Pumpkin and Spice

Okay, Halloween is tomorrow, and Iamsofreakingexcited! Gah! Kyle and I are having a Halloween party, but it's not until Saturday, which is okay, because November 1st is Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), which is equally creepy, and also involves candy and costumes.

This week, I've been prepping for the party on Saturday. Part of my plan for the decor was to make creepy candle-holders out of old wine bottles. It was super-easy, and the results were great. I made spooky labels on the computer, aged them and pasted them over the old labels. I know it's not edible, but it's spooky and fun, so here's the how-to...

Scary Candle-holders

You will need:

• Empty wine bottles (as many as you want candle holders. I tried to find ones in different shapes so that the bottles all looked like they came from different places.)
• Parchment printer paper (available in packs at office stores.)
• A printer, preferably color
• Some very strong, black coffee
• Red food dye
• A candle
• Rubber cement
• Scissors (I also used scrapbooking scissors that make things look torn, but of course, you could actually tear things.)
• As many taper candles as you have bottles

Using your word processor, type up labels. Figure that you can get two labels per sheet. For mine, I went on-line and downloaded some creepy fonts- several blotchy caligraphy fonts and a couple vintage typewriter fonts. You can find tons of sites with free font downloads, as well as directions on installing the fonts on your computer. You can also look up free clip art for your bottles- I used a skull and a creepy zombie picture for mine. Be creative with your labels. Here's what mine said (feel free to steal them, if you like...) In fact, if you're really interested, e-mail me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , and I'll send them to you!

• Elixir of Nightmares
• Draught of the Black Death
• Embalming Fluid
• From the Laboratory of Dr. Henry Jekyll: October 31, 1889. Experimental Potion Formula #13
• Vampire Blood. Do Not Expose to Sunlight.
• Zombie Anti-Venom
• Arsenic
• Tears of the Damned

Print them on the parchment, and cut them out. Lay them out and splatter  and drip them with the coffee. When it dries, it gives an old, stained effect. Keep in mind that the coffee will make the ink run- it makes for a good effect, but if it runs too much, you won't be able to read the labels.

If desired, put some red food dye on your fingers and smear some of the labels (I did this for the embalming fluid) or drip dye for a blood splatter effect (I did this for the vampire blood.)  The smear of blood gives the impression of someone with bloody hands grabbing the bottle, whereas the drips make it seem like some blood got spilled in the bottling process, perhaps.

You can also use a candle to carefully burn the edges of some of the labels. Do it in the sink next to a fire extinguisher being held by a firefighter. Oh, god, don't burn your house down and blame it on me... Be smart.

Once your labels are done, use the rubber cement and glue 'em to the bottles. Allow to dry, and insert taper candles. Light them, and enjoy the creepy ambiance. oooooohhhh.... scaaaaarrrry!

(You could also skip the candles and do this to full wine bottles- it'd be super fun for you Halloween party bar!)