DIY Halloween decor Archives • Frugal Designs and Thrifty Finds

Materials for your faux spell book:

Sturdy box that has a hinge opening

Hot glue gun and hot glue

Black paint (I used chalkboard paint)

Gold mica powder

Decorative paper for the inside

Mod Podge (or you can water down some elmer’s glue)

Several Kleenex’s

Paint brushes

Sharpie

Spell book template (download below)

How to make your faux spell book.

First, I went to Google for inspiration. I already had some cool animal skull print paper to line the inside with and that was my inspiration for the outside. After googling many different animal skulls, I decided that cows were sort of quirky, yet ominous. I then free-handed a skull on the front and then drew some mystical looking symbols around it. If you’d like you can download my pattern for free, fill out the form above and you’ll get a pdf in your email. I also wanted the book to have a title, but somehow I felt like “Spells” was too on the nose. So, I found a Runic alphabet and wrote spells, but with a little more flair.

The project started with a basic box and then became a creepy spell book. — The faux spell book began as an unassuming box and became an almighty spell casting book.

Next, I traced over everything with my hot glue gun. I did several passes to build up the glue height. One trick I often do with hot glue is to keep a little water nearby and if I need to fix something, I dip my finger in the water and then reshape the glue without burning myself. This was a trick I picked up while making my Bee Wreath.

I added some designs to the corner and little dots for extra interest.
I really built up the hot glue on the bull’s head.

After the hot glue dried, I got out the Mod Podge and Kleenex. It turns out that my tissue actually consisted of three layers. So, I started by separating the layers to get three very thin sheets of tissue. Next, I dabbed some mod podge glue on the box so that the tissue would stay in place when I put it down. Lastly, I went over the whole tissue with Mod Podge, making sure that it really tucked around all of the hot glue and that the details showed clearly. After I covered the front, sides, and back I allowed the box to fully dry for 24 hours.

Before adding the Mod Podge to the top, I secured it with a few dabs of glue.
Here is what it looked like after the tissue dried and before painting it.

The next step was pretty satisfying. I painted over everything with black chalkboard paint. I did leave the edges of the “book” white. After the outside was dry to the touch (1-2 hours), I painted the inside walls black as well. This helped to give the inside a more finished look.

I put tissue on the back as well. This gave a nice leathery look when I painted over it.
Here is the completely painted spell book before adding the mica powder.

Once the paint was totally dry (I waited 24 hours), I used my finger to rub some mica powder over all of the raised parts. This was literally the most satisfying part, because it created instant gratification. The box looked so good after the mica powder was added.

Spell book with the mica powder added — The mica powder really transformed the book and gave it a slightly regal, yet worn look.

Optional: Line the inside with decorative paper

I wanted to cover the graphics on the inside of my box with my super-rad animal skull paper (the paper came from www.pepinpress.com—they have amazing stuff). I added the paper to the inside front cover and the back. My original plan was to line the sides too, but painting the sides black ended up being much easier. In order to attach the paper, I coated the surface with Mod Podge and then tried to smooth the paper down from top to bottom to avoid bubbles. Then I covered the top and edges really well with more Mod Podge. It ended up with a few wrinkles, but they add a little character.

The faux book with the “spell” casting materials — My faux spell book hides all of my secret “spell” casting supplies.

Looking for other spooky DIYs? Check out our bleeding candles and skull chandelier.

Every practitioner of the dark arts needs ritual candles. When I saw these bleeding candles online I thought they were so cool. But, I didn’t think they were $15 – $30 cool. Also, they only came in white and I thought they’d look much better in black. I knew this would be an easy project that would let me upcycle thrift store candles for much less.

Two bleeding candles cost anywhere from $15 to $30 online.

