Boneyard Lantern
Do you ever get an idea in your mind that you have to complete? Something you know will be super cool? Well, this Boneyard Lantern was one of those projects for me!
Last year I saw the Bone Yard Ceramic Hurricanes that Pottery Barn came out with for Halloween – very cool. I knew then that I had to try to replicate it in some fashion. While I ran out of time last year, I wasted no time in getting started for this Halloween.
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SUPPLIES
Bag of mini plastic skulls {found at Michael’s} | Glass Cylinder Vase {found at Dollar Tree} | Skull Necklaces {found at Dollar Tree} | Glue | Gloss White Spray Paint that adheres to plastic | Scissors | Caulking | Tape | Pencils | X-acto Knife or Drill | Battery Operated Tea Lights
It’s time to cut the skull in half! I wasn’t sure exactly how to handle this. I first thought the skulls were too thick to cut through without sawing them in half, but to my surprise, they were fairly pliable. I have an old pair of cuticle scissors that I have used for years for crafts. Trust me…they will not be worth using on your nails once you have cut plastic with them.
I took the cuticle scissors and poked them through the bottom of the skull then repositioned them to cut around the skull. Occasionally the plastic got a little thick and I had a tough time cutting, but for the most part, it was pretty easy.
Once all the skulls were cut in half, I moved to the eyes. I wanted them to be cut out so that the light would shine through from the tea lights. I did this in two ways. I started to cut them out with an X-acto knife, but then my husband offered to drill them out using a drill. He placed a block of wood under the skull to drill into pushing out the eyes. They were a little raggedy this way, but for the most part, it did the trick. Plus…it was much faster!
Now for the assembly…
I turned to a thick glue like Tacky Glue for this! A glue gun might also do the trick, but I didn’t try it with this project. If a skull loosens, I found that the next step, caulking will also hold the skulls in place. It’s trial and error. In the end, every skull was secure waiting for the magic transformation of the paint!
Since I was gluing the skulls to a cylinder instead of a flat surface, I took my time doing a row at a time and giving the skulls time to become secure. To move a little quicker, I secured the skulls with tape removing it when the glue was dry.
Now, remember, I am trying to put my own crafty spin on another candle holder. Theirs had a look of lumped together skulls and bones, and mine has perfectly placed skulls. How will I give mine that “squishy” pile of bones look? My craftiness thinking made me think of using caulking and the bones from the dollar store necklace. Use caulking that comes in a pliable tube where you can cut the tip off and use it.
It was easy to squeeze in all the nooks and crannies around the skulls, filling in all the gaps. I left the caulking uneven sticking on the extra bones that I cut off the necklace. I used all parts of the skeleton necklace to fill in the spaces.
I know this is a little odd looking, but I was confident that it would look cool when it is finished. As always my husband was a little skeptical!
The final step…painting!
So, I knew it was going to be easy to spray this, but how was I going to stop the paint from going through the eyes and hitting the glass cylinder. Then it would be opaque, and the light would not glow through the eyes. I had to give this a little thought…you see my solution…
Yep…pencils! I moved them from eye to eye as I sprayed. They worked perfectly!
All the elements came together perfectly to create this DIY Boneyard Lantern!
Drop in a couple of BATTERY operated tea lights for a candle light glow. This project is full of flammable products – NO REAL CANDLES PLEASE!
COOL…RIGHT?!
See more of my creative HALLOWEEN PROJECTS HERE!
This is such a super creative idea! Great thinking outside the box!! I love it, spooky indeed!
Thanks, Virginia! The final coat of spray paint transformed the plastic mess of skulls and bones!
This is beyond awesome! It is perfectly spooky and fantastic all at the same time…SO creative!
LUV IT! Came out Spooktacular!
Thank you so much, Randi! I’m loving it too!
So creepy and cool! Pinning this one!
Thanks for pinning, Jeanette! I’m loving it too!
This is so cool! Hats off to you for creativity! I love it! You were right that is was going to be great!
Thank you, DeDe! My husband thought it look like a big mess, but the spray paint took it to another level – I love it!
I loved reading this tutorial, my favourite bit is when it turns from what is, quite frankly, a bit of a mess (no offence!) into an amazing, super cool thing with just a can of spray paint. Amazing! I especially like the very practical “pencil in the eye” tip!
