The BFG comes out in theaters this weekend. I had a chance to catch a pre-screening earlier this week, and can’t wait to see it again! I took my 7-year-old. I’m a Roald Dahl fan, and while I’ve read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach, and others… including plenty of his short stories… I haven’t read The BFG (yet)! My son had read it with his class and was excited to see the movie.
Both of us loved The BFG movie. The story was awesome, and the imagery was stunning. When deciding what kind of The BFG Craft to make, I of course chose the Dream Jars. In the movie, The Big Friendly Giant has shelves and shelves filled with these amazing glowing, moving, fascinating wisps of imagination. I wanted to make my own… and so I did! Here is the Dream Jar I created! It actually moves, just like the dreams in the jars the Big Friendly Giant has.
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To make your own Dream Jar, you’ll need:
Firefly Jar (I got mine for about $19.00… look around for a good price)
Glow Powder
Elmer’s Glue
Polyfil (I used Royal Silk, but any Polyfil should work fine)
Glitter Dust
Paper plate
Small stick for stirring
Take the lid off the jar. The instructions say not to because the mechanism that controls the firefly is very sensitive, and can be damaged. But to make the dream jar, we do need to remove the firefly from the jar… just handle it carefully!
Carefully tie a knot in the wire. Don’t tighten it, you want the large loop.
Carefully wind the wire into loops, twisting through the loop made with the knot. The goal is to shorten the wire a lot – we want it to stand up about 3″ from the base.
Carefully remove the wing that isn’t attached to the end of the wire. You do this by lifting up the end of the tape that holds it in place. Or, you can use a craft knife to cut through the tape.
Put about 2 tablespoons of glue on the paper plate. Add about 2 teaspoons of the glow powder. Mix with the small stick, or the end of a pencil.
Grab a large pinch of Polyfil, and soak in the glow-glue mixture.
Thread through the large loop in the wire, and fold in half to secure.
Shaping the dream:
Add more pinches of Polyfil, not covered in glow-glue. While the glue is still wet, pull, shape, twist… do whatever you need to get your dream to look the way you want. Make sure the glow-glue doesn’t cover the little firefly light. Also, make sure it isn’t too heavy – you want the mechanism to still be able to swing it around.
Spray Glitter Dust. It has a spray-adhesive which will help secure the Polyfil, and it has some extra sparkle!
Before the Glitter Dust dries, you can sprinkle on some extra glow powder.
When done, my finished dream looked like this:
Allow the dream to dry, finally put in the jar. You can use the firefly jar it came with, or a new wide-mouth canning jar if you don’t want your jar to say “firefly” on the side. If you like, can cut the white rubber ring around the mechanism if you want it to be easier to take in and out.
Put it in a sunny spot to allow the glow powder to absorb some light… then bring it to a dark area, and turn it on. Watch your dream move on its own! Super cool, right? The dream jar is even cooler in person… I promise!
Watch the dream jar in action!
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