Mummy Jar Candle Holder

This first Halloween project is really easy. After looking at pictures on Wednesday to get ideas I found some mummy jars and love the look of them. (I know it’s Sept. 30 but it’s never too soon to start making Halloween decorations)

All you need is a glass jar, cheesecloth, white glue or ModPodge, either wiggly eyes or acrylic paint in black and white. You need a paper plate, (one of those coated ones that won’t absorb the glue).  I used ModPodge that I had added a little water to. It’s very thick and sticky so I wanted it to be a little bit lighter.

Wash your glass jar and remove the label. It won’t matter if some of the label glue remains because it will be covered.

I only made one, for now, because I only had one jar. But I will probably make more before Halloween. They are so cute. My jar is a smaller one so it took less cheesecloth. A large jar will need more. So cut pieces as you need them.

For the eyes you can buy some of those wiggly eyes. I didn’t have any and couldn’t get to town so I improvised. I took my black paint and poured two round dots the size I wanted of the eyes. Then I let it dry. I did a second layer since it was too thin with just one. Once it was just about dry I added small white dots in the center and let that dry.

 

Cut the cheesecloth into pieces about one foot long (or about the circumference of the jar) and about four inches wide. Pour some glue on a scrunched up piece of cloth and mush it around until you get it completely soaked, but not drippy. Squeeze out any excess into the glue bottle so the cloth isn’t dripping as you put it on the jar.

Starting at the bottom of the jar, wrap the cheesecloth around and adjust it as you work. You want it to look like bandages but you don’t want it so thick that the candle light won’t show through. As you wrap it around the jar let some ridges show, don’t make it smooth. It should be rough and unkempt looking. After all, it is supposed to be a mummy that is thousands of years old. I only used four strips of cheesecloth.

For the eyes you can either, let the cloth dry and glue the eyes on, or you can glue them in as you wrap. I decided to put them in as I wrapped the cloth so they would lay under the edge of the last (top) layer and look scarier.

Work your way up the jar wrapping and adjusting. When you get to the top of the jar bring the cheesecloth just over the edge but not into the inside of the jar. You don’t want the heat from the candle singeing the edges of your cheesecloth. Leave this to dry overnight. It will most likely take that long for the glue to dry completely.

If you are using the wiggle eyes you can glue them now. You can use white glue but I recommend either E6000, Craft Goop, or a hot glue gun. If you use white glue you will have to lay the jar on its side to keep the eyes from slipping until the glue dries.

This is a messy project. You will get glue on your hands and your work surface. But it’s fun and the kids will love it. It only took me about fifteen minutes to complete it. So making a bunch of them would only take a couple hours. This would be great for a rainy afternoon project. Though the moisture in the air might make the glue take longer to dry. But that just allows longer working time.

You could line your walk with them or put them into your windows. These would be great along the center of a table for a party.

Another idea would be to wrap wire around the rim before you put on the cheesecloth. Create a wire handle that lets you hang the mummy from a tree branch. It would look really cool with a bunch of them. You could let a piece of the cloth wrap up one side of the wire and look like he is coming unwrapped.

Til next time. J

Terri

Just added to my Etsy shop, fabric wrist cuffs and some new jewelry pieces.  www.etsy.com/shop/1krazyrtist  New items every week