy Kwanzaa. Kids will mess up on stuff you don't even think is possible to mess up and then there will be tears when another kid points out their mistake.

For keeping everybody's stuff straight, each kid should be given a paper plate with their name on it to use as the home base for all of their component parts. Otherwise stuff WILL get mixed up and feelings WILL get hurt.
posted by phunniemee at 10:32 AM on December 16, 2015 [1 favorite]


« Older Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria - where to go   |   Going from Permanent to Contract---What Should I... Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.