# PVC Flicker Candles



## jimmyzdc

*Parts List:*

~ 1 1/2" PVC Pipe - Full length 8-10 ft pipes --> Home Depot
~ Great Stuff Insulation Filler - Link --> Home Depot
~ LED Tea Lights - Pic --> 99 Cent Only Store
~ Hot Glue --> Wal-Mart
~ Hot Glue Gun - Pic --> Wal-Mart
~ 1 1/2" Forstner Drill Bit (or whats the size of your tea lights are) - Link - Pic --> Home Depot
~ Rustoleum Painters Touch Spray Paint (Heirloom White - Satin) - Link --> Home Depot

*Steps:*

1. Cut your long PVC pipe to your desired lengths. I used a chop saw (Pic) but if you don't have that then you can use a hacksaw. I went in 2 inch increments (12", 10", 8"...etc.). I also tried to cut them a little taller or shorter than each one of the those increments so each candle looked to be a unique size.

2. Place the pipes upright on a hard surface. Make sure you cover the surface with some type of material since the foam insulation will come in contact with it. I just put down some painter's paper on my garage floor and set the pipe on top of that.

3. Fill the pipes with Great Stuff Insulation Foam. I usually filled mine about 1/2" from the top since it expands.








4. Let the foam dry completely. I filled mine up at night and then worked on them the next day.

5. Cut off the foam so it is even with the pipe. I came back with chop saw to trim it off or I found you can just slice it off with a hacksaw as well.








6. Use you forstner bit to trim down the foam inside the pipe to the desired height you want the tealight to sit. I found that putting the drill in high speed mode rather than high torque works best. Drill slowly so the bit cleanly slices away the foam. If you go to fast the bit just rips out chunks.








7. Once you have the pipes drilled out it's time to apply the hot glue. I found that using a high temp hot glue gun works the best. Since the gun is high temp the glue becomes very runny and creates nice drips. Just work around the pipe and going in multiple layers seems to give a nice effect. Another thing I found out through the whole process is try to make a nice long drip right over the printing on the pipe. When you paint it it will help in covering up the printing.

8. After the glue is dry you are ready for paint. If the printing on the pipe is showing you can try to remove it by sanding it off or using nail polish remover to take it off. Spray the candles in nice smooth strokes making sure you get all the nooks and crannies around the drips. It took me 2-3 coats to get the printing on the pipe to not show through.


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## Terra

Definitely doing this! Thanks for the tutorial


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## DeadTed

Great tutorial! That's one of the cheaper candle projects I've seen. Thanks.


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## Front Yard Fright

Good idea!
Those look great!
Great job!
.


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## Skullie

Great Idea. Thank for that one.


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## Spookilicious mama

These came out incredible. Thanks for posting. How do you think they would look in black?


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## Phantom On A Budget

These look amazing. I'll definitely consider this tutorial in the future. Thanks!


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## Dark Star

Very creative thinking with the expanding foam. Those look great!


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## Trioxin Undead

Those turned out great! I'll definately be trying this when I get a chance!!


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## Nascar8mom2

*Wow thats awesome........Great idea!*


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## CMGhost

I looked all over our 99 cent stores around here today...nada on the LED tea lights. Found all kinds of regular tea lights.

Maybe I'll give wally world a try or do some more online searching.....

These do look great too!!


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## jimmyzdc

If you can't find the tea lights anywhere. This is the only other place I have found that has them. The shipping is a bit steep but at least you can save on the gas from driving around to a bunch of different stores.

Blow it out! 24 Yellow blowable electronic LED candle - eBay (item 250262340852 end time Jul-22-08 12:34:26 PDT)


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## Skullie

*Witch lamps*

Here is my version of a witch lamp done with the PVC Candels
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm308/skullie_2008/DSC02544.jpg 


http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm308/skullie_2008/DSC02565.jpg

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm308/skullie_2008/DSC02566.jpg
This one is not finished yet. I hang one of my owl cages on it.


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## Skullie

jimmyzdc said:


> If you can't find the tea lights anywhere. This is the only other place I have found that has them. The shipping is a bit steep but at least you can save on the gas from driving around to a bunch of different stores.
> 
> Blow it out! 24 Yellow blowable electronic LED candle - eBay (item 250262340852 end time Jul-22-08 12:34:26 PDT)


Did you try Joanne's Fabric, Michaels, Old Time Pottery,Rags, Wal-Mart?


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## halloweenscreamqueen

Try Walgreens.com, they're five bucks for six and the delivery fee isn't going to break the bank.


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## evilpotpourri

Oh I love this idea! And all the ones posted are beautiful. Someone asked about painting them black..I think it would look good painted black and then sponge on gold paint to look antique. Im definately doing this one.
Thanks for the tutorial!


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## a witch from canada

now that i am trying for sure , those look very cool , thank you for a great tutorial


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## jimmyzdc

Just wanna make a quick note on step 6. I maybe didn't word this well but when you are drilling out the foam for the tealight to sit on make sure the drill bit is moving fast but go into the foam slow.


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## frenchy

i tried some and i had some tea light colored one and i found the effect special it will fit the bill here this year .


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## CMGhost

Those look great frenchy. I'm getting ready to start mine today.


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## frenchy

post some pics when you finish it CM 
at least i have something finish this year lolol!


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## pandora

Oh no!!! Another project for the list!! Thank you very much - those really look fantastic!! And Cheap!!!! And you know us haunters, cheap is our middle name...


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## berzerkmonkey

Nice! I knew I saw these somewhere, and I was driving myself crazy trying to remember where... I think these will look good dispersed throughout the cemetery!


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## Herman Secret

These are great !! looks like my shopping list for my next trip to Lowes has expanded !! Thanks for a great tutorial

Btw, was in Dollar Tree the other day and noticed the LED tealights, packs of 2


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## Spats

AND... That's the centerpiece this year!

I have a skull missing a cranium and I was wondering what to do with him. I'm thinkin' I'm gonna make one of these amazing candles, mount it so it stands up from the middle of the skull after filling the lower half of the skull with great stuff, then surround the candle with black, purple and orange florals for the dining table.

Thank you for this fantastic little prop.


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## KimilyTheStrange

Love this idea! I was trying to figure out how to add candles without adding fire, to the cemetery.


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## Skullie

Spats,
Sound great to me. Please post pics. Please.


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## TheReaper

wow very nice! This is so cheap considering how much some prop stores sell em! Definately doing this!


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## Tish

*adds another project to Brian's list* Eh, I think I can do this one myself, actually. I leave the bigger stuff to Brian and I help where I can.


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## Skellington

This is a fantastic project. I have to add this to my list. Thanks for the how to.


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## KimilyTheStrange

I love this idea so much, after seeing it yesterday, that I had to start making them (I'm still in the progress...waiting on foam to dry).

I didn't like the looks of the fake flames on the tealights so I made my own.
I did up a how to:

LED Tealight - flame redo


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## Gothikren

I absolutely love the candles what a great idea. I am definatly going to have to make some of these.


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## Scottish Scarer

Oh yeah, we've all jumped on this one. I too have started mine, just have to paint and wait for the tealights to arrive. I however never filled mine with foam, I just pushed cardboard up from the bottom to hold the tealight in place at the top.


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## Junit

That's a really cool idea! They look pretty realistic too i'm definately going to try this one


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## thud

Question: Is that using one 1/2" PVC pipe, or one 1 1/2" PVC pipe? Same with the drill bit. one 1/2" drill bit, or one 1 1/2" drill bit?

*thud*


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## Regor

Thud

Inch and a half PVC pipe and inch and a half (or whatever size your tealights are) forstner bit.


