So Here's My Life

The things we make,
the food we eat and
the shenanigans in between.

A blog about making things by
MICHELLE SEXTON

Thursday, October 10, 2013

Eyeball Candle Holder Jars

I'm not a huge fan of Halloween. I don't like creepy things, but Mac has 3 Halloween shirts. And we made this eyeball jar the other day. So, maybe I am contradicting myself? Perhaps.

Eyeball Jars on display from a preschool project

A couple of days ago, Mac and I made eyeball candle holder jars. They were pretty fun. Other than getting his fingers sticky, he loved making them. It's a quick and easy project for a four-year old. And it uses lots of eyeballs. How cool is that?

After Mac finished his eyeball jar, he proudly carried it around the house for the next couple of days (without a candle, of course). He was disappointed when I told him he couldn't drink out of it. He also repeatedly showed his younger brother, "Look! An eyeball jar!" Cheese had no idea what he was looking at. Mac was even planning on taking it to school for Show 'N Tell, but changed his mind at the last minute.

Anyway, this was fun for the both of us to do. And here's how we did it:

Supplies needed:
- jar
- orange tissue paper
- Mod Podge
- sponge brush
- a package of wiggle eyes

tissue paper crumpling by a preschooler
Start by crumpling your tissue paper to give a wrinkled look.

preschooler tearing tissue paper
Tear the tissue paper into strips. Ours were about 6 inches long and 1 inch wide.

preschooler painting glue
Using the sponge brush and the Mod Podge, cover approximately 1/4 of the jar.

preschool child adding tissue paper
Press the tissue paper strips on top of the wet Mod Podge. Continue painting Mod Podge in sections and covering with tissue paper until the entire jar is covered.

child adding glue
Once the jar is covered, do a second coat of Mod Podge, and cover with an additional layer of tissue paper. Continue with the second coat until the entire jar is covered.

child adding eyes to a jar
Paint a section of the jar with Mod Podge, and stick on the wiggle eyes however your heart desires.

preschool boy admiring craft
Once you have finished sticking on the eyes, allow to dry for about 10 minutes or so. (It doesn't need to be completely dry). Paint one more coat of Mod Podge over the entire jar including the eyes. Be sure to paint in the crevices between the eyes to keep them from falling off after it dries. Allow it to dry for several hours.

Eyeball jars with candles
 A couple of tips:
-When painting over the eyes, make sure to use long brush strokes instead of blotting on the Mod Podge. Blotting creates tiny bubbles that will dry in the Mod Podge, which create a whitish film over the eyes.
-Instead of tearing strips of tissue paper, consider tearing tissue paper into 1 inch squares. This will probably be a little easier to arrange on the jar. I didn't think about this until after we finished.

glowing eyeball jars for Halloween


Keeping It Simple


nap-time creations

4 comments:

Unknown said...

Super cute! Looks like your son had a great time making his project. Thanks for sharing your ideas! :)

Jill said...

These jars are so cool! What a great project to do with kids too - love it!
Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
Hope you have a fabulous week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success
http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

Kaysi @ Keeping it Simple said...

These are so much fun!! I'm featuring them on MMM this weekend

Emily Thompson said...

super cute! I love projects that kids can do to, but they still look like something I want in my house {ha!} You've been featured on Nap-Time Creations! Come on over and check it out. Grab a featured button if you don't already have one. I spread the word around social media, please reshare the posts too!!