Day of the Dead Luminaries with Sugar Skull Style

Do you love Day of the Dead crafts? Use napkins to create these unique decorative luminaries! So fun for Halloween and beyond.

Hi, it’s David from Cheltenham Road.

I seem to have started a Halloween tradition of coming up with quick, easy, spooky Halloween candle holders, luminaries, and lanterns.

I’m not totally sure anyone was desperate for me to start this tradition but I did nonetheless, so I’d like to welcome you to the “creepy candle holder tutorial.” You can use this method to decorate any candle holders for the holiday.

I kept coming across skulls and Day of the Dead crafts and decor at the craft store, so I thought I’d give it a shot using some inexpensive napkins, some jars from the dollar store, spray paint, and Matte Mod Podge.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This design is for use with electric/battery operated tea lights only. 

Here is what I used for these Day of the Dead luminaries:

Day of the Dead Luminaries

• Glass containers from the Dollar Store
• Halloween themed napkins
• Matte Mod Podge
• Spray paint or glass paint (black, red, glass-frosting)
• Painters tape
• Rag (optional, not pictured)

For variety I worked out two ways of creating these.

For some I first taped off the glass with the painters tape to create a “window” that would give the skull a bit of a glow.

After painting the jar I then immediately wrapped it in an old rag and pressed it gently into the paint for just a few seconds.

When I removed it I had a nice, textured, weathered look.For other candle jars it was a bit more straightforward. I simply masked, painted and removed the tape.

Then, while the paint dried I separated the layers of the napkins (the “ply”) to get down to the thinnest layer that showed the graphic:

For some of the images, after separating the “plys” I used my fingers to tear the edges for a nice ragged look.

For the other napkins I just used scissors and cut out the images.

To attach the images I painted on a thin layer of Matte Mod Podge onto the window area and then, very gently, laid down my napkin and smoothed it out.

With tissue/napkins you are never going to get rid of all the wrinkles and if you try too hard you’ll just tear the tissue.  In this case I think the wrinkles add to the look of the project.

After that dried, I was all done.

They look fun in regular light but . . . in the evening I think they give off a fun, sorta creepy vibe (the spiders help).

Any napkins would work with this technique or you could use regular tissue paper – there are tons of options. The jars could be painted any color as well.

I hope everyone has a great Halloween season! If you’re on the lookout for more Halloween ideas please check out my Etsy shop!

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You can use these Halloween mason jars for both lights OR candy! For more crafts you might also enjoy, check out the following posts:

• Day of the Dead Pumpkin Craft
• Mummy Halloween Luminaries in Three Easy Steps
• Make a Halloween Centerpiece in Four Simple Steps
• Spooky Halloween Candle Holders at the Last Minute!
• Halloween Mason Jar Lanterns
• Day of the Dead Luminaries Web Story