You’ll need:

Black candles, as many as you want to make (optional use white or other colored candles if you prefer)
Red candle, the darker red the better, the dripped wax will be lighter than the source candle, so keep that in mind when selecting your red candle (or get several red candles and experiment).
A lighter
Scissors or box cutter (optional)
Waxed paper or newspaper
Candle holders (optional – but you’ll eventually need them), or a box or something you can poke a hole in to hold the candles while you work.

Inexpensive thrift store candles ready for upcycling into fabulous bleeding candles.

Make it:

I bought my candles at thrift stores, because I didn’t care if they were dinged up, I think it adds to the aged character I was aiming for. Also, they are super inexpensive and I was able to get a whole bunch of candles for less than $5.00.

A cautionary tale: I was so anxious to start, I grabbed the nearest candle holders. They look like they’ve survived a massacre and I dread trying to get all that wax off.

Prepare your work surface. This is the the step I always forget because I’m excited to just dive right into the project. I highly recommend at least putting down some newspaper or other covering because the red dye in the candle wax can stain some surfaces.

If you are using candle holders that you don’t want to have wax dripped on, cover them with a paper towel, wax paper or newspaper before you put the candle in. You can also just cut a small cross into a box to insert the candle into while working. If you’re using a temporary holder but want to keep the puddled wax at the bottom when you transfer the candle to the final holder, line the temporary holder with waxed paper.

Cut carefully so that you don’t cut through the wick.

Trim your Candles. The next step is to determine how tall you want your candles. I wanted the candles to look like a practitioner of the dark arts has used them in many a ceremony. They were too tall and sprightly to have seen so much sorrow, so I cut them off shorter (also, I was too impatient to wait for them to burn down). You can trim them at the bottom if you like, but if you go that route, make sure you trim at at spot before the candle tapers, so it’s not loose in your holder.

With tapers, it is better to trim from the top, for a more authentic look and so they don’t wobble in the holder. Using old craft scissors, a box cutter, or the strength of your bare hands, cut into (or break) the wax using care not to cut all the way through the wick. After the wax crumbles away from the wick, pull it up to expose the wick and cut it approximately 1/4 to 1/2 an inch above the top the shortened candle (you can always trim it later). I didn’t worry about making the cuts even, or the same height, since I was going for an aged look.

Burn down the top. The idea is to make it look like the candles bled while burning. With this is in mind, whether you’re starting with a fresh pristine candle, or one you’ve trimmed, you will want to burn down the new top, or broken edges, before you start dripping the red wax on. Light the candle and let it burn until the top is melted enough to look used. Once you get it to where you want it, blow out the candle.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_0649-a.jpg — Building up layers will make it look like the candle has been well used in your rituals. Pause often to observe your progress, turn the candle, and adjust your drips.

The fun part! This is the best part – just don’t forget in all of your excitement to use caution while handling the lit candles. Fire and hot wax burn people and things. We only want the illusion of bleeding; real bleeding and sacrifice are not required.

Light the red candle, holding it upright a few seconds to get a good melt started. Start dripping the red wax on the top of the black candle. How long you do this, and how much you build up, is a matter of personal preference. I think I might have overdone it just a little on a couple of mine because it was simply too much fun! Build it up until it looks right to you, dripping it down different areas. Drips will tend to gather on top of each other and build up, so play with it until you get the look you want.

Once you like how it looks, light the black candle and extinguish the red one. Let the black candle burn a minute or so to burn off any wax that dripped onto the wick and to develop the proper texture on top for a candle that’s seen many a ritual.

There’s a lot of wax build-up on top, but just look at all of the beautiful dripping “blood”.

Decorate!

Put these candles in a candle holder and place them on your mantel, your buffet, your table, your alter, wherever you perform your sacrifices. I don’t light them, because they will not “bleed” as they burn, but I think they give an appropriately spooky feel to my Halloween Mansion. Happy Haunting!

These go beautifully in a formerly tacky plastic sconce that I painted black for Halloween.

These would also look great in a spooky Candlelier or Candelabra. Looking for other spooky DIYs? Check out our Spooky Chandelier and our Faux Spell Book.