Water + Vaseline = Nightmare Before Christmas

Water and Petroleum Jelly do not mix. I don't care what any German child craft book tells you! It is impossible.

...You can try mixing them both cold. ...You can try warming the water. ...You can try heating the Vaseline. ...You can try heating both separately and then mixing. ...You can try mixing them and then heating together. ...You can try to heating one, adding it to the other, getting a milky substance on top, removing that milky substance, and then adding it to even more water.

...But in the end, none of this will work! You're only going to get a sticky mess. And as with all other things in life, when you add glitter, it only gets messier.

So if you, too, have a child who wants to make a "Fish Bowl" for Christmas and conveniently waited til the last minute, I heavily advise you to avoid the any such craft that you may come across in a German craft book!