DIY Painted Halloween Candle Decoration

I am always looking for new ideas for Halloween crafts.  Bonus points if it results in a decoration that I can use again.  These painted Halloween candle decorations were a fun activity to do with my kids.  They really got into the project and let their imaginations take over.  While it was challenging to not have the traditional colors, they did like using the glow in the dark paints (because what kid doesn’t love stuff that glows).  The best part was this was a fun way to use up some of those extra glasses that we definitely did not need in our glass cabinet.  

You will need ...

  • Old Glasses, washed and dried
  • Battery Operated Tea Lights
  • Acrylic Paints*
  • Paint Brushes
  • Plastic or Paper Cups

*NOTE: We chose to use glow in the dark paints.

Step One

Place the glass upside down on top of a plastic or paper cup.  This allows you to move the glass around without having to touch the paint.  

Step Two

Get painting!  Since there is not much to this project, I want to share a few things we learned while doing it.

  • Make a plan or even a sketch beforehand so you have an idea of what you want to do. 
  • Soft bristled brushes work better at distributing the paint onto the glass.  The stiffer the brush, the less the paint stayed on the glass.
  • Thick layers of paint will not stick to the glass.  Instead, we did several coats of paint.
  • To create black on color, it is best to use black acrylic paint.  Permanent markers only pulled the paint off the glass. 
  • Plan ahead.  My daughter’s glass required some extra drying time so hers took longer from start to finish.  Good to know if you are planning on gifting the project and you have a deadline.

Step Three

Let the paint dry overnight.  Then, you are ready to set up your decoration.  Turn on the tea light and place the glass over the light.  It will illuminate your design and create a festive decoration.  We used glow in the dark paints so that they would charge up while the tea light was lit, then still show when the light was turned off.  

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