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## DMTNT

Jimmyzdc, The candles look great! Have you tested a few tea lights to see how long they'll stay lit? Friends of mine that had them last year were a bit disappointed as they died in an hour or so. They might have bought a bad batch. . . It might be good to have a few spares around.


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## jimmyzdc

DMTNT, I was actually thinking about this the other day. I think I'll try it tonight when I get home. I would be really sad if they did die that fast. Although from what I heard they are supposed to last a fairly long time without changing the batteries.


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## thud

Hopefully they last near the 60 hrs they claim. Although, I bout a doz. 2-packs of them for a buck a piece, and don't have high hopes. After all, the dollar tree is a dollar for a reason.

*thud*


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## DMTNT

60 Hrs would be EXCELLENT but I wouldn't count on it. If they don't last long in a test, you could wire them together and use a wall-wart for power.


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## Mistress of the Abyss

I LOVE that idea!! If I have time this year I'll try to make some. If not, this will definetly be a nice winter at home project!

Thanks


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## Glass 'eye'

Hey I found the flickering tea lights on dollartreedirect.com and ordered some yesterday. They will ship to the nearest store for free, however I am not sure how much shipping would be if there are no stores close to you. Anyway I order a case of 48 two packs for $48. I guess I had better start cutting some PVC lengths. I figure I will place a few on the front steps, and then cover my rear patio with about 75 candles. Can't wait! Thanks for the awesome tutorial.


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## Herman Secret

The candlesticks used in my take of this how to, are battery operated candlesticks I purchased at a yard sale. They were both missing the bulbs, but I thought that at least the brass bases could be of use. 










Thanks to jimmyzdc I now have a use for them, all credit to you for a great tutorial and the inspiration 


So for this how to you will need :

Battery Operated Candle

Battery operated Flickering Tea Light

Metal or plastic washer

Thin twin flex

Soldering Iron and Solder

Hot Glue gun


First, take the candlestick apart










Next, take the tea light apart (I found that the tea lights from the Dollar Tree are ideal for this)










Then unsolder the wire from the LED and the tea light base. You now have the components for rewiring and assembling the flickering candle.










To reassemble, solder the flex onto the LED, position the 'flame' onto the washer and reposition the LED into the flame.

Next, pass the flex through the candlestick, the brass holder and the tea light top,










and solder the flex to the base of the tea light. Test the bulb at this point to ensure that it is working !

Reassemble the candlestick and base, and the tea light.

Finally, hot glue the tea light to the base of the candlestick, glue the washer to the top of the candle, then use hot glue for the dripped wax effect










Once you have completed the candle, paint the dripped wax white. The tea light can be painted if required.


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## dionicia

That turned out pretty good. 

I can't wait to try this out.


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## CrImSoNtOuCh

I'm going to have to try both of these out this year. Thanks for the instructions!


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## thud

Regor said:


> Thud
> 
> Inch and a half PVC pipe and inch and a half (or whatever size your tealights are) forstner bit.


I forgot to say "Thanks!" to this. So now... Thanks!

*thud*


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## Dminor

Spookilicious mama said:


> These came out incredible. Thanks for posting. How do you think they would look in black?


I'll let you know, I didn't want to buy long lengths of pipe at my local home store, so I opted for 2' long pieces of black pvc pipe.

I think that I'll paint them white in the end, but I can post some photos before that happens.

One of the other things that I plan on doing is using some brown shoe polish to give the candles a distressed look.  Not sure how the painted pvc and hot glue will take the polish, but we'll see!


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## Dminor

I'm curious as to why no one uses rechargeable LED tealights? I bought 2 sets from Target a few years back and use them all the time. They charge pretty quickly, the hold a charge for a long time and can run for quite awhile before recharging.


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## Creepycanmore

Excellent tutorial. Thanks, I'll be starting some soon.


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## jimmyzdc

I finally got around to testing my tealights I got from Dollar Tree. Mine worked great I ran it for 8 hours before I went to bed and it was still the same brightness as when I turned it on. So I can only guess that the ones your friend got were a bad batch.



> Jimmyzdc, The candles look great! Have you tested a few tea lights to see how long they'll stay lit? Friends of mine that had them last year were a bit disappointed as they died in an hour or so. They might have bought a bad batch. . . It might be good to have a few spares around.


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## sheepies666

Wow! This certainly looks like it is "the" project for the year. This and 3-axis skulls, lol, and this is definately more my skill leve. I'm going to have to try a couple of these out.


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## Dminor

One thing I think that should be added to your how-to is the addition of a mitre box to help with sawing your PVC pipes in a straight line.

I just finished round 2 of my PVC flicker candle build and spent more time trimming to get the bottom of each pipe straight than I did doing anything else.

So yeah, if you're considering this prop, I say either get a mitre box or some other way to ensure a straight cut, otherwise you'll be spending a lot of time adjusting the pipes to get them the way you want them.


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## Dminor

Oh, I almost forgot. Here's a few pictures of my PVC candles.
















I cut, filled, painted, then added the glue "wax" effect. My first try I painted everything last, but I didn't like how they turned out. The natural gloss of the glue gives the same appearance as melted wax (IMO) and so I decided just to leave it au natural.

I think I'm going to try aging them with a dirt/water spray sorta thing. I'll let you all know how it turns out.


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## DeadTed

Dminor said:


> One thing I think that should be added to your how-to is the addition of a mitre box to help with sawing your PVC pipes in a straight line.
> 
> I just finished round 2 of my PVC flicker candle build and spent more time trimming to get the bottom of each pipe straight than I did doing anything else.
> 
> So yeah, if you're considering this prop, I say either get a mitre box or some other way to ensure a straight cut, otherwise you'll be spending a lot of time adjusting the pipes to get them the way you want them.


Ahhhh but I disagree! I made a dozen of these and all of their tops vary in angle. Since most candles I've lit never melt completely on the level. Obviously the bottoms need to be flat, but that was just a matter of one straight line, the next angled, one straight line, the next angled and so on.


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## Dminor

DeadTed said:


> Ahhhh but I disagree! I made a dozen of these and all of their tops vary in angle. Since most candles I've lit never melt completely on the level. Obviously the bottoms need to be flat, but that was just a matter of one straight line, the next angled, one straight line, the next angled and so on.


I agree that the top should vary in its angle. But its not so much about the top angle as much as it is the bottom.

Maybe it's just my preference, but I like all of the candle to stand upright without any kind of leaning to one side or another. Plus it makes them easier to pair without having to deal with their inability to be grouped close together.


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## Dark Star

A PVC pipe cutter is one of the best investments you can make.


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## Shadowspook

Thank you for this tutorial Jimmyzdc, i am now on my way to creating some nice candles for my Halloween display this year.
We will be using them with an old piano we picked up for $10:00, hopefully we can get our piano player done before then.

These will be great for Christmas as well: again thank you!


