hallowed detour

The Ireland catch-up is coming. But a couple creative cool Halloween ideas snagged my attention, and I’ve plunged into planning. We’re hosting a trick-or-treat party with my sister and her family, and these recent gusty nights have been good inspriation for spooky treats.

First up, these sort of Victorian-mourning candles. These are dead easy. Cut vellum paper to fit glass votives, hurricanes, or straight juice glasses and fix in place with double-sided tape. Next, cut a piece of black lace ribbon to wrap around the glass, and glue in place.

For the candles streaked with “blood,” light a red candle, wait for the wax to pool, and then tip onto glass and let the wax run down the side. You may want to experiment with this first on paper to get a feel for how fast the wax will run, and how long you can wait before tipping it to create the drip effect. I found that if you let the hot wax set briefly, you can then tip it and keep the fat drip on the candle or paper, instead of having it run off the edge.

I also played around with the blood splatters on cards. I’m not sure where these will go yet or how they’ll come into play, but if you’re using name or menu cards, I think these have a kind of creepy-cute vibe.

I have a vaguely squirmy feeling that I'm actually admitting something weird here. Because grown-ups aren’t really supposed to experiment with fake blood and dark decorations. But then again, my extended family’s entertainment of choice when I was growing up was a wholesome little game called Murder in the Dark. So these candles are child’s play compared to being chased down the hall by my older cousins with glints off a knife blade flashing behind me. Ah, to be a child of the seventies.  

Comments

[Michele at A House Called Nut]

Thanks for this! I love the candles even without the bloody murder look. At least in the photos, I can't tell there's paper around the glass at all!

[KMA]

Can't wait to get down there! xo

[Sarah]

Your pictures are gorgeous and your craft ideas are brilliant, and highly effective! I especially love the red candle wax blood effect.

[Tracey]

Just discovered your blog and can't wait to follow you through the seasons. All of your beautiful crafts have me daydreaming and my hands itching to craft . . . thanks so much for the inspiration.

www.lifeinsugarhollow.blogspot.com

[mary]

I love Murder in the Dark! It was my favorite game when I was a kid in the - - -well, before the seventies.