DIY: Halloween Luminaries
October 10, 2010 Luminaries are little candle lanterns made from small paper bags that line a walkway or driveway. This October you can make paper bag luminaries to add a spooky light on Halloween night. Place the glowing scary faces on your steps to illuminate the path to your door for trick-or-treaters.
SUPPLIES:
- paper bags
- colored construction paper
- double-sided tape
- X-acto knife
- cutting board
- marker and/or scary face template
- sand/gravel
- glass jars
- candles (flameless LED candles are the safest choice)
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| From Halloween Luminarias |
STEP 1:
Flatten your bag and lay flat on a cutting board.
STEP 2:
Print out one of my scary face templates (meet Goulia, Igor and Boo Boo) and lightly tape it to the outside of the bag with double sided tape.
If you're confident in your scary drawing skills you can use a pencil or marker to create your own goulish face.
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| From Halloween Luminarias |
STEP 3:
Cutting out your scary face is just like carving a pumpkin - except you probably won't stab yourself and you definitely won't have to scoop out seeds. Use an Xacto knife to cut out all your shapes through both sides of the paper bag (and print-out if you're using a template).
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| From Halloween Luminarias |
STEP 4:
Insert colored construction paper and tape to both sides of the paper bag with double-sided tape.
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| From Halloween Luminarias |
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| From Halloween Luminarias |
STEP 5.
Fill the bottom of the bag with a couple inches of sand (you can also use aquarium gravel for fish tanks).
STEP 6:
Place the bags in a safe spot where they can't be knocked or blown over and insert candles. The candles should be in glass jars that are taller than the flame to protect the paper bags. Once your bags are all set up you can use a long BBQ lighter to light the candles. You can also use LED candles and then you don't have to worry about flames.
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| From Halloween Luminarias |
Reader Comments (1)
This is a great project to create so you can have a fun Halloween. I agree with the recommendation to use flameless candles. Flameless votive candles or flameless tea lights would be perfect.