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## hallorenescene

*candles*



CMGhost said:


> I looked all over our 99 cent stores around here today...nada on the LED tea lights. Found all kinds of regular tea lights.
> 
> Maybe I'll give wally world a try or do some more online searching.....
> 
> These do look great too!!


try oriental trading post


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## hallorenescene

*spats*



Skullie said:


> Spats,
> Sound great to me. Please post pics. Please.


i second that motion


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## hallorenescene

*lights*



Herman Secret said:


> The candlesticks used in my take of this how to, are battery operated candlesticks I purchased at a yard sale. They were both missing the bulbs, but I thought that at least the brass bases could be of use.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Thanks to jimmyzdc I now have a use for them, all credit to you for a great tutorial and the inspiration
> 
> 
> So for this how to you will need :
> 
> Battery Operated Candle
> 
> Battery operated Flickering Tea Light
> 
> Metal or plastic washer
> 
> Thin twin flex
> 
> Soldering Iron and Solder
> 
> Hot Glue gun
> 
> 
> First, take the candlestick apart
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Next, take the tea light apart (I found that the tea lights from the Dollar Tree are ideal for this)
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Then unsolder the wire from the LED and the tea light base. You now have the components for rewiring and assembling the flickering candle.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> To reassemble, solder the flex onto the LED, position the 'flame' onto the washer and reposition the LED into the flame.
> 
> Next, pass the flex through the candlestick, the brass holder and the tea light top,
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> and solder the flex to the base of the tea light. Test the bulb at this point to ensure that it is working !
> 
> Reassemble the candlestick and base, and the tea light.
> 
> Finally, hot glue the tea light to the base of the candlestick, glue the washer to the top of the candle, then use hot glue for the dripped wax effect
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Once you have completed the candle, paint the dripped wax white. The tea light can be painted if required.


herman, those turned out nice


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## hallorenescene

so i love harry potter and the dining scene with all the candles hanging in mid air and lit. i am doing a mystical, magical, madness theme this year with witches, wizards, warlocks, magicans, and genies. i was in chat with dogman and mentioned i would love to have candles in the air, so dogman hits me with this tuitorial. i am so going to hang these little guys all over my haunt this year. these are awesome. thank you thank you thank you


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## serialc0d3

hallorenescene said:


> so i love harry potter and the dining scene with all the candles hanging in mid air and lit. i am doing a mystical, magical, madness theme this year with witches, wizards, warlocks, magicans, and genies. i was in chat with dogman and mentioned i would love to have candles in the air, so dogman hits me with this tuitorial. i am so going to hang these little guys all over my haunt this year. these are awesome. thank you thank you thank you


Thats funny as I was thinking of using them for the exact same thing. The floating candles were awesome!


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## hallorenescene

*harry potter*



serialc0d3 said:


> Thats funny as I was thinking of using them for the exact same thing. The floating candles were awesome!


i'll be posting pics after the fact, hope you will as well. would love to see yours


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## Savitch

Not for sure if it would be strong enough to support them but you can make an invisible thread from stuff called wooly nylon thread. It's made of single strings and you separate one from the bundle. It's fairly tiny and a few of these attached to the candle to something else might not show up.


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## hallorenescene

i was thinking of using fishing line, but will check out the wooly nylon thread. where do you find it? a craft department at walmart maybe?


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## Savitch

Walmart or any craft store should have it. I have some candles made up but can't find my thread to test it with.


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## darryl

Thanks Jimmyzdc,
My candles look awesome!! And being impatient I decided to use some round wooden closet rod I had laying around, cut them in about 2 inch pieces, drilled and counter sunk holes in the side of the PVC, put wooden rod inside the PVC pipe, lay the pipe on its side, place a candle on top of that and push it down flush with the top of the PVC, screwed in a short 1/2 inch screw through the predrilled hole and into the wood. This eliminated the price of the foam and the drill bit. Not to mention the wait for the foam to cure.


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## darryl

*Thanks*

Thanks Jimmyzdc,
My candles look awesome!! And being impatient I decided to use some round wooden closet rod I had laying around, cut them in about 2 inch pieces, drilled and counter sunk holes in the side of the PVC, put wooden rod inside the PVC pipe, lay the pipe on its side, place a candle on top of that and push it down flush with the top of the PVC, screwed in a short 1/2 inch screw through the predrilled hole and into the wood. This eliminated the price of the foam and the drill bit. Not to mention the wait for the foam to cure.


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## hallorenescene

sounds cool. can you post some pics?


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## Savitch

I just did a set for my cousin who lives out of town and was on her way back before I could finish them with foam. I just put a bead of glue on the inside of the pvc, put a circle of cardboard (actually part of a cigarette hard pack) in and then just flooded that with a layer of hot glue. It turned out fairly strong. I couldn't push it out so it will more than handle the tealight.


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## Terra

*Outdoor flicker lights*

Thanks again for the tutorial *Jimmyzdc*! 

I made a different version of the flicker candles. I wanted an outdoor version that I could have on a timer. So I hacked a set of Christmas flicker lights and this is what I came up with:


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## Dminor

Very nice Terra!


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## Mistress of the Abyss

Terra said:


> Thanks again for the tutorial *Jimmyzdc*!
> 
> I made a different version of the flicker candles. I wanted an outdoor version that I could have on a timer. So I hacked a set of Christmas flicker lights and this is what I came up with:



Wow that's great Terra! Could you please post a how-to?


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## Dark Star

Those look really great.


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## hallorenescene

all i can say is WOW miss


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## Terra

Thank you so much everybody! Here's a quick tutorial. I put up a more detailed one at my photo album: Halloween Forum - Terra's Album: Outdoor flicker lights

Okay, to make the outdoor flicker candles:










I wanted to group my candles so I glued them together using PVC glue. Then I cut out circles in 1 1/2 inch blue or pink foam. 










I cut off the clip that is attached to the Christmas flicker light socket. Now, I needed to extend the wiring between the sockets to reach the tall candles. I'm not going to give instructions on how I did that because I want to be the only one who can possibly be electrocuted by my guessed way of water-proofing electrical connections. So either make shorter candles or find a safe way to make waterproof electrical connections. Sorry. 

Insert your socket into the foam and snuggle back down into the candle. 










Caulk the top to seal and then cut out circles of blue painter's tape to keep hot glue and gunk from getting into the socket. Determine where you want excess rainwater to run off and mark. If you need to make a lower channel, cut out with your Dremel. Then begin to raise up the top of the candle using hot glue. This adds a great glowing effect and helps to hide the bottom of the bulb.









To make candle drippings on the side, make wide zig-zag passes being sure to butt up next to each other so gravity will help it drift down. Repeat these layers until you get what you are looking for. To make large drips at the bottom, push extra glue onto one spot and it will slowly drop down and cool into a great looking drip. Spray paint with matte ivory or white paint. Flat looks dead and I would think that gloss would look weird.










Here's what I'm trying to attain in the graveyard. I so loved what Skull and Bone did that I wanted to replicate it. The tombstones are not done being painted yet, by the way.


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## hallorenescene

WOW, AWESOME! your graveyard is good, and you made those tombstones. that is a total package of supreme work


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## MoonMoon

Thanks for the tutorial Terra! I was making some of these candles for outside as well and was trying to think of a easier way to light them other than using tea lights. This looks like a great idea!


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## thud

@ Terra, Bravo! I really like your candles!

atm, I'm underwhelmed with the tea lights I purchased. They are way too dim, even with silicon tip instead of the plastic. (actually made is worse, and the light green) How much light do these put off? I'm assuming a fair amount if they are x-mas lights, but was curious.

@ everyone else... are there any electrical wiz's out there that might be able to help us non-electrical haunters out with some safe/effective ways to do this kind of wire hack?


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## Desmodus

Nicely done!


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## Terra

Thanks so much everyone


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## maui

do you use battery powered lights or are they hard wired?


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## jimmyzdc

That's awesome Terra. I was checking yours out and I think next year I'm gonna modify mine to your method using the flicker bulbs. This way i can have my display running every night on a timer rather than just being able to use it on Halloween night. I think it should be fairly easy since I have all the painting and hot glue done  BTW My wife loves you tombstones, especially "Beloved"


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## TNBrad

Terra if I may?
With the shape of the top of your candela, (that are AWSOME): if it were to rain, would water pool in the depressed area around the bulb and socket?


