DIY Halloween Candle Clusters by TheNavagePatch.com

DIY Halloween Candle Cluster

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If you were to make a little book about my babes’ life here in America – especially her life around September and October – and if you were to wrap that little book up and fly yourself to Turkey, and if you were to seek out her family on the Aegean coast, and if you were to unwrap that book, and if you were to show the pages to her family – especially the pages concerning Halloween, it is likely those family members looking at the pages of your little book would be gasping and clutching at their prayer beads.

For it is a certainty that Handan of Izmir is nothing like Handan of Florida

Handan of Izmir is a no-nonsense, level-headed Turk.

Handan of Florida is a frizzy-haired Halloween lunatic.

DIY Halloween Candle Clusters by TheNavagePatch.com

Handan of Izmir holds a tea cup in one hand and a piece of baklava in the other.

Handan of Florida holds a bubbling brew in one hand and a skull in the other.

And while Handan of Izmir spends her days chatting amiably with friends, Handan of Florida prefers the company of witches and toads, including, but not limited to, her Chief Toad-in-Waiting…me.

So let me introduce you to a little something I made for my little witchy wife to brighten up her Halloween season.

DIY Halloween Candle Clusters by TheNavagePatch.com

The woman in her loves candles, and the witch inside loves skulls, so I combined the two for a spooky Halloween delight!

Halloween Candle Cluster SUPPLIES LIST

Affiliate links are provided below. Full disclosure here.

  • All supplies can be found here
  • Styrofoam Cooler – we got ours at Dollar Tree
  • Assorted foam and plastic skulls
  • Spray insulation foam
  • PVC pipe
  • Hot glue gun and glue
  • French cream spray paint
  • DryLok
  • Black paint
  • Spray bottles
  • Battery-powered tea lights

Halloween Candle cluster VIDEO Tutorial

Watch our short and fun video below for an overview of our Halloween candle clusters before you read the detailed step-by-step tutorial.

DIY Halloween Candle Clusters by TheNavagePatch.com

DIY Halloween Candle Cluster Tutorial

Because my babes loves symmetry, I wanted to make two candle clusters for the two accent cabinets in our dining room. Two styrofoam coolers from Dollar Tree fit the bill perfectly. I also made one from a Dollar Tree laundry basket, but that one is for outdoor display. You can use pretty much anything you’d like for a base!

man holding foam coolers

For the candles, I used 1 1/2 inch and 2 inch PVC pipe (inner diameter)

man holding pvc pipe

I cut the PVC into random lengths with a chop saw, but PVC cuts easily with a hacksaw if you don’t have a power saw.

saw cutting pvc pipe4
pvc pipe

I dry-fit the candles onto the cooler. Since I was making two clusters to flank the dining table, I made each a rough mirror-image of the other.

pvc pipe on styrofoam cooler

When I had the candles arranged how I wanted, I pulled one at a time, ran a line of hot glue down the side or sides that touched another candle, and then placed the candle back into the grouping.

man gluing pieces of pvc pipe to the base of a styrofoam cooler
man gluing pieces of pvc pipe to the base of a styrofoam cooler
man gluing pieces of pvc pipe to the base of a styrofoam cooler
man gluing pieces of pvc pipe to the base of a styrofoam cooler
man gluing pieces of pvc pipe to the base of a styrofoam cooler

After gluing the cluster together, I moved onto the dripping wax, which I created by squeezing hot glue around the rims of each candle and letting it run down the sides.

man making faux candles with pvc pipe and hot glue

This step requires a very hot glue gun, and HART’s is perfect for the job!

man making faux candles with pvc pipe and hot glue
man making faux candles with pvc pipe and hot glue

Next, I spray painted the candle clusters with French creme.

man making diy halloween candle clusters
man making diy halloween candle clusters
man making diy halloween candle clusters

I think the French creme keeps it classy, but black candles with blood-red wax would also look amazing.

man making diy halloween candle clusters

I let the paint dry, and then I hot glued the clusters to their bases.

man making diy halloween candle clusters
man making diy halloween candle clusters

Now for the fun part: SKULLS!

foam skull on table

I cut the backs from a bunch of styrofoam skulls.

cutting foam skull

And I relieved some of those skulls of their lower jawbone – much creepier!

cutting foam skull
foam skull

I started by gluing two full skulls on each corner – these are the anchor skulls. Maybe cornerskulls? Keyskulls?

man gluing foam skulls on a halloween candle cluster

Anyway, they fit nicely as full skulls in those two corners.

man gluing foam skulls on a halloween candle cluster

It ain’t Halloween if I’m not spraying foam all over the place, so I covered the front with foam…

man gluing foam skulls on a halloween candle cluster
man gluing foam skulls on a halloween candle cluster
man gluing foam skulls on a halloween candle cluster

…Then I placed skulls of all sizes into the foam before it hardened.

man gluing foam skulls on a halloween candle cluster
man gluing foam skulls on a halloween candle cluster
man gluing foam skulls on a halloween candle cluster

Next I did the same to the sides.

man gluing foam skulls on a halloween candle cluster
man gluing foam skulls on a halloween candle cluster

Well, technically for these, I only put skulls on one side of each, because where I’d be displaying them, one side would be very near a wall and not seen. No sense wasting skulls!

man gluing foam skulls on a halloween candle cluster

Then I filled in the top around the candles with foam.

man gluing foam skulls on a halloween candle cluster
man making diy halloween candle clusters

When the foam had hardened, I painted it and the skulls with two coats of DryLok. This gave them a concrete look and feel.

man making diy halloween candle clusters
man making diy halloween candle clusters

To give a little dimension to the monochromatic DryLok, I sprayed the skulls with some watered down black paint.

man painting diy halloween candle clusters

I followed up by spraying water to diffuse the black and make it run like mascara in the rain.

man painting diy halloween candle clusters

The goal here was to add depth and dimension.

man painting diy halloween candle clusters

I sprayed paint and water here and there until I was happy with the overall look.

man painting diy halloween candle clusters
man painting diy halloween candle clusters

My final touch was to darken the eyes. This made the skulls really pop, and gave the whole cluster a creepier look.

man painting diy halloween candle clusters
man painting diy halloween candle clusters

When all the paint had dried, I inserted a piece of pool noodle into each candle on which I placed the tea lights. I then carried my creations into the dining room and put them on display!

DIY Halloween Candle Clusters by TheNavagePatch.com
DIY Halloween Candle Clusters by TheNavagePatch.com

My babes just adores her new skulls ‘n’ candles!

DIY Halloween Candle Clusters by TheNavagePatch.com

How about you??

DIY Halloween Candle Clusters by TheNavagePatch.com





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11 Comments

  1. Love this latest candle cluster creation. One question: how did you attach/insert/glue (?) the tealights? I assume the are removable so they can be turned on/off?
    Thanks for sharing!

    1. Good question, Charlotte! I forgot to mention that I put a piece of pool noodle in each candle on which to sit the tea light. I will update the post!

  2. Those are awesome. As usual, you have outdone yourself. I wonder what they would look like if you put battery lights in the foam insulation and did the burning ember paint job on the botom section like you did the fire wreath?

    1. Oh, it would look absolutely amazing! I was going for something a little more restrained for this one though, since it’s in the dining room! đŸ™‚