Glowing Skull Light Tutorial


Upgrade a plain plastic skull to an eerie lighted skull for your Halloween decor. This final project in the Skull Surgery Makeover Week series will have you glowing! 

You need just three basic supplies and a few tools to make Glowing Skulls:


I used this plain plastic skull from the dollar store, a plastic cup, and a night light chord. The bulb is just a little 4-watt nightlight bulb. I would not use anything larger or hotter.



Now I know there are lots of battery operated lights out there, but frankly I'm starting to feel guilty about all the potential battery waste. That's why I opted for the chord. If you use batteries, here's how to recycle or dispose of them properly.



I used a drill and a hot knife to make the holes. My largest bit wasn't large enough to accommodate the nightlight bulb, so that's where the hot knife comes in.

Be sure to wear safety glasses! It's up to you to follow all directions that come with your power tools ~  don't be a ghoul!





Drill a pilot hole in your cup with a small bit. Use a medium-sized bit, and then your largest bit to enlarge the hole. 
This approach keeps the cup from cracking out. You'll do the same with the plastic skull.



You may have a large enough bit, but I didn't. So I used a hot knife to get the hole to the right size. Make it just the size needed to accommodate the tabbed socket base on your chord.



Do the same with the skull. You can see here how much larger the hole needed to be for the nightlight bulb to fit. 



Now at the top of your cup (which will become the base of the "lamp"), drill a hole the size needed to allow the chord to come through...


...like this. This ensures your "lamp" will sit evenly on the table.



Put your night light chord up through the cup so that it is securely in the hole. The socket base has little tabs on it to hold it snugly. {If it's not secure, you drilled the hole too big. Try again.}
Simply sit your skull on top of the base so that the bulb is inside the skull. Be sure you've drilled the hole so that the bulb is not touching the skull.



Now: dress up the neck of your lamp with a ribbon scarf. 
Make sure your lamp isn't too lightweight. You want it to stand securely, and out of reach of little hands. I placed my cup base over a round sandstone coaster.



Looks pretty snazzy as part of your Halloween vignette!



And it only gets better as darkness descends...



Oooooohh! Wickedly cool!



Phantastic! You can see *more glowing photos here.*



Thank you for tuning in to the Skull Surgery Makeover Series this week. 




If you missed anything, visit the Creepy Craftorium ~ all these links and more are there...

Skull Surgery Makeover Week:
Day 2: Skull Planter Tutorial {great hostess gift}
Day 3: Golden Skull Desk Accessory Tutorial 
Day 4: pause for the Wildly Original Linky Party
Day 5: "Sugar Skull" Makeover tutorial {easy & fun for kids}
Day 6: Glowing Skull Night Light  {phantastic photos!!}
Day 7: Glowing Skull Light Tutorial {you are here}






{I host a linky party every Wednesday. More info *HERE.*  I'm sharing Glowing Skull Light Tutorial with these fine folks, whose links open on ~ Sunday:  Sew Darned CraftyI Should Be Mopping The FloorMaking Monday MarvelousBrassy AppleCraftomaniacAlderberry HillUnder the Table & DreamingMaking the World Cuter ; MondaySkip to my LouCherished BlissSugar Bee CraftsTip Junkie's Tip Me TuesdayTuesdayNot Just a Housewife, Carolyn's HomeworkElizabeth & Co., The DIY Dreamer,  Savvy Southern StyleWhat we Wore & MadeUncommonGingersnap CraftsThe NY Melrose FamilyToday's Creative Blog ; WednesdayI Gotta Create!Uncommon, All Star Block PartyThe 36th AvenueLive-Laugh-RoweHandy Man Crafty WomanThe Trendy Treehouse ; ThursdayScissors & SpatulasMy Repurposed LifeFrugal GirlsShabby Nest,  Romantic HomeFrench County CottageStuff & Nonsense ; FridayFunky Junk InteriorsHappy HourAnything GoesFinding FabulousMy Simple Home LifeTatertots & JelloThirty Handmade DaysOne Creative Mommy ; SaturdayBe Different Act NormalA Bouquet of TalentTutus & Tea PartiesSix Sisters StuffSew Country ChickDIY ShowoffPositively Splendid , Nifty Thrifty Things}


Join me Wednesdays at 7pm CST for
the Wildly Original Linky Party!

9 comments:

Danni@SiloHillFarm said...

Love it! I think the skull with the markers might look cool lit up too! I want a hot knife now! Fun project and love the spider bow!

Katalina Jewelry said...

Love this project!

Mami Made It said...

Great project! I love any illuminated stuff when season is getting dark and darker.

Shannah @ Just Us Four said...

Love this! What a neat project.

~julee~ said...

This is great! Thanks for sharing!

Justine of SewCountryChick said...

I am so loving your Halloween projects Christina!

Unknown said...

What an awesome project, and so cool! I love it. Thank you so much for sharing at A Bouquet of Talent. I am so happy to have you and your awesome projects. HUGS

Unknown said...

This is awesome! Would love if if you linked up on my blog hop www.w-t-fab.com/search/label/bloghop. Also let me know if you'd like to follow each other!

heather @ new house, new home, new life said...

Spooky! I'm featuring it at the All Star Block Party - head on over and grab your button.