Halloween time is fully upon us—BAWAHH HA HA!! As a year-round lover of skulls, I usually like to make a few Halloween skull-related decor items to get into the holiday spirit but also to keep out long after the candy is gone. Craft stores always have the plaster and styrofoam skulls out this time of year, and I thought a plaster version would be a great base for a spooky candle holder to really set the mood.
Supplies:
-plaster skull (I got mine at Michaels)
–1″ hole saw drill bit
-drill
–white primer spray paint
–gold spray paint
-3 tall tapered candles
-white clay
Make a mark with a pencil or pen for the three spots where you want your candles to sit in the skull (don’t forget each hole will take up 1″, so don’t put them too close together). Use the 1″ hole saw bit and your drill to drill a hole for each candle location. The plaster skull that I got was pretty thick, so once I drilled about 1 1/2″ deep, I had a good hole for my candle to sit in and I hadn’t gone all the way through, which gave the candle a shelf to sit on. If you have a thinner skull or you do accidentally go all the way through, you can either use some air dry clay to close the hole at the bottom (which creates a shelf for the candle to sit on) or you can build up a thin block of clay to be a makeshift candle holder inside the skull for the candle to sit on out of sight. I would also recommend drilling your holes outside for sure as drilling through plaster gets messy!
Once your holes are done, I like to first paint a coat of primer onto plaster before doing a final coat with the gold spray paint (or whatever paint color you want to use). Let the paint fully dry between coats.
Once your skull is painted, add in your tapered candles to see how they fit! If your candle bases are a bit too big, you can always shave them down a touch with a knife, and if they are a little too small, you can put a little of your clay into the sides of the holes to give you more of a snug fit. Once your candles are secure, light them and let the spooky vibes begin!
See? Even Halloween decor can look chic with a little effort—love it! The nice thing about this candle holder is while you usually try to avoid drips from candles onto the holder itself, the more drips you get on this one, the cooler it will look! Happy decorating! xo. Laura
Credits // Author and Photography: Laura Gummerman. Photos edited with the NEW A Beautiful Mess actions.
16 Comments
Hahaha, I have a friend who will absolutely die for this and her birthday is coming up soon! Parfait 🙂
http://www.englishgirlinnewyork.org
Love it! Where did you get your cute tray?
This is such a cool idea! I just have to find a decent skull out there!
https://www.makeandmess.com/
Really cool idea, as usual!
Lena
http://zoyaandme.com/
That is so creepy, I am not sure I could live with it staring at me every day 🙂
That looks so cool! Even though we don’t celebrate halloween in my country I think I’m still gonna try to decorate the house because it seems so fun!
Yeah, good stuff for Halloween, but is it be decorating Your room after thiat time? 😉
Perfectly spooky!
shannoninthecity.com
Love how easy this is but how much of an impact it can have!
Target 🙂
Laura
I would but I like skulls year round 🙂
Laura
That is so awesome! I am going to give it a try. We always do Halloween up big every year and this will be great for our annual Halloween party!
=) Bridget
http://nuttyhiker.com
This skull also looks great at night with a candle inside!
So scary!!!! 🙂
Love it!
If I missed it I apologize, but did you also spray black before the gold? How did you get black between the teeth, in the eye sockets and skull crack? Or did you paint it on afterward and wipe the excess off? It’s great looking – I’d keep him out fulltime.
Beautiful centerpiece or decoration for Fall! I LOVE this idea!!