Halloween Mantel and a DIY Drippy Mantel Candelabra
I decided to dress up my mantel, and create a cool DIY Drippy Mantel Candelabra, the other project is an embossed haunted house canvas,and you can get the bat printables here!
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When I think about spooky haunted houses in movies, I always think about all of the partially burned candles. Like they were used before the everyone decided it was too haunted to stay. and they all have that drippy,melted look. I loved the idea of something running across my entire mantelscape, and hadn’t seen one that was similar to what was in my head (common problem).
This project isn’t that expensive either, and the DIY candelabra only takes a few supplies! My disclaimer:This candelabra is meant for decor only, and isn’t to be used to burn real candles. To use the candelabra, I recommend using battery operated, flameless taper candles.
Project supplies:
4 x 4 piece of lumber cut to the length of your mantel. I had mine cut at 4 feet 6 inches, because I wanted to leave some room on the ends of my mantel for spooky trees.
1″ paddle bit and drill
Multi-purpose glue
DecoArt Americana Black craft paint + brush
Eye protection
After your board is cut, measure your spacing for your candle cups.
I set them out and spaced them by eye first. I knew I wanted the first cup to be 4 inches in on each side, and then I had to divide the rest using math. Thank goodness for phones with calculators on them.
I ended up 4 inches in, and then each cup after was spaced 5.6 inches apart.
After marking, I moved my wood to the bricks outside to drill. The bit does get hot, and I wanted to make sure I was on a non-flammable surface.
I put a small piece of painters tape on my bit so I knew how far down to drill. It was easier than checking each time how deep they were.
After all of my holes were drilled, I painted the entire piece black, avoiding the inside of the holes.
After my board was dry, I glued my candle cups in with a non-flammable multi-purpose glue.
After my cups were glued in and dried, I placed my taper candles in the candle cups, and moved back to the brick patio. In a well-ventilated area on a nin-flammable surface, I used the low setting on my Wagner HT400 Heat Gun to melt the candle wax on the sides of the candles to give them a drippy look, staying away from the wick (when using the heat gun, always make sure to follow the manufacturers directions and proper operating procedures.).
When I had them as drippy as I wanted, I lit the candles, and I sat outside while sipping an iced tea, watched them while the tops burned flat, with a bucket of water near by. While It wasn’t very exciting, there was something very zen about it. But, you know, the never leave a burning candle unattended thing…
When you’re done, you have a perfectly drippy, fun piece of Halloween decor!
I paired it with a piece of haunted house canvas art, that I used embossing powder on, some spray painted branches, and paper bats.
It was such a fun way to create Halloween decor like these lace decoupaged bottles, and Jello spooky laboratory.