Nope – you are right…it was a bit of a mess! And, yes, the spray paint transformed it into amazing! I couldn’t be more pleased! Thanks!
I had to put on my thinking cap for when it came to plugging up the eyes…the pencils did the trick 🙂
Super creative. What a great Halloween idea!
Shannon – bohemianjunktion.com
Thanks so much, Shannon!
Scary! And very cool!
Thank you, Kim…glad you like it!
This is such a great idea! Absolutely love the end result. So cool! Pinning to remember.
Thank you, Kristy, for pinning! It took a little time to figure out to make this work, but I love the end result!
Love it! Genius!
Thanks, Julie – glad you love it!
This is beyond amazing!! So clever!!
Thanks, Carolyn! I see you found my blog!! 🙂
Wow – this is too cool! It looks like a lot of work, but totally worth it. Visiting and Pinning from the DIY Sunday Showcase!
I love this! What an awesome project – pinned!
Thanks you so much Ginnie! Glad you like it…something different!
This is fantastic! I need one or two for my home! Thanks for linking to the In and Out of the Kitchen party!
This turned out amazing, Susan!
Thank you, Alexis!
They have those Bag of bones at target too. I wanted to get them but I couldn’t figure out what I would use them for. Now I know!
Hey – what an outstanding project! So creative. Featuring in my weekly roundup tomorrow at AnyGirlCanDoIt.com
This is so AWESOME! Who would have thought that something this spectacularly spookie would be so easy! I am going to definitely make this.
Really love this idea, it looks amazing!
What a fantastic idea. I have never seen anything like this…love it.
Thanks you, Doreen! I’m glad you love it – creepy cool!
That looks like so much fun I’d like to make one just for the heck of it. We don’t get any trick or treaters so might just give it to daughter/family for their Halloween house. They go all out. I’m already working on some other decorations for them.
They live in development with lots of kids. We used to go over on Halloween night to sit at end of their driveway to give out candy. They live on curve of cul-de-sac. Our son in law would play his guitar, the girls would sing and we’d keep warm with the fire pit. Other neighbors would join us, but they’ve all moved away. Unless it snowed and it has snowed here on Halloween. Think I’ll be going to Dollar Tree to see if they have any of necessary items. Hope so.
Happy Fall and Halloween.
That is so awesome. I love how you made this. Can’t wait to try my own.
Also I am so glad you mentioned no flames because yup that wouldn’t have gone well.
This is so super cool! I’m going to try to make one since it fits into my sugar skull theme this year. Thanks for this great tutorial.
Thank you< Erlene! Sounds like you have a fun Halloween theme!
You are so clever! This is awesome!!
Thank you so much, Christy! I had the vision, but wan’t sure how it would turn out in the end. The minute I hit it with the white gloss spray paint I knew it was going to be very cool!
THAT IS AWESOME. I’m going to try this for our party!
Great, Karen! I hope your Boneyard Lantern turned out ok for the party?! It can be a little tricky at first, but then it all comes together! Happy Halloween!
I love this idea so much, I went out and found all the items needed to make it…then actually started making it! I did run into a problem and am hoping you see this in the next day or two – my Krazy glue is not making mine stick to the glass. I then tried my E-6000 and while that is tackier, they kept sliding out of place. I did get a few taped onto my glass hoping the glues will dry and hold, but do you have any other suggestions in the meantime? My next attempt will be with clear caulking.
Love it! You could use cheap solar lights rather than the battery operated lights, as long as you place it where it would get sunlight during the day.
Thanks for linking up to the Home Matters Party with you! #HomeMattersParty Hope to see you next week. http://lauraslittlehousetips.com/home-matters-linky-party-59/
Lovely post! Thank you for linking up with the OMHG WW & sharing with us! Please come link up again this week at http://www.wrightsimply.com/2015/10/wednesday-linky-come-share.html!! Have a wonderful rest of the week! xx
This looks so cool! I am sharing this on pinterest.
Thank you so much, Roberta! It’s one of my favorite projects!
Great! Half way finished going back to the store to get some more bag of bones. I only got 12 and it git the glass half way.
Awesome! I hope you are having fun with the project!