Milk Jug Jack-o-Lanterns

by DIYJosh in Living > Halloween

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Milk Jug Jack-o-Lanterns

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Have any extra milk jugs laying around? In the Halloween spirit? Well lets get cracking!


Materials:

Milk style jug (no matter the size)
Hobby knife
Orange Paint (preferably pumpkin orange)
Sharpie or gel pen
Wire or String
Tea Lights
Lighter

Cleaning

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First, grab your jugs and clean them good.

Be sure to take the labels off.

Then set to dry.

Be sure to keep the cap, or else your Jack-o-lantern will not have a top.

Trace and Cut

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Trace out your design onto the jug.

Cut out your design with a hobby knife.

Don't worry about the big dip in the jug, continue cutting as if it is not there. When the product is done and glowing, you will not even notice it is there.

Keep in mind that this plastic is very soft, so it is easy to over cut. If this happens, you can mend the cut with some good ol' super glue.

Keep in mind that you may decide to not cut a design into the jug, and rather, paint a design onto the jug. This can allow for some very neat effects.

Be sure to keep your scraps! This is type #2 recyclable plastic and should be treated as such. (This means that you should go and recycle them)

Painting

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Take some wire or string and wrap one end around the handle of the jug and the other on a tree limb. (or any place that will allow you to hang something)

Then add about two coats of orange (preferably pumpkin orange).

Too many coats will leave you with a very dull glow, and too few coats will give you a very bright glow.

Set to dry.

In these picture and subsequent others, you will see that a black undercoat and give a very strange effect to your pumpkin.

Light and Enjoy

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Light your tea lights and enjoy what you have accomplished.

When the holiday season is over, you can recycle your Jack-o-lanters, or cut them into bird feeders, make them into funnels, or any of a dozen great projects!