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## Terra

jimmyzdc said:


> That's awesome Terra. I was checking yours out and I think next year I'm gonna modify mine to your method using the flicker bulbs. This way i can have my display running every night on a timer rather than just being able to use it on Halloween night. I think it should be fairly easy since I have all the painting and hot glue done  BTW My wife loves you tombstones, especially "Beloved"


Wow, jimmyzdc, thanks for the kudos. I really, really loved your idea but since I figured I needed 60 of those puppies, I didn't want to go to each one every night and turn them on and then off. Them all being on a timer is very nice and worry free.

*Maui:* They are hard wired. Basically they are a hacked set of Christmas flicker lights.

_*TNTBrad:*_ I planned for possible water collecting by placing the hot glue *almost *all the way around the perimeter. I helped it along by Dremeling a channel before the hot glue. Swing by the tutorial at my albums and you will see pictures of what I did. Also, there's a tiny bit of open areas in the flicker bulb socket itself so I assumed that was part of the design. So I didn't seal the bottom of the candles so if any water did get into the pipe, it would drain away. 

They've been on every night for two weeks and I haven't even burned out a bulb (_knock on my toe-pincher_).


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## Rev. Noch

Terra said:


> Thanks again for the tutorial *Jimmyzdc*!
> 
> I made a different version of the flicker candles. I wanted an outdoor version that I could have on a timer. So I hacked a set of Christmas flicker lights and this is what I came up with:


Terra, where did you get all of your flicker bulbs? I've been trying to find some to replace old ones that have gone out. I feel that all of the ones that I have found on the internet the dealer wants to rake me over the coals on shipping.


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## thud

I'm still curious to know if there are any haunters in the community that could share tid-bits on how to correctly "hack" a string of x-mas lights for safe outdoor use. Terra is saving us from zapping ourselves via her method, so I was hoping someone would shed some *cough* light on the subject.

Anyone?


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## dionicia

Hey Rev, Target has a string set of Halloween Flicker lights for $12.99. I just bought 2 packs for my witches cauldron.


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## Push Eject

thud said:


> I'm still curious to know if there are any haunters in the community that could share tid-bits on how to correctly "hack" a string of x-mas lights for safe outdoor use. Terra is saving us from zapping ourselves via her method, so I was hoping someone would shed some *cough* light on the subject


:::groan::: 

When I made mine I used raw wire and C7 light sockets to essentially make my own Christmas light string.

Push E.


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## dionicia

Great job....No!....Must resist making more props!....Still have so much left to do!!!!

Next year...Yeah....Next year.


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## Terra

Yep dionicia is right. I've seen them as Halloween flicker lights (_black wire_) and I've spotted them at Lowe's (_they are also selling replacement bulbs_) in the Christmas section. If I'm remembering correctly, I originally bought them at Wal-Mart in their Christmas section so they probably have them again. Here's a picture of the box if that helps:










*Push Eject:* That's a great idea to directly wire it in. Much easier (_and probably much safer_) than what I did.


----------



## krvp

I just bought those exact lights at lowes yesterday i beleive i paid $7.99 for a string that is 9'long with lights, 12"s between lights with a 12" lead wire. You can connect up to 6sets end to end.

Hope this helps. 

I tried to fill some 3" white pvc with great stuff but am unhappy with the results, not to say the stuff is a freckin mess to work with. I think I may try something differant today or tomorrow. I have some 3/4" wood laying around I might try cutting my filler circles out of such and either silcone it in or place two small screws which will be covered by wax(glue). I have no pink foam around and dont want to spend any more $$ this season to buy a sheet. Will post up how they work out.....


----------



## maleficent

You know guys you don't have to limit yourself to plain ol white candles! How about a little color? Photo Gallery

Sickie Ickie on Larry's sister site Christmas Forum - Christmas Fan Club sells colored glue sticks. I've seen some incredible Halloween decorations made using his glue sticks.
Just tell him Clarice sent you.


----------



## dionicia

I used the black ones from Sickie on mine. Very cool.


----------



## dionicia

We used hot glue on the inside of the PVC and used that for a perch for the tea lights then dripped the hot glue around the outside of the PVC. 

With black hot glue, it turned out awesome. 



krvp said:


> I just bought those exact lights at lowes yesterday i beleive i paid $7.99 for a string that is 9'long with lights, 12"s between lights with a 12" lead wire. You can connect up to 6sets end to end.
> 
> Hope this helps.
> 
> I tried to fill some 3" white pvc with great stuff but am unhappy with the results, not to say the stuff is a freckin mess to work with. I think I may try something differant today or tomorrow. I have some 3/4" wood laying around I might try cutting my filler circles out of such and either silcone it in or place two small screws which will be covered by wax(glue). I have no pink foam around and dont want to spend any more $$ this season to buy a sheet. Will post up how they work out.....


----------



## maleficent

I like those dionicia!


----------



## Rikki

Dionicia, those are awesome! I looooove them in black!


----------



## krvp

Finished my first set of three with the great stuff, came out pretty good. Learned there are way to advoid having to cut the wires as often. Cut a small trench up th erear of the pvc where all three come together. This saves you having to go all the way to the bottom and back up the next one with the wire. I did mine with the flicker light set used 3 lights cut the cord and capped wires off will be fine, looks good..............Not the best but pretty good for my first shot, i know where i went wrong and cant wait to give it another go, no more greatstuff ,,,, it sucks...........


These are 3" thinwall pvc, filled with great stuff, drilled out 9/16th hole, pushed socket with bulb up through and slightly above the top of the greatstuff, zip tied all three pvc's together and began caulking them together(silacone) as well as all around th etop of the greatstuff, once set up i then did svereal layers of hot glue with drips once dry cut zip ties , painted with white primer and inserted bulbs.........


----------



## hallorenescene

i so wanted to do these for this year but guess it will be for next year. they will look great inside my glass tombstones. those black ones are cool as well. i didn't know they made black hot glue. did the pvc pipe come in black or did you paint them? i might use the black ones in the tombstones and the white ones hanging in the air in my haunt next year. these are awesome.


----------



## dionicia

Thanks everyone. 

Sickie sells multi colored glue sticks by the pound. I used the whole pound on those PVC candles. Bought a pound of white glue sticks as well just in case I want to make more using Push Eject's candles for inspiration.


----------



## aznraverkid

Push Eject said:


> :::groan:::
> 
> When I made mine I used raw wire and C7 light sockets to essentially make my own Christmas light string.
> 
> Push E.


Anyone have time to make a how to video? I'm not grasping the tutorial... =\


----------



## Terra

I made a tutorial with lots of pictures. Perhaps that could help: Halloween Forum - Terra's Album: Outdoor flicker lights


----------



## krvp

My next set are going to be terra's way, I may try using mdf instead of foam as I have some around, I bought a ridgid 3" whole saw bit that cuts the perfect size to fit inside the 3" pvc.

Terras instructions are top notch, folow them and you should be set........


As for pvc you can buy white, black in th eplumbing sections of the big box stores or you can buy schedule 40 or 80 gray in the electrical sections.....


----------



## aznraverkid

Terra said:


> I made a tutorial with lots of pictures. Perhaps that could help: Halloween Forum - Terra's Album: Outdoor flicker lights



Thanks Terra but I've looked at your photos over and over again trying to figure out the hacking of the xmas lights... I've never done anything electrical...oh well.


----------



## Bilbo

Just made a batch of these last night with the wife. The one thing I can add is whether you plan on painting them or not (I'm not), you can use a belt sander to easily remove the lettering, dirt, paint etc... you may have accidentally got on the PVC while making your other projects. I have a table top model, which is ideal, but if you have a handheld and a good wood vice to hold it, that would work too. I spent about 2 minutes maybe on each length making them white again.

