Monday, August 16, 2010

#1 Toilet Paper Rolls of the Undead

When you are doing a garage haunt real candles are a no no! Unless you really want to kill your guests..... and we don't want to do that.... do we... Bwa Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!

But seriously the Police will shut you down.

Also, wouldn't it be cool if during your Halloween party
 you didn't have to worry about a drunken woman, dressed in a too small Elvira costume,
lighting her sleaves on fire, and bumming everyone out. 

That's why Haunters have fake candles!



These are based on a how-to I found on the Halloween Forum.
They are usually made of PVC which is very cool. I made a bunch last year and they are very cool.
But I wanted to try a TP version.

 They are so easy to make and practically free!

And you'll be recycling, which is definitely not scary!
I know... I  suck, Ok!!!


Anyway there are a number of materials you could use here,
 but I just chose things I had on hand.


Here is what you need to get started.....

 Masking tape
TP rolls
News paper 
Battery tealights
Glue gun and extra Glue sticks



You will also need primer and a paint of your choice.





First I started by stuffing the roll with the paper all the way to the bottom. 
Keep checking it and smashing it at the bottom to make sure it sits flat. 
Leave a little part at the top unfilled. Just enough room for the light to sit in.


.



Next I use the masking tape, and tape up the bottom. Again smashing so it stands flat. 




Then I taped around that, to get rid of the jagged edges.




Now I turned it over and taped in the little candle well at the top. 
Keep checking to make sure your little candle rests in the hole nicely.






Like This






Now I built up the sides, just with some scrunched and folded masking tape. 
To give it that gnarly melty candle look.





So just start dripping hot glue down the sides. 
For the big wax puddles, I start at the bottom and work up layering the drips.




                                     
As long as you obey the laws of gravity you can't mess up. It's just melting wax!



Think like a Candle! Be The Candle!




After it was all dry I primed it with a primer called KILZ. You can get it in a can or spray any home improvement place . It is made for shiny surfaces so it works great on the glue.

 Here it is all dry I forgot to get pics of what it looked like primed. You will just have to use your imagination. Picture this only all white.







You can paint it any color you want. I wanted red for a Gothic Vampire scene. 
I also painted over the tea lights so it all blended together.









So that's it!
Safe, cheap, fake candles... practically free. 

The best place to buy battery Tea-lights I have found, is Dollar Tree. They have two packs for a dollar. But they do run out quite often so you may just have to keep checking. But you can get them anywhere. The Dollar Tree ones lasted all night of the Party, all Halloween night , and they are still working this year when I checked! So good buy.

If you want to get more detailed make the PVC version.
They look great and are a little more substantial. 

With these you can see some of the ridges of the roll and imperfections but barely, and when its dark you will never notice.
 Darkness is our Friend!

5 comments:

  1. wow freaking awesome

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  2. Wow, another awesome job! Does your talent never end? Phantom Mom Cocoa,Fl.

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  3. Is there a way to make these so that they are reusable? My friend is throwing a Halloween party and she loves your ideas but would like to keep these candles to reuse year after year and is worried about being able to change the batteries in the tea lights. Thanks so much!

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    Replies
    1. Sure you can use them year after year. The lights seem to last about two Halloweens... that's about 2 parties and two haunted houses. The lights themselves you can get at dollar stores. I also stock up on backups all through the year. Look after the holidays! Walgreens always has a bunch after Xmas in red and green (they can be painted if you want.) Now I have enough lights I just order batteries. The CR2032 batteries are super cheep online. Here is a link ... http://www.amazon.com/Maxell-CR2032-lithium-batteries--pack/dp/B006GDL0FY/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1348625407&sr=8-3&keywords=batteries+cr+2032

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    2. I forgot to add... when you make the candles, make sure the spot the t-light sits in is easy to get it in and out of.

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