d*s reader evita smith of the happy heathen sent over this beautiful halloween diy project inspired by the silhouettes of carew rice. i’m usually not a fan of halloween decor (i don’t like orange and black together for some reason) but these manage to look holiday-appropriate and sophisticated, so i’m sold! thanks so much to evita for sharing her clever halloween crafts with us!
CLICK HERE for the full project after the jump!
To me, nothing is more quintessentially ‘Lowcountry’ in art form than the silhouettes of Carew Rice. He also influenced the design we did for the invitations from our recent wedding. This project was started as an attempt to recreate and share our beloved vintage Carew tumblers that we use as candleholders during the holiday season. And by holiday season, I mean we kick it off with Halloween!
Materials needed:
Glass Votive – the one used for this project is about 7.5″x3.5″
Tea Light
Inkjet White Vellum
Glue Stick
Tape
Ruler
X-acto and or Rotary Blade Cutter
Scissors
Cutting Mat
Clip art, your mad design skills, or the .png files provided below:
-Outline template
-Pre-made Template
-Solid Template
If you are starting from scratch:
Even the straightest glass votive will have tiny taper. Cut a piece of vellum about 8″x5″. Tape one edge to the glass and wrap around, tapping the other end. It will overlap and that’s ok. Trim the top and bottom edges and then cut a straight line from top to bottom where the two ends overlap. That will be your template. I traced the template on to another piece of vellum to get the grading measurements. I then created a mask with a border in Photoshop.
Design
Create your design or use the template provided. I find that merging layers while keeping the background transparent is fastest for printing. If you are using the templated version be sure that you make a new document to the size needed for your glass dimensions and then drag the image into the new file and adjust the size, if needed. Send your picture to print and follow the print instructions provided with the vellum. The Staples version we bought said to use the premium transparency setting. Print the image and allow it to dry.
Construction
Cut along the lines with either your X-acto or rotary blade. Turn the image over and apply a line of glue using the glue stick along the edge. Turn it back over and press it on the glass, using a small piece of tape too keep it stationary. Apply another line of glue to the other end of the vellum and wrap it around the glass to so that it meets edge to edge. I will sometimes use a large coated paperclip to keep the vellum stable before I apply the glue. Gently pull the tape back, press the edge down and replace the tape so that it is covering both edges.
Once the glue has set you can take off the tape and you’re ready to drop in a tea light and illuminate!
Have fun and enjoy!
CLICK HERE for more images and information from Evita!
