Perusing the Halloween aisles at Target, I chanced upon these cool, lenticular skull (with bead curtain) placemats for only $1.99 a piece. Initially, I swooped up about a dozen of them thinking that I could magically transform our dining table to accommodate twelve seatings — from four. But, as I continued with the rest of my shopping, I very slowly began to be overcome with the unforgivable sin of buyer’s remorse. One by one, I abandoned each placemat; setting it atop a random shelf of every aisle I passed — not once daring to look back — until I was left with only two at the checkout stand.

Back home with my spooky purchase, my aversion to most things plastic overtook me. I came to the self-admission that I would never really use these mats to catch crumbs or spills from a place setting. As I was rolling them up to be put back into the white and red shopping bag, I came up with the idea of turning them into Halloween lanterns.

What you need:

  • 2 placemats
  • 1 roll Scotch tape
  • 2 plain Jesus candles

What you do:

  • Tear off two 3″ pieces of Scotch tape and stick to the edge of a flat surface.
  • Roll up one placemat, leaving a 1″ overlap.
  • Secure the top overlap by affixing one of the 3″ pieces of Scotch tape (outside, over the top and inside the overlap)
  • Repeat for the bottom overlap.
  • Take a 6″ piece of Scotch tape and tape over the outer seam.
  • Repeat for the inner seam.
  • Light your Jesus Candle and place the rolled up placemat over it.
  • Repeat all of the above for the second placemat.

Voila! Halloween Skull Lanterns!

If you like what we do for Fullerton, please show your support. Any donation amount helps us to continue publishing our beautiful articles and promoting the community through social media and other avenues.

publisher | advertising
corky nepomuceno has 48 post(s) on Fullerton Foundry