Night Lights
 Create a spooky-themed lampshade. |
Send
the children to bed with Halloween visions of flying witches, ghosts,
moons, bats, and cats in their heads by making festive lampshade covers
that can be removed after the holiday.
- Lay a large sheet of
heavy black or navy construction paper on clear adhesive paper. Smooth
out any wrinkles. Lay the lampshade on its side at the bottom right
corner of a sheet of newspaper or butcher paper to make your template.
Use a pencil to make a small mark on the lampshade where it first meets
the paper; mark both the top and bottom of the shade.
- Slowly
roll the lampshade toward the left, and use the pencil to trace the
bottom path of the shade as you roll it. Continue rolling the shade
until it has made a complete revolution, then roll the shade and add
another inch for overlap.
- Roll the shade back to its starting
point. Slowly roll the shade to the left again, this time using the top
of the shade as a guide as you drag a pencil along the paper. If your
shade is a cone shape, you will have a wide smile shape on the paper.
If it is a cylinder, you will have a large rectangle shape.
- Trace pictures of your favorite Halloween scenes. Cut out the shape, and then use a craft knife to carefully cut out Halloween figures you want the light to shine through. Finally, wrap the paper around your lampshade with the construction paper facing out. Use clear tape to secure the seam. For extra fun, glue rickrack along the top and bottom of the shade.
For another way to set a spooky mood with lighting, try the Creepy Candles Halloween decoration project on the next page.
Want to scare up more fun Halloween ideas? Try these:
- Halloween Crafts: Not done being creative? These are great do-it-yourself projects for Halloween, from trick-or-treat boxes to candy jewelry.
- Kids' Halloween Costumes: Try on our unique costume ideas for your ghosts and goblins.
- Halloween Masks: Want an easy way to dress up for Halloween? Try a mask instead of a costume. Check out our selection of monstrous masks.
- Halloween Games: Play more than 20 spooktacular games to entertain kids and adults alike.
- Halloween Recipes: Learn how to make dozens of bewitching Halloween treats.
- How Halloween Works: Traces the popular holiday’s Celtic roots to American traditions celebrated today.
