Welcome to PAGE TWO of the PVC Faux Flicker Halloween Candles Tutorial. Below you will find step by step instructions for making these awesome candles for your Halloween decor. As I mentioned on page one, it is advisable to read through the tutorial once and decide ahead of time if you want to add a face to yours or not.
Adding a face requires sawing the cutouts for the face as well as applying an extra tea light to the base so the face lights up. The image below depicts this project with no face as a comparison. You can paint these any color you desire.
Instructions:
1. Cut your long PVC pipe to your desired lengths. I used a chop saw but if you don’t have that then you can use a hacksaw. I went in 2 inch increments (12″, 10″, 8″…etc.). I also tried to cut them a little taller or shorter than each one of the those increments so each candle looked to be a unique size.
2. Place the pipes upright on a hard surface. Make sure you cover the surface with some type of material since the foam insulation will come in contact with it. I just put down some painter’s paper on my garage floor and set the pipe on top of that.
3. Fill the pipes with Great Stuff Insulation Foam. I usually filled mine about 1/2″ from the top since it expands.
4. Let the foam dry completely. I filled mine up at night and then worked on them the next day.
5. Cut off the foam so it is even with the pipe. I came back with chop saw to trim it off or I found you can just slice it off with a hacksaw as well.
6. Use you forstner bit to trim down the foam inside the pipe to the desired height you want the tealight to sit. I found that putting the drill in high speed mode rather than high torque works best. Drill slowly so the bit cleanly slices away the foam. If you go to fast the bit just rips out chunks. In other words, when you are drilling out the foam for the tealight to sit on make sure the drill bit is moving fast but go into the foam slow. If you want a tea light at the base to light up the face, then you will need to drill out the foam on the bottom for that tea light as well. Use your drill to make the cutouts for the eyes and mouth.
7. Once you have the pipes drilled out it’s time to apply the hot glue. I found that using a high temp hot glue gun works the best. Since the gun is high temp the glue becomes very runny and creates nice drips. Just work around the pipe and going in multiple layers seems to give a nice effect. Another thing I found out through the whole process is try to make a nice long drip right over the printing on the pipe. When you paint it it will help in covering up the printing.
8. After the glue is dry you are ready for paint. If the printing on the pipe is showing you can try to remove it by sanding it off or using nail polish remover to take it off. Spray the candles in nice smooth strokes making sure you get all the nooks and crannies around the drips. It took me 2-3 coats to get the printing on the pipe to not show through.
9. You can add silver or grey accents to the drips as well. The apply transparent orange paint to the eyes and mouth
My thanks and appreciation go out to the originator of this tutorial at Halloween Forum!
Please share your comments and suggestions about this craft project below. I’d love to hear from you!
Like & follow us on Facebook for even more great DIY ideas at: Gotta Love DIY
To see more Halloween Craft Projects visit the links below:
RE: Lighting up the eyes and mouth . . . . Do you drill out just enough for the tealight and the light penetrates the foam above?
You have to drill out the foam for a tealight at the bottom with a forstner bit, which is also used to drill out the eyes and mouth.
I wanted to know how do you make the faces on the candles. Do you carve out the glue? I don’t understand how to make it.
These candles are made with pvc pipe, so the faces must be carved out using a saw. Just above the instructions on page 2 you will see this >> “Adding a face requires sawing the cutouts for the face as well as applying an extra tea light to the base so the face lights up.”
I hope that helps 🙂 Thank you for visiting my website!
Those are great !. I’m going to try it. But instead of using costly spray foam I’m going to think of another way to fill them.ill keep you posted.
Would you be interested in making these in black (exactly like the cream ones in the middle), for a brewery in California? If so, we would love to pay to have these made!!!!!! PVC pipe will most definitely hold up in a bar!!!!!!!!
Your offer is flattering but I do not make crafts on a commercial basis at all. Way to busy with life and 8 grandkids and 6 animals LOL!