Making Glow Jars

Making Glow Jars

 

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Yesterday Sydney and I had a major art and craft day, and also experimented with making glow jars. They have been floating around Pinterest for awhile now and look like so much fun! However, there is one tutorial that frustrates me. The image is clearly Photoshopped, and I think it’s very misleading. So, I decided to make a couple of our own jars so we can share our experience and method with you. I must admit, frustration aside, I was intrigued with the photoshopped glow jar image, it’s actually called fairies in a jar, and I wanted to try and replicate the glowing ‘fairies’ that appear to be suspended in mid-air. To do this, I used a piece of tulle. Here is my tutorial, please note that I used red netting for tutorial reasons only (it photographs better than thin white tulle):

You will need a glass jar, glow sticks (I picked some up from the dollar store), rubber gloves to protect your hands, scissors, I recommend protective eyewear, and a piece of tulle (optional).

 

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If you are using the tulle, cut a piece slightly larger than the jar, and place inside

 

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Now, put on those rubber gloves. Crack the glow stick to active the glow material. Insert the end of the glow stick into the jar and cut the tip. It’s important to do this step with the glow stick in the jar as to avoid splashing, remember that you are working with chemicals. There is also a glass vile inside the plastic tube, and that glass breaks when you crack the stick. So best to keep all the tiny glass bits contained within your jar!

 

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Next, stir and shake the cut glow stick around inside your jar. You will need some patience for this part, as it doesn’t just flow out easily. In some instances, the glow material may get clogged due to a large piece of glass that didn’t break. I disposed of these sticks and used a new one, for safety reasons.

 

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Once you have the desired amount of glow material in your jar, replace the lid and shake it up. I used about 3 bracelet size sticks per jar.

 

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Here are all three jars we made. The first one on the left is just glow stick material by itself. The middle jar uses a piece of white tulle. And the last jar is the one I made for tutorial purposes only.

 

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Now turn off the lights and watch them glow! Here is the first jar:

 

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And here is the jar with the white tulle. As you can see it looks a little more like that Photoshopped fairy jar, there are glowing specks that appear to be floating and suspended in mid-air.

 

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All in all it was a fun project. Sydney couldn’t help make the jars, but she sure had fun watching them glow in the dark!

 

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