I also used Kimilythestrange's idea to modify my flames, but used hot glue instead of silicone... turned out pretty nice. 

No, the tealights aren't the brightest, but neither am I.


----------



## Push Eject

aznraverkid said:


> Anyone have time to make a how to video? I'm not grasping the tutorial... =


I feel your pain. I followed Terra's instructions, but used Jimmy's idea of spray foam.

As with any project using high voltage, I do not recommend doing it. You can burn your house down. That said, if you are comfortable working with electricity here is what I did:

After letting the foam dry over night, cut the tops flush with a big knife.

Drill a hole for the c7 socket through the foam using a 5/8" spade drill bit at high speed.

Drill a smaller hole near the base of the candle if you want your candle to stand flush or just run the lamp cord up the bottom if it doesn't matter.

I dipped the end of the lamp cord in liquid electrical tape, but you could just wrap it tightly too.

Pull the cord up through your hole in the foam and clamp a c7 socket on.

Cut the clip off the socket and hot glue it into the hole.

Continue through the candles you want on this particular "string" then attach a plug to the end of the cord.

Does that help?
Push E.


----------



## Terra

Push Eject said:


> ....and clamp a c7 socket on.












From what you are describing, I'm gathering that you can *buy* the c7 socket and the end cap. Very, very cooool!!!

I ran to a leftover set of hacked flicker lights and took apart one of my sockets. Sure enough, this looks easy as pie. You just place the lamp wire in the socket groove and then lightly hammer in the end cap. There are little metal pinchers that puncture the wire. This sounds exactly like what you do when you are connecting landscape lights to the wire. Not only easy but looks to be _waterproof!_

I did not know that you can buy these things! This would be a much easier and safer way to do the Christmas flicker lights hack. Brilliant 

Is this where you got the sockets?
- C7 & C9 Accessories




.


----------



## Terra

aznraverkid said:


> Thanks Terra but I've looked at your photos over and over again trying to figure out the hacking of the xmas lights... I've never done anything electrical...oh well.


I really like what PushEject is suggesting. But if you want to do what I did, I'll go ahead and spill the beans.

DISCLAIMER: I have no idea if this is safe so do so at your risk!

I cut the wire where I needed to extend it. I then spliced in extra lamp wire I bought at Home Depot. Then I cut off the lamp wire where I needed to install the flicker light part and spiced it to the lamp wire. Then, repeat, repeat, repeat. 

Here's how I spliced it: If you look at all wires, they have raised ridges on one of the two wires. That indicates polarity. I made sure when I was splicing that I kept that in sequence. Before twisting the wire together I inserted heat-shrink tubing Heat-shrink tubing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia then twisted the corresponding wires together. I heat shrinked the tubes. Then wrapped electrical tape around each wire, then coated with liquid electrical tape then wrapped it all together with electrical tape and then coated it with liquid electrical tape again.

Again, I have a layman's understanding of electrical work. This was a complete guess job. I could have done an overkill job or not enough. But I was very aware that if did a bad job doing one of these connections and combine that with 120 volts and rain/water, it would be very, very bad.

So going back to PushEjects' idea....I like that A LOT BETTER than what I did.


----------



## Push Eject

Terra said:


> I did not know that you can buy these things! This would be a much easier and safer way to do the Christmas flicker lights hack. Brilliant


Parts list with links here: http://www.halloweenforum.com/543759-post7.html 

I'm sure other vendors like the one you found would be fine too.

Cheers!


----------



## Terra

Excellent  Great link too. Before I started this project, I didn't know the first thing about hacking electrical. Now, I think have just enough information to make me dangerous


----------



## Bohica

Great job! These will make a great addition next to the headstones in any graveyard....on my way to pic up my supplies!


----------



## Push Eject

Terra said:


> Excellent  Great link too. Before I started this project, I didn't know the first thing about hacking electrical. Now, I think have just enough information to make me dangerous


It should go without saying to anyone trying this that we are talking about high voltage. If you decide to go this route then learn about working with electricity safely and if your candles will be used outdoors plug them into a GFCI outlet.


----------



## Terra

Push Eject said:


> It should go without saying to anyone trying this that we are talking about high voltage. If you decide to go this route then learn about working with electricity safely and if your candles will be used outdoors plug them into a GFCI outlet.


Really, *really* good advice.


----------



## JammerG

I went out and got the stuff to make the candles, I can't wait to get started tomorrow night. I'm suprise that the Greatstuff cost more then the pvc piles. Can't wait to get started. I'll post pix when I'm finished.

My husband just rolls his eyes and smiles. He likes it.


----------



## Terra

JammerG said:


> I went out and got the stuff to make the candles, I can't wait to get started tomorrow night. I'm suprise that the Greatstuff cost more then the pvc piles. Can't wait to get started. I'll post pix when I'm finished.
> 
> My husband just rolls his eyes and smiles. He likes it.


Your hubby sounds like my hubby.  Have fun...


----------



## JammerG

I have to laugh. When I was buying the supplies, the GreatStuff cost more then the PVC pile and the PVC pipe cost (HomeDepo) as much as 3 battery operated flickering tea lites (AC Moore).  I started to pile everything in the garage to get things started tonight. 

I have to get flat black spray paint for do a little wire fence and a bag of mini skulls to hang. 

So much to do and only few days to do it in. But I do my best work after dark.


----------



## JammerG

hi everyone, I just finished one of my pvc candles.

BUT, I have to share with you that I put a different spin on it and I think you all will like it. (I hope you will.) It came to me as last night as I was fighting to go to sleep and I actually had to get out of bed and go get the fishing line and put it by the candles.

during step #7 at the 2nd or 3rd layer of hot glue cut a 12", 8", 14" 6 lbs. line and stick it in the glue and let it harden. The way you can have the "Harry Poter" suspending candles in the trees, where ever you can hang them. 






























Just imagine what they will look like in the dark with the tea lite in it. 

WOOOOOOOOO


----------



## Push Eject

Sweet! Night pix!


----------



## JammerG

Ok, here's a night shot of the candle. 










WOW Bright flash.

C-O-O-L! ! ! ! ! ! ! !


----------



## JammerG

Night shot.


----------



## aznraverkid

JammerG said:


> Night shot.


WOW! *plays the HP theme in his head*

You can't even see the line! It's floating! Great idea!


----------



## Dminor

great job! Way to take a great idea and make it even better!


----------



## JammerG

Thank you! ( as she bows at the waist.) ;o )

I'll have to go and get more pvc pips and tea lites now. haha


----------



## jimmyzdc

I did a similar effect to this last year with a lantern in my graveyard. If you guys want to hide the fishing line even more you can try spray painting it flat black. I have this stupid street light right in front of my house and the line was still visible. But after the spray paint you couldn't see it at all!


----------



## JammerG

no street lights to worry about in the neighborhood but I will remember the flat black paint.

this is just pre-paint stage. I always have to try it before the final stages.
Thanks for sharing your idea. I was out hanging them up and the sheriff was crusing the neighborhood for something and had to stop and check it out.


----------



## Push Eject

That kicks an absolutely ridiculous amount of butt!


----------



## hallorenescene

jammer, that's exactly the look i have been planning on. i want to have candles suspended in the air.


----------



## liuoliveira

Cool.... Great idea


----------



## Terra

Those are awesome!


