DIY Halloween Decor
I’ve been brainstorming all year about reusing Tide Pod containers for Halloween crafts. Tide Pod containers are orange and pumpkin-shaped—using them for Halloween decor is only natural.
I had been warned against reusing them as candy containers for safety issues. So instead of using them as candy buckets, I came up with this cute luminary idea. Use these step-by-step instructions to make your own!
DIY Halloween luminaire is a great craft for older kids to do alone. Younger kids can help with cutting and gluing with supervision
Have fun!
Supplies
- Tide Pod container (or similar)
- Black, yellow, or orange tissue paper
- Stiff white paper
- White crayon or chalk (for tracing on black tissue)
- Scissors
- X-acto knife
- Glue that dries clear
- Solar light or battery-operated candle
- Yellow paper
- Googly eyes
- Orange watercolor paint and brush
- Black Sharpie
These are some of my supplies mid-craft.
Instructions
- Remove the peel by soaking the container in warm water. Be sure to fill the container with water too, or it will just bobble. Finish it off with Goof Off or a similar solvent product.
- Let it air dry, then paint it with a wash of thinned watercolor to give it an opaque orange look.
- Decide on a design. You can do something simple like bats or a Jack-o’-lantern face. I wanted to do a haunted house with a spooky tree, a big moon, and spooky eyes peeking out the door.
- Cutting shapes from tissue paper lets the light shine through. Make a pattern on stiff white paper. Cut this out and trace it onto the tissue. Use an X-Acto knife to cut out windows.
- Glue the shapes onto the container. Use glue that dries clear, and use it sparingly. Use the black Sharpie to draw the window frames.
- Glue on eye shapes from yellow paper and add googly eyes.
- Add lighting inside. You can use glow sticks, a solar light, or battery-operated tea lights.
- Use your Tide Pod container as a Halloween lantern on the mantel, a patio table, or anywhere else you like.