To boost the sense of Christmas feel, I made a decoration item in order to display on a coffee table in my living room. It was inspired by the miniature Zen set that my son bought as Father’s Day gift this year. My husband said it really helps to calm his mind while doing meditation. Of course, we are not going to do meditation in the living room. Instead, I am thinking about how to do a fun Christmas desktop Zen garden so that we will feel relax and switch to the festival celebration mood.
Honestly, I have no talent in doing craft stuff. But I cannot find a ready-make Zen garden which featuring a Christmas theme. Anyhow, I finally do it myself based on the guidance from the following video.
Basically, it is two parts of this craft project. The first part is building a rectangle container as a garden base and fills with fake snows to generate the winter scene. The second part is placing any miniature items such as Snowman, fir tree, sled, etc. Basically, you can place any mini Christmas decoration items that you like.
Supplies Needed
Instant Snow PowderCrayola Model Magic
A cardboard box or shoebox lid
Stationery includes a ruler, art blade, glue, paint, and a paintbrush
Blue food coloring
Brown metal wire
Small round shape transparent container
Styrofoam ball or aluminum foil
Personal care stuff include shaving cream, body lotion, and powder
Step by Step Instructions
The following are instructions that I noted while I am watching the video:1. Paint the entire cardboard box lid with white color
2. Make fluffy white snow with instant snow powder
3. Fill the cardboard box lid with fake snow to complete the garden base
4. Make icebergs slime with glue, blue food coloring, shaving cream, body lotion, and powder and fill in a small round transparent container
5. Make miniature igloo with clay and Styrofoam ball (can be replaced with aluminum foil), ruler or art blade will be supplement tool in this part
6. Make a miniature snowman with clay and brown metal wire then bake in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes
7. Place all DIY miniature items in the garden
For me, a desktop Zen garden must have a miniature rake. I bought one from Amazon together with the instant snow powder and Crayola Model Magic. You can choose to DIY a mini rake by using a coffee stir stick.
My son actually asked me to do more decoration for the living room ever since we hang up the curtain with the Christmas theme for the last two weeks. So he was very happy when he saw this Zen garden in the Christmas style. Without further delay, he grabs the miniature rake and started to sweep the snows. He said his exam tension being release with this fun Zen garden kit.
You may give this a try as part of your Christmas decorations. Anyhow, a ready-made square black Zen set which is filled with sand and featuring Yin Yang symbol is more suitable if you are planning to have one for meditation purpose.