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:

X-Ray Skull Watch by iGottaCreate

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 1: Welcome to the Creepy Craftorium 

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 Crafty, I Should Be Mopping The Floor, Making Monday Marvelous, Brassy Apple, Craftomaniac, Alderberry Hill, Under the Table & Dreaming, Making the World Cuter ; Monday: Skip to my Lou, Cherished Bliss, Sugar Bee Crafts, Tip Junkie's Tip Me Tuesday; Tuesday: Not Just a Housewife, Carolyn's Homework, Elizabeth & Co., The DIY Dreamer,  Savvy Southern Style, What we Wore & Made, Uncommon, Gingersnap Crafts, The NY Melrose Family, Today's Creative Blog ; Wednesday: I Gotta Create!, Uncommon, All Star Block Party, The 36th Avenue, Live-Laugh-Rowe, Handy Man Crafty Woman, The Trendy Treehouse ; Thursday: Scissors & Spatulas, My Repurposed Life, Frugal Girls, Shabby Nest,  Romantic Home, French County Cottage, Stuff & Nonsense ; Friday: Funky Junk Interiors, Happy Hour, Anything Goes, Finding Fabulous, My Simple Home Life, Tatertots & Jello, Thirty Handmade Days, One Creative Mommy ; Saturday: Be Different Act Normal, A Bouquet of Talent, Tutus & Tea Parties, Six Sisters Stuff, Sew Country Chick, DIY Showoff, Positively Splendid , Nifty Thrifty Things}


Join me Wednesdays at 7pm CST for
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