Perzy made a miniature replica of the Basilica of the Birth of the Virgin Mary in Mariazell, Austria, placed it in his water-filled globe, sealed it, and mounted it to a gypsum base that he painted black. And voila—the first snow globe was born. At least, that’s the story Austrians like to peddle.

Apart from their visible attraction, souvenir snow globes are particularly small and portable. Some souvenirs can be inconvenient to carry and may pose chances of damage. A snow globe, however, not only fits into your pocket or a small space in your bag but is travel friendly and doesn’t break easily either.

As I look forward to home decorating themes for 2011, snow globes are being featured as accent pieces on tables, mantles, shelves and ledges. The globes are no longer just for the holidays.

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, meerschaum, metal flakes or sawdust.

But glycerin can be hard to find in stores… especially during the busy holiday season. To make a snow globe without glycerin, simply use clear glue instead.

Why is my snow globe cloudy? Snow globes, a popular collectors item, can over time become discolored or the water can turn cloudy. This is usually do to the build up of algae in the water. The cloudy color can also be caused by a build up of dust that gathers within the globe and, therefore discolors the water.

Liquid used inside the snow globe is comprised of light oil and a mixture of water and antifreeze. Components found in the mixture also include glycerin and glycol, which prevent the “snowflakes” from falling to the bottom of the globe too quickly after being shaken.

Spray the inside of the snow globe with glass cleaner. Gently shake the snow globe, so that the cleaner/eater mixture covers all parts of the glass. Once again, remove the plug at the bottom of the snow globe and drain the liquid. Refill with clean water, replug, shake and drain again to remove any remnants of cleaner.

What most people don’t realize is that snow globes are filled with a toxic chemical called ethylene glycol, which is the main ingredient in antifreeze. Unfortunately, it is also extremely toxic and most often deadly when ingested, even in very small amounts.

They lick the sweet antifreeze up and within the hour may begin to show side effects of vomiting, seizuring and staggering. This first stage of poisoning progresses rapidly over the next 12-72 hours to the third stage, where odd crystals of calcium oxalate settle in the kidneys. Kidney failure is quick to follow.

Can snow globes explode? I would have thought that the sun’s UV rays can cause discoloration, and since snow globes are purely decorative, you’d want to keep it out of the sun so that your memento doesn’t fade. However, “it might explode and/or catch on fire” is a far more worthwhile reason of a warning sticker.

glycerin

Add 2-3 teaspoons of glycerine per cup of water in your mason jar. The exact amount doesn’t matter too much, so feel free to estimate if you want; you want enough that it helps the glitter “float” a little bit, but not so much that the glitter just clumps up in a mound at the bottom of the jar.

Another source of antifreeze are the decorative “snow globes” glassware. The liquid in these displays contain 2% antifreeze and are very toxic.

Tinsel glitter

Step 2: Prepare Snow Globe I use a funnel for the glitter. The more glue you use, the longer it will take the glitter to fall. I usually use the whole bottle. Making a Calm Bottle (glitter glue): Instead of clear glue you can use glitter glue.

Making glitter float on water isn’t as miraculous as it appears. The secret to making the glitter float is to use dreamy, diaphanous, ultra-fine glitter — which floats slowly to the ground when you shake the bottle. While it won’t float indefinitely, ultra-fine glitter prolongs the magic.

The magic element for creating a calm jar snow globe is the addition of clear Elmer’s Glue to the water inside the jar. The viscosity is higher so the glitter takes longer to settle than water alone.

Add a small amount of water and gently shake and swirl the bottle to help prevent the glitter from clumping. Add glycerine until the bottle is about one-quarter full. (Tip: if you’re making a few bottles, you can use different amounts of glycerine in each one.

No glycerin? No problem! There are plenty of ways you can substitute glycerin when bringing your homemade snow globes to life. Some glycerin alternatives include light corn syrup, mineral oil, baby oil, or a clear cooking oil.