Oh Pinterest! Fairies in a Jar
April 18, 2013
Posted By: Shaunescy
My kids love fairies (or faeries - if you're a purist like that) so much. We have a Fairy Garden , complete with mailbox . And the children understand that the small and winged darlings get cold like birds and migrate. But we are gearing up for another round. Yesterday we picked up some books about fairies at the library and I was looking for fun crafts to inspire.
Surely by now you have seen this amazingly adorable picture on Pinterest and thought to yourself, "I am going to try that!" I re-pinned it months ago and have seen it pop up on my Facebook feed from time to time. Being that it was a cold day yesterday, my craft-project-lovin' self got down to it.
Here's what I used:
- fancy Martha Stewart Glitter
- Glow Sticks
- little jar with a lid
- a lot of hope
You can find glow sticks at Target in the kids party favor aisle pretty much year round. The dollar stores are also good bets.
Ready, Set, Go!
Step 1
Put the glow goo into the jar.
Ok, this seems pretty straightforward, right? There are a couple of things you should know. I used the larger sized glow sticks vs. the bracelet ones. Wear gloves - foolishly I did not.
Safety first. The stuff in the glow stick is not good for you or your kids. If handled improperly, it can burn your skin. Be careful, don't get it in your eyes and if ingested, you are supposed to call the poison control hotline.
The plastic tubes are pretty darn thick and if you try to scissor through it in the traditional squeezing the handles together method, not only is it hard to do, once you have cut through the plastic the glow goo squirts out all over the place. It is oily and stinky (nauseatingly so) which makes handling it tricky on many levels!
The best method is to puncture the bottom end cap. It comes out pretty easy and there is less mess involved.
Also, it is a good idea to bend the glow stick before cutting it open. There is a thin glass tube inside the thick plastic separating the components of what ever the heck that foul-smelling phosphorescence is made of.
Step 2
Put a couple of teaspoons of glitter in.
Step 3
Cap and Shake! Surprisingly, it doesn't take much goo to coat the inside of the jar.
Ready for the results? Wait for it. . . Wait for it. . .
............./
......?? ??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
.??(???)??
..??(???)??
...??(???)??
...??(???)??
..??(???)??
.??(???)??
??(???)??
??(???)??
Ok, whew. . . Pretty lame, huh? It looks nothing like the original pin, but it was glow-y and glittery. Both of which are things that every kid loves.
A couple of things I will admit. But I won't show you pictures. When I finished the first attempt, I thought to myself, "I wonder what will happen if I fill it with water?"
See, I was hoping it might make the glowing sparkle snow-globe effect shown in impossible pin. Nope. The glow just watered down to almost nothing and the oily glow goo and glitter clumped together like little wet glitter slugs in a jar of Gatorade. Fun!
But the worst part was the stench. Adding water did nothing good and everything bad. Remember the stink I told you about? Well adding water amplifies it. Ugh.
Like every dedicated Pinterest enthusiast, I went back and did some research. Another thing that I did wrong was to use "regular" glitter. I mean really, did I think that my super fine metal flake Martha Stewart would work?
Yes I did. But, what I was supposed to use is "Diamond" glitter. Diamond glitter is actually finely ground glass. Which of course has very different refractive properties. Think of a shiny metal ring vs. a diamond sparkler.
In telling Bozemama about my little project, she got real excited. So later today, she is going to bring by the proper supplies and we'll give it another shot. I promise to update you with our results!
-------------
All my best, BunnyFufu
---------------------
ROUND TWO
UPDATE:
Diamond Glitter is pretty but doesn't change the outcome much. lol
See. . .
I asked Bozemama if she had any additional tips and tricks for this little afternoon adventure and she said:
"For sure! I'd like to add that each of us said: "It looks nothing like the picture! . . . . ! But, then, it never looks like the picture." We were a little disappointed, but it was still very fun. It's actually really hard to pour out the glow stick liquid if you use the bracelet type. (At least it was for us). We just kept adding glow sticks and glitter. I would also add that you need to shake the glitter all over the inside of the jar before you shake because otherwise it all sinks to the bottom (again, that was just our experience.)"
----------------
There ya go! I have a plan up my sleeve to recreate the image that was originally on Pinterest. I am determined. To be continued. . .
