Halloween Dollar Store Decor with Glowing Skull Luminary on the Mantel

Spooky decor doesn’t have to be expensive to loo good! Decorate for Halloween on the cheap and DIY it from the Dollar Store. I found some really fun plastic masks and decided to create some fun Halloween Dollar Store Decor with Glowing Skull Luminary on the Mantel. These are easy to assemble and cost a little over $3 a piece. The best part is, it uses battery operated candles or glow sticks to illuminate the skulls so it’s a little more kid-friendly and fun decor for a Halloween party.

To make this glowing and flickering, spooky mantel, you’ll need these decor and crafting supplies from the dollar store (we have a Dollar Tree by us) plastic skulls as masks, green plastic square vases ( or a large mason jar if you can’t find those), black spray paint, and battery operated candles.

To make the glowing skulls lanterns for Halloween decor, spray paint the skeleton masks with black spray paint and let dry. The trick to even coverage is laying them flat on a tarp in a well-ventilated area and giving them 1-2 coats of paint as each one dries.

Idea: These spray painted skulls can also be used to make a skull wreath, or the plastic vases can be filled with candy or treats for Halloween games like a bucket toss or party favors.

My favorite part was when I lifted the skull masks and their spray paint impressions looked so happy.

Once your painted plastic skull masks are dry, hang the mask loop over the top of the green vase. it should be snug. You may have to tie a knot in the back to make it a little tighter to the vase or jars. If you are worried about little kids, you can cut the loops and just hot glue the masks to the plastic vases so they don’t become a strangulation hazard.

Once the painted masks are on the vases, add a battery operated candle or glow stick inside and add them to your decor for an eerie touch to your DIY Halloween decorations!

I styled mine on the mantel by weaving them with a black glitter garland. I added some plastic spiders to my mirror by using removable glue dots, and a bird skeleton. Almost all of the items were dollar store finds except for the glitter garland I found in the Halloween section at Michael’s, and the spray paint I had on hand. This mantel would be so cute styled with spooky Halloween trees or fairy lights.

See: a fun Halloween mantel with spiders and grapevines

Of course if you wanted to make these more silly than spooky you can add googly eyes as eyeballs to the vase on the inside of the eye sockets ( which might be better for littles).

And if you don’t have a fireplace mantel, consider using the Halloween Dollar Store Decor with Glowing Skull Luminary as a table centerpiece, or as front porch for cheap Halloween decorations with glow sticks paired with a pumpkin or two for weather-proof decor.