Halloween Upcycled Jar Candle Holders

Now, you probably all know that I'm not the craftiest person out there, but this Halloween project is super easy and inexpensive, and the results are adorable. Best yet, you only need a few basic materials, and you can upcycle glass jars from the kitchen!

I definitely recommend putting the little battery operated LED tealight candles inside for a no fuss Halloween decoration!

What you'll need ~

Glass jars of various sizes, all labels removed and washed thoroughly
Crepe paper streamers (1.75" thick) in Halloween colors like purple, black, white & orange (only about $0.79 each at a party store)
Black construction paper
Mod Podge®
Scissors

Halloween stencils*
Foam brush
Glitter (optional)
Tealight candles
Wax paper & a plastic cup

Instructions ~

Step 1: Lay out some wax paper as your work surface. I found that this is the best to work on because it won't stick to, tear, or transfer any color to your jars while they're drying. Pour some Mod Podge into a plastic cup (I thinned mine with just a drop or two of water and added glitter, though this is not necessary).

Step 2: Prepare your stencils. I'm not much of an artist, so I used *Halloween cupcake stencils to draw my designs onto black construction paper and then cut them out. I did a ghost, bats, a jack 'o' lantern and vampire fangs. The sky is really the limit - just be sure your outlines will fit on the jars you've selected for the task.

Step 3: Choose your crepe paper color and cut it into strips. This isn't really an exact science, but it's easier to get a good final result with strips about 2" long (so that each strip looks almost like a square). Gather up a pile of these strips so you can start applying them to the jar.

Step 4: Using the foam brush, apply the Mod Podge to the outside surface of the jar in sections. Apply the strips while it's still sticky. Again, there is no exact way to do this - just place the strips so that they overlap and eventually you won't see any glass through the layers. Once the paper is applied, carefully brush more Mod Podge over top - just be sure you don't rip the paper.

Step 5: Once the whole jar is covered with the crepe paper, find a spot on the jar to apply your Halloween outline. Apply more Mod Podge over the black construction paper outline, too.

Step 6: Now, you can take a bit of a break and wait for the jar to dry. If you're impatient, you can use a hair dryer on low setting to help speed along the process. I waited until the entire jar was dry before I applied paper to the lip of the jar (where the threads for screwing on a lid are). It's a lot easier to handle that way. To cover up the lip of the jar, follow the same steps above.

Step 7: Once the jars are completely dry and you are satisfied with the coverage of the paper, you're all set! If you find that you missed a spot or that the finish on the jar isn't quite shiny or sparkly enough for your taste, you can always go back in with more paper and/or Mod Podge and touch up. That's the beauty of this project!

Step 8: Drop in a tealight, light it up, and you're done! Make as many different colors and designs as you'd like.

This was my homage to my favorite vampires on TV ~ a True Blood vampire fangs candle holder!

--- This project was created by Erika Pitera, the managing editor and art director here at ZEST