3 X Hot Glue DIYs for Halloween | Faux Antique Candles, Blood Choker & Spooky Spiders

Normally when Halloween comes around it's a bit of a rush to get some spooky ornaments made, and using hot glue is a great way to speed up the process! I've wanted to make faux candles for a while, and I'm really pleased with the result of these - and I've also had a 'blood' necklace and cute spider ornament on my list too, so of course I have to make them all at once :D

Supplies

Hot Glue Gun; I used black, clear and red glue sticks for these projects.
Cardboard Tubes; I used a few different sized tubes including toilet roll tubes. Make sure a battery-powered tealight can fit inside the tube.
Glue
Battery-Powered Tealights
Small Amount of White Felt
White Gesso & White Spray Paint
Thin Card; I used cereal box card.
Paintbrush
Scissors
Utility knife
Invisible Thread
Masking Tape
Pliers
Cutting Mat
Non-Stick Mat
Jump Rings & Matching Clasp
Wire Cutters
Ruler & Tape Measure
Aluminium wire
Googly Eyes (optional)

Step 1: 'Blood' Necklace - the Thread

First, you'll need to measure around your neck. Mine was just under 14" so I rounded up to 14". This is a choker so you want it quite a close fit, but you also want some breathing room.

Lay down your non-stick mat, and stick down a double thickness of invisible thread (using masking tape) that long enough to go around your neck.

Start and end the thread in the centre so that there is a loop at each end. Use the masking tape sparingly to keep the ends and the loops in place, and the thread strands together.

Step 2: 'Blood' Necklace - Red Drips

Making sure the masking tape is just on the ends of the loops and the ends of the thread, heat up your glue gun and put a strip of red hot glue along each half, as shown. Leave to cool.

This is just to keep the threads in position, even when you remove the tape.

Then remove the tape in the centre and fill in the gap. Carry on adding hot glue, but this time go all the way along and add 'drips'.

I start at the bottom of a drip and then move upwards to connect it to the neckace.

The only thread visible should be the loops at each end.

Step 3: 'Blood' Necklace - Finish the Choker

Once the hot glue has hardened, use pliers to open a jump ring and add it to one thread loop. Then add a jump ring and a clasp to the other end.

And that's it, the choker is complete!

Step 4: Faux Candles - Cut the Tubes

I carefully used a utility knife to cut the thicker tube to the length I wanted, and I used scissors to shape the toilet roll tubes. Having a wavy top is more realistic than one that's straight across.

Step 5: Faux Candles - Felt Tops

Cut a circle of white felt to fit inside each tube. Then cut a cross in the middle and make that into a hole just big enough to fit over the 'flame' of the battery-powered tealight.

Step 6: Faux Candles - Platforms 1

Take a narrower tube and cut a section to go inside each of your candles. This will act as a platform to hold up the tealight. I need to get to the on/off switch so I can't just glue the tealight inside.

The platform should be tall enough to hold the tealights just under the top of the candles, so only the 'flame' sticks out.

Step 7: Faux Candles - Platforms 2

Cut discs from thin card that can fit inside each of the tubes. Glue these to the top of the corresponding platforms and leave to dry.

Step 8: Faux Candles - Hot Glue

Heat up your glue gun and then apply drips of clear (or white) glue all around the top edges of the tubes.

You want to try and do at least 3 layers of drips to get a more 'old/antique' look. I did one layer, left it to cool, then repeated this over and over.

To get the glue to stay near the top for the last layer or 2, I left the glue gun to cool for a little while so the glue wan't so runny.

Once you're happy, leave the glue to cool.

Step 9: Faux Candles - Painting

The spray paint won't cover the tubes very well on its own, so I decided to first paint the candles with white gesso as a base layer.

Once dry, I then took the candles outside, put on a breathing mask, and sprayed a couple of layers of white (matte) spray paint.

Once that has dried, you can then assemble the candles - so put the platforms inside the candles, then add the tealights and the felt circles on top.

Step 10: Faux Candles Complete

And here they are completed!

If you wish, you can add some shadows and 'age' the candles by applying a black-paint-and-water mix on the outside and then wiping the surfaces straight away with kitchen towel.

I'm really pleased with them as they are though :)

Step 11: Hot Glue Spider

A very quick DIY this one!

Just cut 4 lengths of aluminium wire about 5" long, and then arrange them as shown.

Add a thick line of black hot glue in the centre, joining all of the wires together.

If you want a cute spider, you can add googly eyes! I found it was easiest to use a bit of blu-tac to pick up the eyes and push the into the hot glue. I'm sure tweezers would also work.

Leave to cool.