Spooky Halloween Lights- Spider Jars

For our last spooky light project we're making spider jars based off these. I know, I said that I was done with the fake spider web stuff for a while after the drama with the cages, but this was hard to pass up. For one, it's a much smaller amount of spider web, but it's also actually glued to the jar, which looks easier than what I did last time. Because this involved spiders, of course my daughter wanted to help. Honestly, I picked this with her in mind and I was going to ask for her help anyway, but she enthusiastically volunteered herself the second she saw those plastic spiders.

Supplies

-Mason Jars

-Nail polish, black and orange

-Flameless tea lights

-Fake spiders

-Spider web

-Glue stick

-Deep container for dipping

When I first decided to make spider jars I was all ready to use my can of black spray paint to blacken the tops of the mason jars, that thing has been a part of almost every project so far, but actually this one uses nail polish. I've seen pictures of this, where you float nail polish on some water and dip something in it to cover it in a super thin layer of paint, but I've never had the chance to try it. I have already decided that nail polish is definitely getting its own week once the holidays are over.

Use a container that you don't mind getting paint on. I used a plastic food storage container and after two washes it still has a little black on the sides. Fill whatever it is that you're using about halfway with water. Not sure if temperature matters, but mine was room temp. Drizzle a thin layer of black nail polish on the water, trying to keep it off of the edges, since so much of the paint sticks. I also added a few drops of a sparkly orange nail polish I have. Dip the lid and the base of the Mason jar I to the water, coming up maybe about an inch on the sides. If an area didn't get any paint you can dip it again, but too many dips will mess with the pattern.

For the first one, I used a toothpick to make a swirly pattern in the paint. The pattern on the lid was pretty, but a lot of the paint stuck to the toothpick, so I would suggest swirling as little as needed to get the pattern you want. For the others, I just dipped them in the paint without the swirls to see what they would look like. Still looked good, but not quite as pretty as the first one. At the same time though, this is supposed to be a spooky spider jar and we're not necessarily going for pretty.

Give them at least an hour to dry, and be sure to flip them over after the top is completely dry so that the bottom can dry off too. It's time to add the spider web. Cut or tear off a long, thin piece of web. Using a glue stick, apply a swirl of glue around your mason jar. Place the web over the glue, stretching it as thinly as you can. Open up the jar and place your tea light inside, along with a few plastic spiders and a few small pieces of web for the spiders to crawl in.

My daughter is using this as a night light in her room. I don't know how many other kids would enjoy a spider night light, but at least you know it's an option. This is another one of those projects that seems to be really hard to get wrong, and sometimes you really need crafts like that. And I know I will be trying out more of this nail polish art. I haven't painted my own nails in years, but I do have several bottles of various dollar store polish. I imagine you can get some really neat patterns if you use more colors than just black.

Next week is my final week of Halloween crafts. This time we'll be focusing on kids crafts, and I got to borrow a few of my nieces and nephews to help me out.