Have you been wondering how to make those awesome glitter filled snow globe tumblers you’ve seen all over Pinterest? I’ll show you two different (and easy!) ways you can make them in this step by step tutorial!
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Let me just be real for a minute: me and glitter don’t usually play well together.
I mean, you know how glitter is. Once you open the bottle you can pretty much expect to find it on every surface of your home, including your toddlers face and the dog.
Despite my typical avoidance of the shiny stuff, I decided to give these DIY snow globe tumblers a try, and they did not disappoint!
I found a super cute shop on Etsy that sells all kind of gorgeous glitter mixes and picked out a couple for the occasion.
My daughter loves blue, so I went with the pretty tropical blue color above and I mixed it with some opal holographic glitter. The effect is very mermaid-esque!
For the Venti tumbler, I went with this winter wonderland mix that has both large chunky glitter and fine glitter mixed together.
The good news is Gorilla Glue makes a super convenient 2 part epoxy kit that makes mixing the perfect 1:1 ratio a breeze!
How to Make a Starbucks Snow Globe Tumbler
This is the easiest way I have found to make a snow globe tumbler. It’s so much fun and is one of my new favorite crafts!
The first step is to drill a hole in the bottom of the tumbler. Use an electric drill fitted with a medium sized drill bit. You want it to be big enough for your syringe and glitter to fit comfortably.
Drill the hole near the edge of the tumbler so that the water and glitter will travel down the edge of the cup.
Use vertical pressure to slowly drill through the outer wall of the cup. Be careful – plastic tumblers can break easily. As soon as you puncture the outer layer of the cup, reverse your drill bit to remove. You definitely do not want to puncture the inner wall of the cup.
Add glycerin and warm water to a small plastic cup to prepare your suspension liquid. You will only use a few ounces depending on the size of your tumbler.
If you are making a lot of tumblers for a craft fair or other event, you can increase the amount but placing 1 cup glycerin to 3 cups water in a large container.
Use a syringe or pipette on to squeeze a small amount of the water mixture into the tumbler. If you angle your water tool to the side of the tumbler, it will fill more easily.
Continue to fill the cup until it is about 1/2 way full.
Next, add the chunky glitter to the cup. I find that the easiest way is to put some glitter on top of the cup and use a toothpick or the end of the pipette to push it down into the hole. You can also use a small funnel, but will still end up pushing it in.
Continue to alternate adding liquid and glitter until the cup is full. When you find that it is difficult to push the glitter in, use the water to force the glitter in between the walls of the cup.
Add enough glitter that it will look good in the cup. There’s no exact amount that you need, but more so what you want you cup to look like in the end.
Once the liquid has reached the top of the cup, you’re done! Make sure there are no visible air bubbles at the top of the cup. You can tilt the cup to bring air bubbles to the hole and continue to add water.
Use an alcohol wipe to clean the bottom of your tumbler. Rubbing alcohol will remove any oils or glue left from your water mixture so that the resin will adhere well to your tumbler.
How do you thicken water in a snow globe?
Fill your mason jar up about 75% with distilled water. Then, add 2-3 drops of glycerin. This will help to thicken the water so the glitter floats slower – but don’t overdo it, or it’ll be too goopy! Then, add the glitter.
Is baby oil or glycerin better for snow globes?
Glycerin has a density of about 1.2gm per cm3, while baby oil has density of 0.8. The less dense baby oil offers less resistance and I imagine will give quicker falling flakes of snow.
FAQ
What is the ratio of glycerin to water for snow globe tumbler?
How do you make a snow globe with glycerin and tumbler?
What liquid do you use for snow globe tumblers?
