Homemade Halloween Lanterns

Halloween lanterns can provide your Halloween décor with a funny or sinister atmosphere, depending on the kind of lanterns you choose to display in the yard, the backyard or even inside de home. The best way to get the Halloween lights you really want to show is to make them yourself. This will allow you to plan some Halloween crafts to make with the kids and at the same time, save you money on your Halloween decor.

Here we are going to cover the steps that you'll take in order to create a wonderful Halloween lantern to display on your next Halloween party; whether inside or outside. Best of all is that you can copy the project and create as many Halloween lanterns as you want.

How to Make Canister Halloween Lanterns

Color Splash!
Acrylic Paint,
32 Oz.-Blue

Materials to prepare in advance:

A pair of metal scissors or rotary cutter
Paint
Candle lights or tea lights
A black marker
A few paint canisters
A few Halloween character patterns

Instructions to make Halloween canister lanterns:

Use the patterns to guide you through the drawing of a character on the canister
Cut out a few holes using the rotary cutter - eyes, mouth, etc.
Paint the character Halloween themed colors (black, orange, red, gray, dark green, etc.)
Once it dries, place a candle inside the canister - or a tea light if you used a small can.
That's it. You've just made your first Halloween lantern!

Repeat the same operations to make more lanterns and use various Halloween characters.

A great idea is to create a few pumpkin themed lanterns in different sizes; this will make you a fantastic Halloween pumpkin lantern family!

For a better exposure, you can line them up together by using some string and hang them on your trees if you have some in the yard or garden. Alternatively, you can place the entire pumpkin lantern family on your window support.

How to Make Pumpkin Halloween Lanterns

Do you prefer to create some pumpkin Halloween lanterns instead of canister lights? No problem. Here is how to do this.

Sharpie Chisel Tip
Permanent Markers,
2 Black Markers

Materials you'll need:

A few small pumpkins or okaido pumpkins
A knife
Tea lights
A black marker

Instructions to make pumpkin Halloween lanterns:

Use the knife to cut the fruit and remove the flesh
With the black marker, draw the eyes, the nose and the mouth so that you have a pattern to work on.
Cut out the nose, eyes and mouth
Clean your new lantern and place a tea light inside
On Halloween night, light the tea light or the candle.

The advantage of such Halloween lanterns is that you can make some soup or pumpkin pie with the fruit flesh. Okaido pumpkins are known for their fantastic sweet taste and will work wonders on your Halloween table costumed in a cute pie ;)

Because of their nature, it's better to light those lanterns on Halloween night.

Where to get free Halloween patterns?

How to Make Papier Maché Halloween Lanterns

Papier maché Halloween lanterns are an all time favorite among craft amateurs. Here's how to proceed to create your own papier maché Halloween lanterns.

Rechargeable
Tealight Candles
(No batteries necessary!)

Materials you need:

Cutter or scissors
Water
Flour
Craft glue
A balloon
Old newspapers cut into strips
Paint
Battery operated light bulbs (no candle light for such a decoration!)

Instructions to make Halloween papier maché lanterns:

Inflate the balloon to the size you want your Halloween lantern to be
Mix water, flour and glue
Dip the newspaper strips into the mixture and place around the balloon
Let dry for an entire night
When dry, pop the balloon
Cut a small portion of the bottom of your new lantern so that it stands on its own
Draw a figure on your lantern
Use scissors or a cutter to cut out the mouth, nose and eyes of your character
Paint it whatever color you best like - you can use a spray can for such purpose
Place a light bulb into the lantern and that's it.

How to Make Glass Halloween Lanterns

Another way to create Halloween lanterns at home is by using glass jars that you would be about to throw away. Instead of sending them to trash, recycle them into lovely Halloween decorative lanterns.

Bormioli Rocco
Quattro Stagioni
8 1/2 Ounce Canning Jar,
Set of 12

Materials you need:

A few glass jars cleaned and dried
Some Halloween themed character patterns
Paint
A black marker
Some tea lights or candle lights depending on the height of your glass jars

Directions to make Halloween jar lanterns:

Paint each glass jar a different Halloween related color
Use the character patterns to guide you through drawing your characters on the painted jars
Decorate them, color their clothes whenever they have some, sprinkle some glitter for a glamorous effect...
Place a tea light or candle inside each jar, light and put your new Halloween lanterns all around the home.

As you can see, making Halloween lanterns yourself is as simple as a pie and you don't need to be an artist to make your own. Get the needed materials and follow the instructions - who knows, you might end up finding a new alternative for making Halloween lighted decorations. Just use your imagination...

About the author:
I'm an European history and tarot cards passionate; crazy about Halloween and always looking for the best and most creative Halloween ideas to help you make the most of your Halloween party.

You're allowed to reprint this article for as long as you credit me using the following reference (just copy/paste): Article, copyright and courtesy of My Happy Halloween; your one-stop resource to get the <a href="http://myhappyhalloween.com/decorations" target="_blank">creative Halloween homemade decorations</a> to make the most of your Halloween party.

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