Repurposed Gumball Machine

28 January

Have you ever found a gumball machine at a thrift store or garage sale?

Maybe you thought it was cute but didn't know what else to do with it besides use it for gum or candy.

For this month's Do-It-Over-Designers (DOD) challenge, I'm sharing one idea for the question, "What can I do with an old gumball machine?"

If you are new to LVC, the DOD challenge is where some of my blogging friends and I take something old or unused (often found in closets, garages, barns, thrift stores, etc.) and "do it over" into something new!

I'm sharing my project and at the end, you'll be able to check out what the other ladies have done.

So, what can you do with an old gumball machine? Well... you repurpose it... obvs right?! 😁

Repurposed Gumball Machine

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You can turn a gumball machine into a waterless snow globe for any holiday or season! I made mine for Valentine's Day 💘

Supplies Needed

Old (or new) gumball machine
E6000 glue
screwdriver (to take the gumball machine apart)
Trinkets to go inside

Paperclay air dry clay if you choose to sculpt a snowman like I did
Bottlebrush tree if you choose

Fake snow
Ribbon
Embellishments

I found my gumball machine at Goodwill for $3.99 but you can purchase them new (I've linked to some in the supply list).

We are making a waterless snowglobe so the gumball machine needs to be disassembled.

Once you've taken it apart, add "snowflakes" (just little dots) to the inside of the glass globe with the end of a paintbrush and white craft paint.

I also flicked more paint inside with an old toothbrush (optional).

While that is drying, let's get back to the dismantled gumball machine. Yours should look something similar to this inside. We need to cover the opening so our fake snow won't come out.

I used the plastic gasket that the glass globe sits in to trace and cut a piece of cardboard to cover the opening.

If you are making a snowman like I am, he is created with a styrofoam base so poke a hole in the cardboard and insert a piece of thin dowel or wooden skewer where you want the snowman to stand. The dowel/skewer will be pushed up into the snowman to hold him securely.

Paint the cardboard white and then glue it and the gasket in place with E6000 glue.

If you would like to make a snowman, follow the basic instructions to make him here: Repurposed Saucepan Winter Scene. You can also use oven-bake polymer clay if you'd like.

I gave my snowman a little tongue so it looks like he is catching snowflakes! 😊

I made him a little white stocking cap with a scrap of sweater that was leftover from another project.

The edge that was once the sweater collar will now be the hat band. I folded it in half, stitched it together, and then gathered up the end and clipped the edges so it resembles a pom-pom.

Glue the snowman (or other knick-knacks) on the cardboard surface. Make sure before you glue them down that they will fit with the glass globe back on.

I took the little wooden stand off of my tree and pushed the wire end down into the cardboard.

Place the globe back on and adhere it to the gasket with E6000 glue.

Now we can fill our waterless snow globe with "snow." I found mine at the Dollar Tree during the Christmas season but I've linked some other options in the supplies list.

You can see that he has caught a little snowflake on his tongue already! 😉 I added a little smudge of white craft glue to his tongue and then poured some glitter that had little stars in it on him.

Since we added the cardboard, the gasket no longer fits down into the base so I chose to cover it with ribbon.

Since I removed the guts of the gumball machine it no longer works as intended so I added some plastic hearts where the candy would have come out and a pink heart where the coin would go.