Dollar Tree Halloween DIY: Skeleton Candle Holders

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 These Skeleton Candle Holders are the ultimate Dollar Tree Halloween DIY.  With just a couple of items from the dollar store and some spray paint, you can make modern Halloween decor in whatever color combination you like! These copper skeleton hands would look amazing on your mantle, shelf or tabletop.

I find my local dollar store is a treasure trove of inspiration for Halloween crafts. I love browsing the aisles and coming up with ideas on the spot. With everything being so cheap, I can afford to buy extras to play around with different projects at home. These skeleton hands from Dollar Tree have been on my mind for a few years. I’ve wanted to make something that used them but I didn’t want to do something I’d see before, such as making a skeleton hands wreath. I passed the candle section and saw these glass votives, I knew I wanted to make skeleton candle holders!

Dollar Tree Halloween DIY Materials

To make this fun Dollar Tree Halloween DIY, you’ll need the following items:

• plastic skeleton hands (Dollar Tree)
• glass votive holders (Dollar Tree)
• LED tealight candles (Dollar Tree, Walmart or other big box retailer)
• metallic spray paint
• black spray paint
• glue gun

I bought these glass votive holders that are four inches tall for this project from Dollar Tree but they have other options that would work. Just make sure they are tall enough to handle the large plastic skeleton hands.(I do recommend washing each glass votive and fully drying before starting.

How to Make Skeleton Candle Holders

To make these metallic Halloween candle holders, you’ll want to start off by spray painting your items in a well ventilated area. I took mine outside on a warm but not humid day.  I used black spray paint on the glass votive holders, and I do think that is ideal for this look and to make the metallic hands pop.  A dark gray might also look really cool.  I didn’t go for full coverage on my black spray paint. I decided to leave spots where it was only partially covered so that it had a more spooky feel and so that some of the light from the LED tealight candle could filter through. Be sure to follow the instructions on your spray paint can for dry times.

Spray Painting Dollar Tree Halloween Decor

For spray paint, I wanted my skeleton hands to be unique so I went for a shiny copper, but so many colors would look amazing. Try other metallic colors like silver, gold or rose gold. Traditional white would pop or go extra bold and use a neon color!

I found that a bamboo skewer in the bottom of the plastic skeleton hand fit perfectly! I inserted it into a glass coke bottom to keep them upright, but you could also just lay them flat and give them more time to dry on each side. Keeping them upright does make spray painting and drying easier however.  I waited several hours before moving any of my spray painted items and then didn’t handle for more than 24 hours.

How to Attach Skeleton Hands to Candle Holders

Once all your items have dried, it is time to attach your skeleton hands to your candle holders. Using a hot glue gun, attach skeleton hands (facing up) to side of the glass votive, holding firm for 30 seconds. It works best to add the glue to the hands themselves, making sure to test which parts hit the side of the votive when flat against it. This was near the bottom and the top of the palm for mine. If you have any imperfections or full coverage with your spray paint on your glass votive, I recommend placing your hands there.  It works best to have less coverage on the sides of your votive so the LED tealight candle can shine through.

Note: Be careful when determining placement as moving your copper skeleton hands over the candle holders can cause some of the copper paint to transfer. This happened to me and I chose to cover that spot with the hands.

I used these Halloween themed LED tealight candles from Walmart that I already had on hand but you could use any LED tealight candle you have at home or those from Dollar Tree as well. I like that the base is black and that the color of the light is perfect for Halloween. I just love how well the light filters through the side of these votive holders.

I love how this Dollar Tree Halloween DIY turned out and can’t wait to finish my mantle display with these skeleton candle holders featured front and center.  I made several fun dollar store crafts and will share more with you soon. Looking for more dollar store Halloween ideas? Check out this dollar store sugar skull craft I featured last year!