#15 Rustic Lanterns

I wanted some old rusty looking lanterns hanging from the trees around my witch cauldron scene. I also liked the idea of it being something I could use year round. as outdoor garden lighting.

I've seen mason jars used as hanging lanterns in weddings before they usually are left clear with decorative sand in the bottom and a tea light. It's very pretty and casully elegant.

 I wanted mine to look old though,

 and give off a rusty amber glow.

So I started with the mason jars. I just coated the outside in mod podge to give it a foggy look. 

Could probably use just regular elmer's glue too, I just like any excuse to use mod podge.

(It's still wet here, but it dries to a frosty finish.)

Next I painted the inside with just a foam brush and slightly watered down acrylic paints.

 I used mostly Burnt Sienna and a little Raw Umber mixed. They gave a really good rust color.

I did a couple coats and layers playing up with splotches drips and varying some the two colors.

Then I would alternate sitting it up and down to dry.

 This let the drips go back and forth until I had a cool runny look.

It looks like they've been around forever.

Then splotched and dripped and smeared on the outside as well to give it even more depth. 

This is really messy and fun! You can't screw it up because its supposed to look random and distressed. 

I just used the floral wire I had on hand, about a 36 inch piece. 

I looped one end around and under the rim and twisted it tight.

Then looped the other end of the wire around to the opposite side and twisted it up tight.

I wanted my loops pretty long for a good distance from my tree limbs.

I will attach them too another piece of wire I wrap around the branch to make is all secure.

Then fill the bottom with a hand full of sand and put a tea light in.

 ( i used my kitchen tongs to set it in just right.)

They give a beautiful glow.

Later I will post pix of them in the trees at night

The jars are barely even warm to the touch.  Tea lights just don't give off that much heat. 

And even on a breezy night the sand holds the candle in place beautifully 

I have burned these for 6 hours (the life of my tea-lights) about 3 times over with no problems.

This is just a log of what I did. 

It involves an open flame which you should never leave unattended. 

If you want to try this, do so at your own risk!

 I am not responsible if you burn anything or anyone! 

#4 Hogwarts Inspired Lighting

We love us some Harry Potter here in NerdVille.

One of my favorites, is the floating candles in the Great Hall.

So Awsome!!!

I want that!

 Last year I did the well known (to haunters) hot glue, PVC method.

And they looked amazing.

Still they are just heavy enough that I needed eye hooks, to hang them.

the bottom half wasn't painted yet in this pic

This year I wanted a lighter weight version.

One that could be hung simply with thumb tacks.

So of course first thing I think is Paper towel rolls, Right!

It's basically the same as the TP roll and PVC methods.

a few adjustments

The Paper towel rolls are taller so they want to fall over a bit

so I stuck a couple very little rocks in the bottom before I taped it up.

Also I noticed the ridges are much more visible on them.

So I used a little spackle and filled in all the cracks. 

I also did this on the bottom over the tape to smooth it out...

because when they are floating... the bottom will be the most seen part.

So it needs to look kind of smooth.

See the Archives for my 1st Tutorial again (#1 TP rolls of the undead) for more details.

After its primed painted and dried (I used an off white color)

Its time to add the string.

I used a sturdy black thread. If you use fishing line the sheen on it shows up in the candle light thus messing up the illusion. You can use any string you like or paint fishing line.

It just needs to be matte whatever you use.

I found I like black thread best. 

Measure your ceiling and the string 

PPT Roll is 11" long

My ceilings are 9' high or 108"

The lowest I want the bottoms to be is  80"

so that means the longest my length can be is  17"

But we are folding the string in half so I am doubling that so I am cutting  34" piece.

That sounds confusing... just look at the picture.

I want them to stagger in height, 

but as long as I know the longest I can go

so it's all good.

I tie both ends into knots just so I have something for the glue to hold on to better.

Hot glue one end of the string to one side.

Let it pile up a little so it's in there good and secure in a nice big fat drip.

 Hold it up right while it dries so it hangs right.

Then when that side is dry Glue the other end to the exact opposite the side same way.

Have a nice little loop now.

Touch up prime and paint the new glue when it dries.

I got a little on the string so I need to use a little black paint there...

 no big whoop, I'll do it later.

Now it's time to make these babies float!

Twist the top of the loop around your tack, make sure it hangs straight before you push it in.

see the little tac in the ceiling

And there you go.


Here is another little picture from last year.

Hard to see I know.



I'll get some better pictures this year and come back and post them promise.
 It really is cool and one of my favorite effects.

#1 Toilet Paper Rolls of the Undead

When you are doing a garage haunt real candles are a no no! Unless you really want to kill your guests..... and we don't want to do that.... do we... Bwa Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!

But seriously the Police will shut you down.

Also, wouldn't it be cool if during your Halloween party
 you didn't have to worry about a drunken woman, dressed in a too small Elvira costume,
lighting her sleaves on fire, and bumming everyone out. 

That's why Haunters have fake candles!

These are based on a how-to I found on the Halloween Forum.
They are usually made of PVC which is very cool. I made a bunch last year and they are very cool.
But I wanted to try a TP version.

 They are so easy to make and practically free!

And you'll be recycling, which is definitely not scary!
I know... I  suck, Ok!!!

Anyway there are a number of materials you could use here,
 but I just chose things I had on hand.

Here is what you need to get started.....

 Masking tape
TP rolls
News paper 

Battery tealights
Glue gun and extra Glue sticks

You will also need primer and a paint of your choice.

First I started by stuffing the roll with the paper all the way to the bottom. 

Keep checking it and smashing it at the bottom to make sure it sits flat. 

Leave a little part at the top unfilled. Just enough room for the light to sit in.

.

Next I use the masking tape, and tape up the bottom. Again smashing so it stands flat. 

Then I taped around that, to get rid of the jagged edges.

Now I turned it over and taped in the little candle well at the top. 

Keep checking to make sure your little candle rests in the hole nicely.

Like This

Now I built up the sides, just with some scrunched and folded masking tape. 

To give it that gnarly melty candle look.

So just start dripping hot glue down the sides. 

For the big wax puddles, I start at the bottom and work up layering the drips.

                                     

As long as you obey the laws of gravity you can't mess up. It's just melting wax!



Think like a Candle! Be The Candle!

After it was all dry I primed it with a primer called KILZ. You can get it in a can or spray any home improvement place . It is made for shiny surfaces so it works great on the glue.

 Here it is all dry I forgot to get pics of what it looked like primed. You will just have to use your imagination. Picture this only all white.

You can paint it any color you want. I wanted red for a Gothic Vampire scene. 

I also painted over the tea lights so it all blended together.

So that's it!

Safe, cheap, fake candles... practically free. 

The best place to buy battery Tea-lights I have found, is Dollar Tree. They have two packs for a dollar. But they do run out quite often so you may just have to keep checking. But you can get them anywhere. The Dollar Tree ones lasted all night of the Party, all Halloween night , and they are still working this year when I checked! So good buy.

If you want to get more detailed make the PVC version.

They look great and are a little more substantial. 

With these you can see some of the ridges of the roll and imperfections but barely, and when its dark you will never notice.

 Darkness is our Friend!