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HOWTO make fairies in a jar

Cory Doctorow at 2:22 pm Wed, Feb 8, 2012

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Combine glowstick gunk and diamond glitter in a sealed jar and shake -- voila, fairies!

It's a fake. But this one isn't. Same idea: glowstick gunk in jar (no glitter).Thanks to commenter BeckyLikesOwls for the tip!

(via Super Punch)

I write books. My latest is a YA science fiction novel called Homeland (it's the sequel to Little Brother). More books: Rapture of the Nerds (a novel, with Charlie Stross); With a Little Help (short stories); and The Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow (novella and nonfic). I speak all over the place and I tweet and tumble, too.

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  • http://twitter.com/DrMcFacekick Doctor McFacekick

    THIS IS A PHOTOSHOP. For the love of god it was bad enough when it was going around on Pinterest, now it’s showing up here. 

    • Erasorhed

      Thank you, Dr.
      The obvious giveaway: no lid on the jar!

      • Shibi_SF

        And, of course, you can’t keep fairies in jars without lids anyway.

        • An Infinitude of Tortoises

           But can you keep them in jars with lids?

          • http://noctilucent-studios.blogspot.com/ Noctilucent Studios

            I’ve been finding that they prefer hanging out in boxes as opposed to jars, with or without lids.

    • Antinous / Moderator

      THIS IS A PHOTOSHOP.

      You lie!  Take it back!

    • http://beckylikesowls.tumblr.com/ BeckyLikesOwls

      This might be photoshopped, but you can get close to that effect using glowsticks and glitter:

      http://macaulay.cuny.edu/eportfolios/peacechung/2012/01/16/diy-flowing-lanterns/ 

  • RJ

    HOWTO make a fairy slop jar.

  • http://shadowfirebird.tumblr.com shadowfirebird

    err … what sort of glow stick?  The sort they sell at fairgrounds or the sort you break to get emergency lighting?

    • Donald Petersen

      I take it you can just cut the ends off of regular plastic glowsticks (emergency kind or fun kind, shouldn’t make a difference), and pour out the stuff within without breaking the glass ampoule of hydrogen peroxide.  And when you’re ready to turn on the glow, add the hydrogen peroxide, shake, and enjoy.

  • http://beckylikesowls.tumblr.com/ BeckyLikesOwls

    Also, the original source image is here:

    http://www.flickr.com/photos/lissyl/4354458340/in/set-72157623869024966 

  • eldritch

    What about cleanup? Should you wash the jar, or are the chemicals bad for water systems and you should just toss the whole thing?

    • grs

       http://glowproducts.com/info/faq/

      What chemicals are in a glow sticks?

      The glow light is made of two parts which when mixed
      together create the chemical reaction which makes them glow.

      4 g sodium carbonate

      0.2 g luminol

      0.5 g ammonium carbonate

      0.4 g copper sulfate pentahydrate

      approx. 1 litre of distilled water.

      50 ml of 3% hydrogen peroxide.

      Ammonium carbonate is a salt used in baking. Copper sulfate is used in ponds to clear algae and weeds. The little bit in that one glowstick doesn’t amount to much.

  • grs

    Seems like a good time to link to these sun jars: http://www.instructables.com/id/Home-made-Sun-Jar/

    And go with the tracing paper. You need a ton of that art store glass etching cream to do a decent job.

  • O_phuk

    We tried this at home.  As for the glow sticks, your mileage will vary.  One type was much
    brighter than another.  Overall, however, the effect was underwhelming in real life.

  • Guest

    related: http://www.thinkgeek.com/homeoffice/lights/e7a6/
    uses LEDs instead of glowstick goo.