Merry Christmas and “Mini” More!
I got this idea off Pinterest. The sample had a bright yellow Volkswagon Beetle in a Mason jar. I drive a red and black Mini Cooper and I immediately knew I had to give this project a try! I have a miniature red and black Mini Cooper that a friend gave me way back in 2003 when I first got my Mini. It sits on my bookshelf in the office. Now, it sits in a Mason jar full of snow and is part of of our Christmas decorations!
I had the Mason Jar in my crafting stash and was able to purchase the miniature Christmas tree at our local ***mart for .75.
First, I tied some Cherry Cobbler Baker’s Twine around the ends of the tree and fastened the twine to the bottom of the car using a hot glue gun.
I wanted to add some snowflakes to the outside of the jar. I tried stamping using white Stazon and then white craft inks. I couldn’t get a full stamped image because of the curve of the jar. So, I got out my stash of rub-ons and found some flowers that looked like snowflakes from the Planter Box pack. It had been awhile since I used rub-ons, but they went on easily using the popsicle stick that comes with the pack.
Next, was the challenge of adding snow (poly-fil) to the bottom of the jar, then placing the car inside without moving and bunching up the snow at the back of the jar. I have a new appreciation for those who build ships in a bottle!
It was my engineer husband who came up with the idea of building the snow scene on a piece of transparency so I could easily roll up the sides and slide the whole thing into the bottle. So, I cut a piece of transparency, checking the fit into the bottle and making some cutting adjustments. Then, I brushed on Elmer’s Glue and sprinkled on some Mica Flakes from Stampin’ Up! After that dried, I brushed on some more Elmer’s onto small pieces of poly-fil and added them to the sheet. Then, I put a little bit of Crystal Effects on the bottom of the car’s tires and placed it on top of the snow sheet. I let it dry (the hardest part of this whole project was letting the glue dry!), and then slipped the sheet into the jar.
I carefully screwed on the lid and tied a piece of Real Red striped ribbon.
I created the greeting, “Merry Christmas and “Mini” More”, in my word processing program and printed it out on regular computer paper. I used my scallop oval punch to punch it out and matted it using a piece of Basic Black card stock punched out using my large oval punch. I punched a small hole using my 1/16″ hole punch, added a piece of silver stretchy cord, and tied it to the ribbon. Done!
Side note: In the early morning hours of April 24th, we were awaken by heavy pounding on our door. It was a passerby who noticed our garage was on fire. My Mini Cooper was parked in the garage, and my husband was able to back it out with just minutes to spare. My husband lost all of his tools and tractor in this fire, but bless his heart, he saved my Mini. This year has been spent dealing with the insurance company, making lists, rebuilding and replacing. The new garage is complete and on December 18 (just before we received 8″ of snow), I was again able to park my Mini in the garage! This is a milestone after a long summer!
Supplies Used:
Paper: computer paper, Basic Black
Accessories: Miniature Mini Cooper, miniature Christmas tree, Mason Jar, transparency sheet, poly-fil, Mica Flakes, hot glue gun, Elmer’s Glue, Crystal Effects, Baker’s Twine, Real Red striped ribbon, silver stretchy cord, Scallop Oval, Large Oval and 1/16″ circle punches