ghost tealight holders

I've recently rediscovered the magic of modelling clay and it really is just so much fun. There is so much you can do with it! I originally was going to make little ghost trinket dishes but then thought tealight holders would be more fitting for Halloween. They make great centrepieces for a dinner table, especially if you add in some creepy crawlers. You can find the stencils that I used down below in the supplies list but feel free to draw your own!



Ghost Tealight Holders

Supplies:
air hardening modelling clay (you can also use oven-bake clay to speed up the process!)
clay rolling pin or glass bottle
knife
printable stencil (download here)
bowl
tealight candle
pencil with eraser end
fine sandpaper
paint brush
white acrylic paint
gloss varnish

Instructions:
1. Take a fist-sized ball of clay and roll out using a rolling pin or glass bottle until it's 1/8" thick.
2. Cut out your stencils and place one on top of the clay. You can flip the stencils over if you want to make a couple in different orientations.
3. Using your knife, cut the ghosts out of the clay.
4. Dab your finger in water and smooth out the edges and surface.
5. Take the eraser end of your pencil and indent two circles for eyes.
6. Place the ghost in the bowl and lightly press in so you get a slight curve in the clay.
7. Take your tealight candle and press the bottom in the middle of the ghost.
8. Let the clay dry overnight or up to 24 hours and then carefully remove from the bowl. It won't be completely dry at this point but you want it out of the bowl so it will dry faster. Let it fully dry for another day. (If it's taking too long, you can always finish it up by using a blow dryer on low setting.)
9. Once dry, paint the ghosts with 2 coats of the white paint, letting it dry in between. Then paint one coat of varnish and let dry.
10. Place the tealight candle on your ghost tealight holder and light a match!

Note: If you use oven-bake clay instead, make sure you use an oven-proof bowl and follow the baking instructions on the package :)