Upcycled Jumbo Halloween Candle 🕯️

 

While the paint dried on a forthcoming DIY for Search Magazine, I was inspired to re-purpose these empty wipes containers as a jumbo Halloween candle. As you do! She thicccck.

I've done toilet paper rolls and paper towel tubes several times in my Halloween Candle Clusters and Mock Dark Shadows Sconces. However, the broken lid on one of these empty canisters made me realize it too could hold a sunken LED battery candle and become a bigger faux candle pillar. I broke the lid the rest of the way and hot glued it in place as the tea light shelf before using a lot of glue sticks to go around and around for my decorative a la wax candle drips. But I had two empty wipes containers meant for the recycling bin so why not put them together for one comically large eerie candle? More hot glue bound the canisters together before a band of masking tape and then more hot glue drips. I had fun making sure there were a few glue lines that realistically went all the way down my giant candle. Clumping all the glue around the top to hide the tea light also made the container surprisingly sturdy. Girl's got a lot of nooks and crannies!

Finally it was time to paint my candle first with orange and yellow washes for complete coverage in all the gnarly glue spots. These darker colors help hide the original canister designs but also highlight all the hot glue relief drips. Next came several finishing coats of white acrylic mixed with a glitter gold paint to achieve my desired ye olde patina. The little LED candle received a coat to match, too. However the label on the cheap Wal-Mart wipes mixed with the glitter paint led to a somewhat rippled and almost crackled effect in some spots on the pillar. Fortunately, this is splendidly fitting for my Halloween candle! Really the toughest thing on this impromptu project was waiting for the drying times in between coats. Obviously a real candle holder might require some sand in the base or a sturdy pole through the containers but the possibilities are endless!

Previously I also used Pringles cans for my FauxCandy Cane Candles, and at this point, any item in the recycle bin is fair game! My husband has caught me mulling over a few things before insisting it all goes out in the bin. This is another quick and silly write up, I know. Hot glue candle drip videos are a dime a dozen on Pinterest. However anyone can make this chonky piece for their haunted house décor, Halloween table center piece, or for the little ghoul's trick or treat flashlight. It's gothic and unique for pennies on the dollar.

I wish there was another place to post photo projects beyond meta but you can see more progress photos on Facebook or follow Kbatz Krafts on Blue Sky and Instagram. Visit the Kbatz Krafts Archive for more Halloween adventures including: 

Halloween Shoe Wreath

Cardboard Halloween Banner

Autumn Chandelier for Search Magazine

Another Halloween Dress

DIY Happenings at Search Magazine!

 

It's wild to realize that my Legacy of Sewing piece was so long ago in the Winter 2025 issue of Search Magazine! 2026 has been a tough year but there were plenty of DIY, outdoor, and television happenings from Yours Truly at Search!

A normal person doing a composting piece probably would have taken simple day increments of a decomposing banana. I am not that person and my Easy Composting DIY in the Mother Nature Summer Issue of Search features my bemusing and gory composting photography to entice the kiddles interested in gross things! Fortunately the Hidden Gems issue offered my much more pleasant Stargazing 101 Tips alongside my retrospective television feature on my favorite show Blake's 7.

Fitting for Fall, my current DIY column in the #EverydayMagic issue of Search Magazine is on Jewelry Making Basics. You can bling yourself out this holiday season because why not?

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For the latest Kbatz Krafts news, join me on Blue Sky or re-visit more Search adventures in the Kbatz Krafts Archive including: 

DIY Vintage Trunk

Luxury Looks with Thrift Florals

Antiquing on a Budget

Ollie's Fabric Haul & Thrift Halloween Finds! 🎃

Feeling good so Kristin Battestella aka Kbatz headed to a newly opened Ollie's for a leftover Joann Fabrics boon followed by some Halloween scores at the thrift store! 🎃

Thank you for watching! Peruse the Sewing and Thrifting Playlist for previous Joann Hauls.

Follow me on Blue Sky for the latest crafting and sewing adventures or visit Facebook or Instagram for more project photos. You can browse the entire Kbatz Krafts Archive for more including: 

Black and White and Red Polka DotDress

The Cheap Elsa Costume

Drab to Glam Lampshades

DIY Halloween Orbs

Legacy of Sewing for Search Magazine

Jewelry Making for Search Magazine

Dilemmas in Orange? 🎃

 

My quest for the perfect orange blouse knows no end! These thrift find tops vary in style, material, and even shade of orange but do they meet the autumn grade?

Each of these shirts came from either the Salvation Army store or local Goodwills and cost between $5 and $8. They were all bought separately, so the rainbow between bright orange, yellow orange, tomato orange, and salmon peach was amusing to see together.

First this Old Navy scoop top is a little too lightweight in material. The high cut sides are also tough to style with my problem gut. Fortunately, it's a great shade of true Halloween orange, and the thin cotton is great to layer underneath an open black sweater with an Autumnity Brooch or two.

Next is a poofy sleeve blouse unfortunately more in the salmon peach spectrum and not a rich orange. This material is a little heavier but the hem is the right length sitting at the natural waist. The puffy sleeves, however, mean it's tough to layer this blouse but the flouncy style can either dress up my black jeans or match a frilly black skirt. Wearing this with my Polka Dot Scrap Skirt though would be far too twee.

This high collared New York and Company blouse on the other hand may really only work with a similar sheer black skirt. The color is vivid and lightweight with the ruffled cap sleeve suggesting warmer weather wear even though this is for Fall. The high neckline, however, makes it seem a little too formal, and it would be tough to wear my Black Bobble Jewelry with this top.

Of course this electric orange epic long sleeve blouse certainly stands out in a crowd! The hemline feels a little too short and this light, very easy to wrinkle material needs lots of ironing. Maybe the big sleeves could also use a starch to hold their shape? Depending on the occasion, this could be too over the top with black jeans but a dramatic skirt could also look too costumey. Perhaps plain black pants and one of my long black vests can tone down and compliment the sleeves.

And finally in our orange experiment is this bemusing poncho. There is a cotton blend tank top underneath the sheer drape, and initially, I was tempted to separate them. Unfortunately, removing the direct stitching around the entire neckline would be too difficult to repair. The super long tank, however, confuses me, for tucking it in creates bulk exactly where I don't want it. Thankfully, turning up the hem so its in line with the poncho looks adorable! I'm looking forward to styling this casually with pants or going dramatic with a big skirt after a pinking shears trim and some hem tape in another Easy Thrift Fix Alteration.

None of these is totally ideal. Is there no perfect orange shirt out there? Maybe not. However the pros and cons here in material, color, and style will help me Frankenstein my own custom orange blouse. I kind of want a piece of each of these in one glorious top! How orange is too orange? Is there any such thing?

Visit Kbatz Krafts on Blue Sky for more gothic fashion wears or follow us on Facebook or Instagram for project photos. Browse the Kbatz Krafts Archive for more orange sewing including: 

Orange Tablecloth Skirt

Black and Orange Polka Dot Apron

The Lemon Dress

Jaunty Autumn Hat

And of course, AFTER I had this post scheduled, I found another Old Navy orange top for $4 at Goodwill. This is more fitted with a natural waist but again lightweight so the quest continues!