Craft It – A Family Portrait Snow Globe

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If you love Christmas and crafting, there is no doubt that you have seen tutorials for faux snow globes all over the blog world. Whether they are in a mason jar, a cake plate, or a terrarium, tutorials for faux snow globes are everywhere. Now don’t get me wrong, I love these faux snow globes and even have 3 or 4 that I have crafted myself over the years. This year however, I wanted to try something different, so I decided to add a personalized touch to my DIY snow globe and it turned out oh so cute!
These little personalized family portrait snow globes are a great present for everyone in your life. I mean, who doesn’t want to have their own snow globe with them inside of it? I like the idea of making a new one each year as the family grows and gets older. How fun would it be to have your mantel filled with snow globes of your family through the years?
The great thing about these is that you can make several of these (around 4-6) for under $20! It is a great last minute gift too, because you can go out and get all the supplies at the craft store right now and make them in an afternoon.

The Supplies:
To begin I prepped my bottle brush trees. I wanted to add a little more color to my snow globe so I tried a new method of coloring my plain dark green trees. Spray paint! It worked so well, I am not sure why I didn’t try it before. You know I love to spray paint things! And while the paint was still wet, I added a light dusting of iridescent glitter. So pretty! Of course this step is optional, because you could easily use the trees just as they come. 

Once my trees were ready, it was time to prep the picture of my family to go into the globe. For this you will need a digital family photo that you will then print out on the inkjet shrink plastic. Be sure to change the opacity (transparency) of the picture to 70% because the colors will intensify when it shrinks. I printed out my family image at 6″ by 8″ so that when it shrunk it would be the perfect size.

In the photos above you can see the difference in the saturation and size of the photo before and after shrinking. Now that all your items are prepped it is time to paint and assemble your snow globe.

Begin by painting your raw wood round (this step is optional). Once the paint is dry, use the super glue to glue on the bottle brush trees to the wood base. I tried to also glue the shrinky dink photo to the wood base but it would not hold, so I ended up using hot glue to attach it.

Fun side note: While attempting to super glue the shrinky dink to the base, I actually ended up gluing it to my finger! I didn’t have any acetone in the house to remove it and it was time to go pick my daughter up from school (we have to actually get out of the car, no circle drive pick up for Kinder). So I had to go get her while having a 3″ family photo stuck to my finger. Fun times! So please be careful when working with the super glue. Ha!

Once everything is attached, sprinkle a 1/2″ layer of salt into the glass bowl, line the rim of the bowl with the super glue and flip your wood base over, line up on the bowl and press for 30 seconds to adhere. Then just flip the globe over and let the salt “snow” settle to the bottom.

And there you have it! Your very own personalized family portrait snow globe!

Pardon the distorted photos. Because of the round nature of the glass the photos of the interior tend to get distorted, but it is really clear and easy to see all the little details in person.

Now don’t you want to go out and make these for everyone you know? I know I sure do!

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  1. Annie V says:

    This is an adorable creative project. I am in love with bottle brush trees so this is right up my alley. I think this idea is fantastic! Just discovered you via justaddsunshineinc on Instagram. Looking forward to going through your blog. We are kindred spirits-as I love art prints and display walls with a fierceness and bright happy colors. (Annie-outside of Dallas, TX) I am annievee1977 on instagram. I make cards and do graphic design. I love art and color. We are kindred spirits-as I love art prints and display walls with a fierceness and bright happy colors too! (Annie-outside of Dallas, TX)

  2. love it, love it, love it!!

  3. WPBMOMMY1 says:

    omg. this is the cutest thing I've ever seen. Consider it done. Thank you!!!

  4. julie bolduc says:

    This is so cute love it

  5. Do you add glycerin to the water?

  6. […] A Family Portrait Snow Globe || A Kailo Chic […]

  7. Tori says:

    Do you have to use a printer for photos? I have photos printed out and no printer:( is it possible for me to use the photos I printed out on the shrinky dinks or no?

  8. Missy says:

    This is great. Do you have to painstakingly cut out the picture once printed out?

  9. […] happy reminder of family ties, this DIY snow globe adds warmth to a “lone” […]

  10. Hi there, I just got into shrink dinks with my granddaughter and loved it so much. Your snow globe is fantastic I did not know all the possibilities of this craft.t. Thanks for sharing your creativty. Marie and Nadia

  11. Kayla says:

    Do u have to use salt or could u use white glitter

  12. […] the photo with various sized bottle brush trees in different colors to replicate this scene.  Family Portrait Snow Globe from A Kalio Chic […]

  13. […] Family Portrait Snow Globe. This is a super cute idea to give to your family. https://akailochiclife.com/2015/12/craft-it-family-portrait-snow-globe.html […]

  14. Erika Boots says:

    Does the shrink dink become thicker or is it just a small, flat version of the photo? Is there a reason I can’t just cut out a smaller photo to include? I it’s a little hard to tell from the photos. Thank you!!

    • kailochic@hotmail.com says:

      The shrink plastic does become thicker and more like a key chain charm when shrunk, but you could cut a small photo on thick cardstock to use instead.

  15. courtney says:

    so fun! always have amazing DIY’s.

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