Light and the Darkness

It’s beginning to look a lot like Halloween, everywhere you go! Yes, the temperature is dropping (it was an autumnal 73 degrees today in Los Angeles), everything is now available in pumpkin spice whether you want it or not, and Halloween decorations are popping up all over. Especially in  my home. Well, to be fair, my house always looks a little bit like Halloween. I see nothing wrong with bringing a little of the darkside into the light.

Ruby Gloom is my cartoon patronus.

Funnily enough, this craft involves both light and dark. We are going to be making haunted lanterns. So let’s get our crafting hands ready and our mod podge out (oh, come on. You knew that was coming).

Supplies

*Mason jar

*Spray paint

*Sandpaper

*Modpodge

*Victorian picture

*Exacto knife

*Battery operated votive candle

Step One

Start out by prepping and painting your mason jar. I used a grey spray paint so the jar would look musty and aged but not  completely obscured.

One the spray paint dried, I went over it with the sandpaper. I paid special attention to the front of the jar. This is where you’ll want the most light to come through, for maximum creepiness.

Step Two

Select and print your photo. I used Victorian images for my lanterns, simply because people took some incredibly creepy photos during the Victorian era. You can find a treasure trove of material simply by googling creepy Victorian pictures. You may prefer photos from a different era and that’s entirely up to you. Let your creepy creativity fly! Try to select a photo where the faces are the centerpiece of the picture. I picked pictures with one or two people in them, because any more than that will require quite a bit of detail work. If you’re steady of hand, go for it. If you’re like me, stick to just a couple of people per picture.

Once you have selected your photo, size it so it fits on your mason jar. You want it to be big enough to be seen, but still allow the top and bottom of the mason jar to show. Depending on the size of your jar you should be okay with 3x5 or 4x6.

Step Three

Now we’re going to perform some ocular surgery. Okay, not really. I was just trying to find a fancy and less weird way to say “cut the eyes out of your picture.”  But that is exactly what you’re going to do: use the exacto knife to cut the eyes out of your picture. I try to cut my circles a little wider than the subject’s eyes, to allow more light to come through (and because I’m terrible at cutting things).

Step Four

It’s time to bring in the MVP...the mod podge! Using my mostest favorite crafting material, we’re going to affix the picture to the mason jar. I used the glue to stick the picture to the jar and then coated it again to seal everything in. While the glue is still wet, use your exacto knife (or a q-tip) to clean out the eyes of the picture. As much as we love mod podge, we don’t want it gunking up the works.

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Step Five

Light it up! Drop your battery operated votive candle into the jar. I selected ones that flicker, so it looks like an actual candle lighting up the lantern.  The cut out eyes of the picture create a spooky, supernatural effect, perfect for Halloween.

Do you have your Halloween decorations up? Do you tend more towards spooky or cute? Let me know in the comments!