I had collected a few vintage tree toppers in gold and silver and liked how they looked as a group. I wanted to find a way to safely and dramatically display them. A glass dome proved to be the perfect solution!

To create this holiday bell jar you will need:
-a glass dome and wood base
-tree toppers
-vintage mercury glass spikes
-assorted long screws (and possibly a nut and washer)
-tape (I used electrical)
-polyester (or cotton) fiberfil
-mica flakes
-drill
-very thin drill bit (for spikes)
-wire clippers

I began by putting a screw to hold each topper into the wood base. (You can look at the picture below to see how I created a “radial” design.) My large tree toppers were almost all the same height, and I decided I wanted to make the center one taller for a better composition. I glued a washer and nut to a long screw to create a raised “platform” for that one. Each standing screw was then wrapped in tape and some fiberfil to protect the glass toppers and help hold them securely. I then drilled small holes in the spaces between the screws to hold the thin, glass “spikes”. (I left the sawdust in the photos so you could easily see the pattern I used.) I placed the tree toppers before the spikes and used a small piece of tape or dab of hot glue to hold things straight. I finished the display by sprinkling large mica flakes on the base.

This could be done with multicolored or plastic toppers as well. Some of mine were imperfect but still ended up looking great. I could also see using glittered branches instead of the Japanese glass spikes. I like that I can easily change the tree toppers if I desire and the display is very easy to dust. It may stay out all year!