# Glow-in-the-dark theme - ideas?



## Halloween Princess (Sep 23, 2008)

I am usually one to be planning my party months in advance, but this year I'd been waiting to find out if I got a job that would require moving across country in October. Since we're staying, I'm feeling scrambled. I am also on a much more limited budget as my husband is unemployed this year. 

My theme is glow-in-the-dark. I'm not 100% sure where to take it. What's important to me is a photo op area, food/drink & costume contest prizes. Any ideas? Has anyone done this theme before? I came across some fun drinking straws that have a glow stick in them. 

Thatguycraig designed this great flyer style invite for me.


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## joshspiderman (Sep 20, 2011)

I think you should lean more toward uv reacted then just glow in the dark, allows more options party decor wise. 
you could use neons paints/ neon paper with uv light to make everything pop, 
heres a setup I did for my wifes birthday this year








went to a office depot and got neon colored posterboard, free hand or trace your designs and stick them up on the wall


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## The Real Joker (Sep 8, 2008)

I too would lean towards UV reactive and use plenty of CFL Blacklight bulbs or fluorescent UV tubes.


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## TheMonsterSquad (Oct 8, 2012)

Yup, blacklight is definitely the way to go. Walmart sells two foot blacklights with fixture for $11, or you can get a shoplight fixture and two 4 foot tubes for around $30. Spirit Halloween will carry UV reactive paints, markers and other supplies. The neon posterboard that the other poster mentioned is really useful. I made this last year for my lab out of the posterboard, and it was an easy and cheap project:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvjNywEzRkM

My whole lab is blacklight-lit. There's lots of methods for making things react under blacklight, such as tonic water, highlighters, RIT dye. All the glow-in-the-dark stuff I've bought has reacted under blacklight as well, so if you've already started accumulating some GITD stuff, it won't go to waste.


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## Halloween Princess (Sep 23, 2008)

Joshspiderman, is all that mazing decor made from poster board? Also looks like some glow baloons. I do have a few of the long black lights & plenty of black light bulbs for our lamps & such. I'm worried about balancing too dark to see, with dark enough for black lights to make things react. I hope to make a signature cocktail with tonic. 

Thank you monstersquad! That walkway is great & something I can handle making  Did you put yours outside? If so, what kind of black light did you use?


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## thatguycraig (Jul 15, 2009)

woo! glad to see your using that poster again!


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## crazy4oct31 (Sep 23, 2012)

I had a blacklight lit mad scientist's lab last year & used the highlighter trick to get my 'samples' to glow. It worked really well. I wanted to have glowing shooters available in the lab (in testtubes) and made up a recipe with tonic water, so they'd glow. I picked up a bunch of colourful plastic testtubes at the dollar store & was surprised to see that they glowed on their own. I've seen references made to glow in the dark paint, which would be cool, as you could pick up cheap furniture pieces at garage sales & paint them to glow. I don't know where that's available, though. Sounds like a blast!


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## joshspiderman (Sep 20, 2011)

Halloween Princess said:


> Joshspiderman, is all that mazing decor made from poster board? Also looks like some glow baloons. I do have a few of the long black lights & plenty of black light bulbs for our lamps & such. I'm worried about balancing too dark to see, with dark enough for black lights to make things react. I hope to make a signature cocktail with tonic.
> 
> Thank you monstersquad! That walkway is great & something I can handle making  Did you put yours outside? If so, what kind of black light did you use?


Some are made with neon posterboard and some that was painted with neon paint
this is all pure poster board


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## Maxiboots (Aug 31, 2010)

You should use CF black light bulbs like these http://www.homedepot.com/p/Feit-Ele...t-CFL-Light-Bulb-Black-BPESL15T-BLB/100553168
instead of incandescent black light bulbs. They throw off almost as much light as a regular bulb so you can see just fine using them for light, and they make your UV sensitive props flouresce much better. I also use vaseline glass, that you can sometimes pick up at thrift stores or on Ebay for pretty cheap, to serve food. It contains uranium (yikes!) and glows an eerie green under black light. Green depression glass is cheaper and glows a little, but not as well.


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## B Scary (Sep 8, 2007)

http://www.celebrations.com/content/halloween-party-themes-for-adults?g=6

http://www.celebrations.com/content/diy-glow-in-the-dark-halloween-decorations


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## dawnski (Jun 16, 2012)

How fun, you can check out these two links for ideas. If you're trying to tie it into a theme, I'd suggest CarnEvil because that already incorporates a lot of color.
http://www.pinterest.com/zim2/halloween-black-light/
http://www.pinterest.com/zim2/party-glow-in-the-dark/


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## Always Wicked (Sep 21, 2013)

I would go to the thrift stores and yard sales to pick up items that you can spray paint with the glow in the dark paint ( I just spent 6.00 on a can) and painted my items the color I wanted for daytime looks ( purple, black, white) and then used the GITD spray paint ( goes on clear). I painted coffins, skulls, and even a Jason mask I got at dollar general for 2.00. would cut down on the amount of power/cords that would you have to use with black lights... however I would use of the black lights. .... good luck


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