----------



## JammerG

Thank you, I just think this is a cool project. I've been telling alot of my friends. And it doesn't have to stop at Halloween. I figured I can use them at Christmas too, to line the driveway on Christmas Eve. The only thing I have to worry about is one of the dogs running off with it and losing it in the snow.  >


----------



## elkootcho

Does anybody know if these C7 sockets and caps are available at brick and mortar stores? (I'm in Los Angeles) Or is this pretty much a mail order item?


----------



## Terra

I've never seen them and when I was looking online it looked like just a few places carried them so I'd doubt you find it in a brick and mortar store. 

I pried apart my one of the sockets on an existing flicker string light and pretty much mangled it in the process so that option is out.


----------



## Shrimp_Toast

Nice!! I could have used that "Floating Idea" in my doll room. I had my candles on the shelves, but having a few "floating" would have been great!! Next year for sure!!!!


----------



## lildeviltjs2

JammerG said:


> I have to laugh. When I was buying the supplies, the GreatStuff cost more then the PVC pile and the PVC pipe cost (HomeDepo) as much as 3 battery operated flickering tea lites (AC Moore).  I started to pile everything in the garage to get things started tonight.
> 
> I have to get flat black spray paint for do a little wire fence and a bag of mini skulls to hang.
> 
> So much to do and only few days to do it in. But I do my best work after dark.


I found the tea lights 2 for $1.00 at the Dollar Tree store but I live in Indiana not sure if anyone has a dollar tree around them. I tried one the other night and it works just as well as the ones my mom paid like $2.99 for two at a Michaels craft store. The only thing I have left to get is the PVC Pipe to make mine! I can not wait!!!!!


----------



## Bohica

I was able to get the tea lights (battery operated) for 3 for 2.50 at a local garden center, our dollar tree and big lots both were out.


----------



## Dark Star

elkootcho said:


> Does anybody know if these C7 sockets and caps are available at brick and mortar stores? (I'm in Los Angeles) Or is this pretty much a mail order item?



We actually made something similar last year using the C7 strings. We lined our roof line with candles.
My DH called around to companies that do professional Christmas lighting in our area.They of course buy the cord in spools of hundreds of feet and then just clip on the sockets where they need them. He sold them to us separately so we could space them how ever we needed them. You might try that.


----------



## Bilbo

HUGE thanks to jimmyzdc and all of those who contributed to this thread... I made about 40 of these candles all in one night and they add soooo much to the atmosphere of my little yard haunt!! I plan on making even more for next year to decorate the interior. 

Great idea(s) from a great forum


----------



## ghostokc

Great post..


----------



## jimmyzdc

Thanks everyone for making this thread so successful. Everyone participation has been awesome! Here are a few pictures of my candles on Halloween night.


----------



## Jswift

Thanks so much for sharing this projects with us. I bought all the parts that you suggested and made 15 candles. It diffently made a big impact on my grave yard. gave it such more detail plus allot of people thought they were real. lol Easy to make and cheap to make. thanks again. Jimi


----------



## Terra

Oh wow! Your graveyard looks soooo *good!* The skellies and hanging moss also add a great touch. Love the dentist one 

Thank you very much for such a wonderful idea about the candles. They really add so much to the ambiance of a spooky graveyard.


----------



## JAG435

Great idea! I love these! 
I already have a bunch of these tea lights leftover from my daughters wedding.
Now I have a use for them.
(Running to Home Depot)


Take Care,
Jerry Greene


----------



## JammerG

This was a fun Halloween. The kids and parents loved the candles hanging and lighting the way to the house. I told my husband that I need to make some more head stones for next year. 

Friends brought there son over the neighborhood to trick or treat b/c they only had only 5 kids. So next year we are going to decorate both sides of the driveway and gather around a fire pit in between the two houses and watch the kids coming up the driveways and give out candy. (lets hope it doesn't rain. 

Thank you for sharing your ideas and talents with the group everyone.


----------



## Diabolik

Terra said:


> Thanks again for the tutorial *Jimmyzdc*!
> 
> I made a different version of the flicker candles. I wanted an outdoor version that I could have on a timer. So I hacked a set of Christmas flicker lights and this is what I came up with:


Terra, These look great. I don't know if anybody saw them, but this season Target had strings of 10 flicker lights (flame type bulbs) in the Halloween section. I bought 2 sets. Got them on clearance for like $6 each. Figured they would be perfect for this project.


----------



## Terra

Oh yeah, those will work great. In fact, I used the same set of 10 flicker lights (_just the Christmas version/green_). 

If you are making a lot, I like the idea of buying the snap-on bulbs and making your own custom string so it will easily reach to all the candles without a lot of hacking. I just found out today that Minion's Web sells them: Minions Web


----------



## JammerG

OK, I don't get how that works.  
Did anyone take the step by step pictures for me, who is challenged.  do they come with instructions?  
or write it out. 
I'm sure it's easy but I'm not understanding if there is a battery or what make it work. I guess that must be the Zombin in me. haha
Thank you.


----------



## Terra

JammerG said:


> OK, I don't get how that works.
> Did anyone take the step by step pictures for me, who is challenged.  do they come with instructions?
> or write it out.
> I'm sure it's easy but I'm not understanding if there is a battery or what make it work. I guess that must be the Zombin in me. haha
> Thank you.


What are you referring to?


----------



## maranda3711

Thank you for this tutorial. I was looking for a safe way to do candles. This is definately a project I will be doing.


----------



## JammerG

*Sorry I wasn't clear...*



Terra said:


> Oh yeah, those will work great. In fact, I used the same set of 10 flicker lights (_just the Christmas version/green_).
> 
> If you are making a lot, I like the idea of buying the snap-on bulbs and making your own custom string so it will easily reach to all the candles without a lot of hacking. I just found out today that Minion's Web sells them: Minions Web


I'm sorry, I wasn't clear in that. I mentioned I was challenged today right?  I was refering to the snap on bulbs and making our own string.

Thanks Terra


----------



## Terra

Oh, hey no prob. 

The snap-on bulbs come in two pieces. The bottom has a channel where the lamp wire fits into. On one side of bottom is a metal spike. On the top, it also has a metal spike and when you snap the two pieces together the spikes pierce the wire and makes a connection with the metal inside. If you have ever installed low-voltage landscape lighting, it uses the same philosophy. So, you snap in the sockets where you want them, add a plug to one end and seal up the other end and *Walla!* you've just made your own custom string light.


----------



## JammerG

AHHHHHH. Thank you for that. I think I might have to look into ordering some. Thank you for answering my query.


----------



## thud

Push Eject said:


> :::groan:::
> 
> When I made mine I used raw wire and C7 light sockets to essentially make my own Christmas light string.
> 
> Push E.


>< doh! completely missed your reply somehow... thanks for the notes and the link. As your thread kinda merged back into this one, I'm going to drop a question at the end in regards to your method and something Terra said.


----------



## thud

Terra said:


> Oh, hey no prob.
> 
> The snap-on bulbs come in two pieces. The bottom has a channel where the lamp wire fits into. On one side of bottom is a metal spike. On the top, it also has a metal spike and when you snap the two pieces together the spikes pierce the wire and makes a connection with the metal inside. If you have ever installed low-voltage landscape lighting, it uses the same philosophy. So, you snap in the sockets where you want them, add a plug to one end and seal up the other end and *Walla!* you've just made your own custom string light.


I think I've got a grasp on this idea. I assume that all the wiring, sockets, and c7 bulbs are outdoor rated, right?

Then you just run a line (zip line?) along until you want your candle, run it up the length of the candle inside and back down forming a big "U" and snap a c7 outdoor flicker bulb on at the top of the "U" and repeat as necessary? Is there a limit to the number of lights you can use? Not that I'd go over a dozen.

How do you seal off the end of the zip line when you're done?

