Design your own round or oval plastic snow globes with FIMO interiors

Snowglobe-for-you offers various craft kits that make it relatively easy to create beautiful plastic snow globes using the modeling clay FIMO. Of course, you can also use other modeling clays or ready-made figurines, but these should be waterproof.

Additionally required:

• Ready-made mixture with snow and/or glitter and water clarifier, or alternatively the individual products: snow and/or glitter, some preservative (water clarifier), and a drop of dish soap.

• Model-making adhesive to fuse the dome and the base together.

First, you should think about which figure you want to craft for the snow globe. Of course, instead of a FIMO figure, you can also place other figures inside the snow globe—contents from surprise eggs, for example, or other favorite pieces. However, they should not be made of metal, otherwise the figure will rust.

It is fundamentally important that the figure actually fits inside the dome. This should be tested beforehand. Please note: The figure should only fill about 50–60% of the total size. Due to the magnification effect of the water, it would otherwise look as if the figure is touching the top.

Additionally, you should create a base out of FIMO so that the figure has the widest possible connection to the socket. To do this, take the lid of the globe and trace its outline onto a piece of paper with a pen. Then, form a thin layer of the FIMO intended for the base and trace the outline of the paper template. Furthermore, the lid needs a small hole at the exact spot where the plug for the water filling is located on the plastic lid.

Once everything is prepared, place the figure onto the base of the snow globe. Then, the entire figure including the base goes into the oven for half an hour at 130°C. After that, it should be allowed to cool down thoroughly.

As soon as this is done, the base of the interior can be glued to the plastic base of the snow globe. Please ensure that the hole in the FIMO base is aligned exactly over the hole in the base of the snow globe!

To attach it, you need an adhesive that is not water-soluble—ideally a glue used in model making. These are available in specialty stores.

When the glue has dried, pour the snow into the transparent half of the globe. To do this, place the globe lid upside down in a cup. Add a drop of dish soap, preservative (water clarifier), and a few drops of distilled water, or the ready-made mixture for filling snow globes. (The globe dome should be no more than a quarter full.) Then, spread the adhesive along the edge of the globe or around the edge of the base. Press the base of the snow globe, including the figure, firmly into the globe from above.

The next day, the globe is filled completely with water. To do this, distilled water is poured in through the opening at the bottom. Filling the water (as well as refilling it when water has evaporated) works best with a fine funnel or a syringe. In the end, there should be no air left in the globe. You can tilt the globe slightly so that the side where the filling plug is located is at the very top; then the air will escape outward on its own.

Now just plug the hole again—and your self-made snow globe is finished! Instead of snow, glitter, small hearts, or stars can also be filled into the globe.

The video shows how this works with FIMO snow globes and FIMO modeling clay and what is important during the process.

 

 

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