Yikes, it’s already time to get out the holiday décor. Question is, are you going to buy this year or DIY?

Turns out, Halloween is one of the most popular holidays to celebrate and decorate, second only to Christmas. Basically, it’s a good excuse to party and eat seasonally designated M&Ms. Store bought Halloween décor can get pretty pricey so why not set the mood with some DIY candles and save some dough.

You can buy some at Olive and Cocoa, $74.00 for two or……

…you can make your own for the price of the candle and some supplies you probably already have.

Supplies

• Candles –  5″ and 10″ tall pillars that are off white
• Tissue Paper – white, used for wrapping presents
• Spray Glue
• Printer
• Hair Dryer
• Spooky Clip Art

Step 1. Pick out some Halloween graphics and size them to fit your candles on your computer.

Step 2. Lightly spray glue the tissue paper to some printer paper and trim it out. The goal is to get the graphics printed onto tissue paper. I tried taping the tissue on the paper but my printer just spit it out all crumpled. If you have a rubber stamp image you would like to use, you can just stamp directly onto the tissue and skip the printer.

Step 3. Print out your graphics onto your tissue/printer paper.

Step 4.  Peel the tissue from the paper and trim it out as closely as possible to the images. FYI, I tried trimming before removing the tissue from the paper and the tissue tore very easily.

Step 5. Since the tissue is already a bit tacky, stick your image onto the candle. Turn your hairdryer on hot and hold it close to the image. It takes a few minutes for the candle wax to heat and when it does, your image will melt into the candle. You can just smooth the edges down. My candle never got hot enough with the hairdryer to burn my fingers.

You can see how the edges have disappeared and the image melts into the candle. Have patience!

I found my antique images online at the Graphics Fairy. You can look in old books for spooky images or make your own custom graphics using words. Next, I’m going to try using an old photo of my family with zombie eyes.

Set the candles in a bowl with dried black beans for a creepy effect and you’re done.

Happy Halloween!

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