Can you pop off the lights and move them someplace else on the cord without jeopardizing the waterproofness?

Does this line plug into a regular outlet? I've seen landscape lighting that requires some sort of converter when it uses a zip line like this.

Any other tips regarding this process?


----------



## KimilyTheStrange

Jimmy... I wanted to say thank you as well for posting the How to. I absolutely love your tombstones as well!!! 

Have you done a How to on those? If not... whats stopping you?! Heh.

Thanks again... you rock!


----------



## Terra

thud said:


> I think I've got a grasp on this idea. I assume that all the wiring, sockets, and c7 bulbs are outdoor rated, right?
> 
> Then you just run a line (zip line?) along until you want your candle, run it up the length of the candle inside and back down forming a big "U" and snap a c7 outdoor flicker bulb on at the top of the "U" and repeat as necessary? Is there a limit to the number of lights you can use? Not that I'd go over a dozen.
> 
> How do you seal off the end of the zip line when you're done?
> 
> Can you pop off the lights and move them someplace else on the cord without jeopardizing the waterproofness?
> 
> Does this line plug into a regular outlet? I've seen landscape lighting that requires some sort of converter when it uses a zip line like this.
> 
> Any other tips regarding this process?


I myself have not used this method but I understand the idea so my answers are not from an expert using these  These snap-on lights and lamp wire (_not zip line_) are sold by Christmas light websites for people who do bulk outdoor lighting. Like big houses or cities doing their lighting so I would assume it's safe for outdoor (_don't hold me to that_).

You are right about the procedure (_running a 'u'_). I'm not sure how many sockets you can run along the line though. But, if the gauge is large enough, I would assume you could run way more than 12 sockets. The lamp wire used on cheapy Christmas light strings are a measly 20 gauge and they say you could string 6 flicker lamp strings together and that would give you 72 sockets. I think the lamp wire you purchase for the snap-on sockets are considerably larger gauge. (_I'm gonna guess 16 gauge_). So I would assume you could go way over the 72 sockets. Also, traditional C7 bulbs are 4 watt rated. Flicker candles are only 1 watt rated.

They do plug into a regular outlet. It is the traditional 110 high voltage that Christmas lights use. To terminate the end of your string I would assume you seal up the end _(make sure the two sides of the lamp wire don't touch)_ and give it a good waterproof coating. 

The instructions for the snap-on sockets say you can snap them off and replace them, but that makes me nervous. I would assume that the plastic coating would just re-seal itself but holes in high voltage lines just give me the heebie-jeebies. I wouldn't do it.


----------



## thud

@ Terra
Thanks for the notes, they're a great help! I have some other questions, but am going to go bug Push_Eject in his own thread to spare the group thread here a whole page of my Qs. *heh*


----------



## thud

As I've continued looking around for notes on how to assemble and use custom light strings, I came across this great resource:

Custom extension cords & C7/C9 Stringers

In this article:
Safety Tips
A few notes about wire terminology
Are they cheaper than regular cords?
What gauge & insulation should I buy?
Sockets, Plugs & Light Sockets
Making a custom cord-set
Making a custom C7/C9 string

It also includes a step-by-step walk-thru for assembly.

Hope this of some help to other haunters out there.


----------



## Bohica

Great link, thanks~!


----------



## SpookySteve

*Floating Tea Light Candelobera*

A cool idea would be to make a PVC Tea Light Candelobera and suspend it from fishing line so it would be floating in the air like in the Haunted Mansion!


----------



## SpookySteve

If you built the wired candles you could control the flickering in relation to a wind sound track. When the wind picked up you could make all of the candles flicker more and then go out at the climax. Then it could reset itself. Not sure about how to do it right now but where there is a will there is a way!


----------



## JammerG

*here's the suspended candles Steve*

Is this what you were talking about Steve?



JammerG said:


> no street lights to worry about in the neighborhood but I will remember the flat black paint.
> 
> this is just pre-paint stage. I always have to try it before the final stages.
> Thanks for sharing your idea. I was out hanging them up and the sheriff was crusing the neighborhood for something and had to stop and check it out.


----------



## hallorenescene

jammer, very nice. and was your friendly police officer impressed?


----------



## JammerG

*PVC candles*

 it was so funny that the officer actually stopped and commented on the tree. He did like it. 

It was fun to watch people stop or slow down to look at the tree. People asked how to do it and I just refered them to the forum. 

I got even more use for the candles New Years eve. I set them up around the room and on the tables. It looked really nice. 

This year we want to decorate the two yards and ask for donations for the local food cupboard. I have to talk to one of our friends that really gets into the halloween decorations even more then I do.


----------



## Uruk-Hai

thud said:


> As I've continued looking around for notes on how to assemble and use custom light strings, I came across this great resource:
> 
> Custom extension cords & C7/C9 Stringers
> 
> In this article:
> Safety Tips
> A few notes about wire terminology
> Are they cheaper than regular cords?
> What gauge & insulation should I buy?
> Sockets, Plugs & Light Sockets
> Making a custom cord-set
> Making a custom C7/C9 string
> 
> It also includes a step-by-step walk-thru for assembly.
> 
> Hope this of some help to other haunters out there.


That's GREAT! Thanks for the link - I'm electrically challenged so anything to make it clearer is all right by me. This together with Terra's how-to I'll definitely be making some of these this year.


----------



## 13mummy

Can you buy any of the electrical parts at Home Depot or do you have to buy them online?


----------



## Terra

13mummy said:


> Can you buy any of the electrical parts at Home Depot or do you have to buy them online?


I got my zip cord _(called lamp wire at Home Depot)_ but they don't have the snap-on sockets. I hacked a string of Christmas flicker lights.

Minion's Web carries the snap-on sockets _(green ones)_ but so little of the actual socket shows in the candle that it doesn't make that big of a deal. They also carry zip cord too. Minions Web


----------



## lonerogue2

Hey guys,

Ok, sorry to bring up an older thread, but not only is it a great thread i have a question about it that is probably a stupid question, but since im just getting into this project, I want to make sure i do it right.

ok, now, I plan on going out and getting some PVC and zip cord and ordering the snap on sockets.. but heres my question:

I get how to do the wiring for 1 candle... but if i wanted to do say a group of 4 candles, how could i do the wiring where I have 1 plug that goes into the wall, and enough sockets for each candle. I imagine that i would need to cut 4 seperate parts of zip cord, put the snap on sockets on, and then (this is where i am missing the "ah ha" moment) would i then splice the 4 seperate cords by twisting the bottoms together say under the candle, to make 1 wall plug end with 4 seperate bulbs? Terra can you help a noob out please  pictures would be great.


----------



## Rev. Noch

lonerogue2 said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> Ok, sorry to bring up an older thread, but not only is it a great thread i have a question about it that is probably a stupid question, but since im just getting into this project, I want to make sure i do it right.
> 
> ok, now, I plan on going out and getting some PVC and zip cord and ordering the snap on sockets.. but heres my question:
> 
> I get how to do the wiring for 1 candle... but if i wanted to do say a group of 4 candles, how could i do the wiring where I have 1 plug that goes into the wall, and enough sockets for each candle. I imagine that i would need to cut 4 seperate parts of zip cord, put the snap on sockets on, and then (this is where i am missing the "ah ha" moment) would i then splice the 4 seperate cords by twisting the bottoms together say under the candle, to make 1 wall plug end with 4 seperate bulbs? Terra can you help a noob out please  pictures would be great.


I just ordered parts for this also. I plan on making several candles on one string. The sockets I purchased clamp into the wire in line rather than on the end. This is more like a string of Christmas lights rather than a desk lamp. I'm going to take the one wire and find out where on the cord I will want to put the sockets so that the wire goes in and back out of the candles. The sockets will then be in series rather than parallel.


----------



## Rev. Noch

Does anyone have a good place to order the parts for this? I only got a few of the male and female electrical plugs because they were outrageously expensive. Minion's Web had them for a reasonable price, but then their shipping was off the charts. I had trouble even finding them anywhere else and when I did they were horribly priced.


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## lonerogue2

Not sure if this is one of the places you were referring to that you checked... but try the links here: http://www.halloweenforum.com/543759-post7.html

EDIT: I just check the link i gave you myself. Shipping is kinda steep. almost 10 bucks for basic UPS... but its for a bag of 100 clips. might be worth it.


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## savagehaunter

This is a great project and I can't wait to get started on making candles for me own haunt!


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## BevAnn

Darn you savage, for resurrecting this old thread - b/c now I just had to call my hubby to make sure he has all the tools to help make these for me!! LOL

and now, I'm off to lunch, to hit Michael's and see if they have the colored hot glue!!

Darn you!! LOL


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## dionicia

Would you post on here if they do? I didn't see any the last time I was there and ended up buying a TON (I think it was about 500) of black mini glue sticks online.

Don't forget your coupon!


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## piraticalstyle

That's awesome. I just did some very similar, but wired for the 'flicker' bulbs, instead of the tea lights. The misses had some candelabras she wanted to have candles in, but didn't want the hot wax dripping everywhere.


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## BevAnn

hhmm, dionicia, I just called Michael's before I wasted gas running out there - she said they do not have colors...BUT they have the colored glitter kind...interesting....could be used I guess. Hell, I'll go buy some, just to try it!


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## Venomiss

BevAnn said:


> hhmm, dionicia, I just called Michael's before I wasted gas running out there - she said they do not have colors...BUT they have the colored glitter kind...interesting....could be used I guess. Hell, I'll go buy some, just to try it!


My Michaels has colored glitter hot glue. HOWEVER, it comes in a multi pack of colors and I only wanted red glitter. 

If I had it to do over again, I'd paint all my pvc black first, then drip hot glitter red glue! ...as it is, they are all white and by the time I got done with 43 of them I said never again! LOL (I just happen to have 2 lengths of pvc around and just chopped at random)


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## BevAnn

I decided to forego Michael's, knowing all they had was glitter glue, and run to Hobby Lobby, alas - only clear hot glue.  guess I'll go back a few pages on this post, and find the recommended holiday site with all the neat colors.


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## darkrosemanor

Great Tutorial! I'm glad to have found this! 

Also, I found a great supplier for glue stix, including bulk colored stix - 

Colored Hot Melt Glue Sticks (Regular 7/16-inch Diameter) (Glu-Stix)


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## piraticalstyle

Ooo... we may want to discuss the possibility of bulk orders together, Pandora.


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## ruggerz

ive just made a whole batch of these the exact same way....

but ive noticed something that the UK are cheaper on, you got yours at 99cent for one and over here we get 4 for 99p.....WOW some thing that the UK is cheaper on.....

I am really jealous at the USA for have awesome cheap props and equipment....

Nevermind eh?.....least we try our best..

Ruggerz


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## dionicia

This company might help with the bulk ordering. Ultra Black Mini Glue Sticks – 5-lb. Pkg., 4" x 5/16" ~ Glue Sticks

It's the cheapest place I could find them in bulk.


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## _Katie_Lee_

I love this project. I'm new at making my own things, so I wanted something relatively simple. This was great! Awesome tutorial! One caution to newbies out there like myself: if you've never used a hot glue gun before, BE CAREFUL. I had never used one, and I burned my hand kinda bad. I'm ok, but I wanted to pass that lesson on. They don't call it a HOT glue gun for no reason.....lol. Again, great tutorial!


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## dionicia

There are some hit glue guns with a high and low setting. I bought both after I burned the tar out of my finger.


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## _Katie_Lee_

Amen to that. i used one my mom had at home, and it's this really old one with no setting. I burned myself several times. I need a new glue gun.....hahaha.


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## Terra

I did the stupidest thing when making mine. I glopped some glue on the top of my left hand. I immediately rubbed it off with the palm of my right hand. So, I burned both hands! UGH!


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## Milgrets

Absolutely wonderful. Thank you.


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## Brimstonewitch

I have been so excited to start this project and bought all the necessary supplies two days ago. Yesterday my son and I cut the "sticks" using a hacksaw. Needless to say, this has provided some lopsided candles that I'm hoping wont be too noticeable in the end. Unfortunately, encountering some additional issues along the way.....

My great stuff is taking FOREVER to dry. Top "puff" was dry and able to saw that off, but when I lifted each candle up it's still a sticky mess at the bottom . Been an additional 6 hrs and still waiting for that to cure. 

Spray paint is also not covering the labeling on the pipes very well either. We even sanded off the majority of it, but it's almost like the paint is enhancing all the flaws. It's really odd. Additional coats are not fixing the issue either. Thinking most of this will be covered by the glue when I get to that step. I'll post pic's when done. At least this is a cheap enough project I can do more.


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## Dminor

newgirlinaz said:


> Spray paint is also not covering the labeling on the pipes very well either. We even sanded off the majority of it, but it's almost like the paint is enhancing all the flaws. It's really odd. Additional coats are not fixing the issue either. Thinking most of this will be covered by the glue when I get to that step. I'll post pic's when done. At least this is a cheap enough project I can do more.


Did you use primer? I had bought black pvc pipe and a good coat of primer has them looking white as white can be.


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## SpookySteve

I used Acetone to remove most of the ink from the side of the pipe. I hid what was left with the glue and then covered everything with the paint. I agree about the paint bringing out the flaws. Especially the glue strings. I was worried at first but then I remembered that no one will be that close to them and it will be dark.


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## KimilyTheStrange

NewgirlnAZ - If you lightly mist the inside of the PVC with water, then use the spray in the foam, it will set up much faster. 
I hot glued my PVC before I painted, making sure to cover most of the printing with glue. 

The crooked PVC should be awesome! Candles burn irregular anyway.


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## blackcatlane

I did this project over the weekend and when I ran out of spray paint after the first coat (Made 35 candles from three pipes) I decided to use some leftover interior egg-shell paint. It worked so much better then the spray paint. The interior paint covered the printing on the pipe on the first pass and was perfect after two coats. I'm working on my next set of 35 and plan to use the interior paint from now on. I think if I run out of the egg-shell I will try a semi-gloss for a bit more shine, but the egg-shell looks great!


----------



## Brimstonewitch

Thanks for the tips gang. I've attached photos to show the outcome of my first PVC pillar candles. I started with the yellow because I had a pack of yellow glow glue sticks and figured it would be easiest to start there. They glow in black light as well. 


Here are the painted pillars w-great stuff

View attachment 6667



And these are the completed pillars


View attachment 6668



What they look light lit up


View attachment 6669



And lit with a blacklight

View attachment 6670


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## SpookySteve

That color in black light would be very disturbing. I like it!


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## dionicia

That is a very cool color. I like it too.


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## Terra

WOW, love the black light effect. Great work on those. The angles of the candles look realistic.


----------



## Brimstonewitch

Thanks everyone. I was really worried they would look goofy compared to all those great candles I saw everyone do. Hopefully I can get a few more done in the coming week. Thanks again for the help and feedback.


----------



## lucky13

blackcatlane, I second the interior egg-shell paint

newgirlinaz, I love the neon candles!

I haven't seen this in the forums so here are two tips for 4" candles:

- Stuff the pipe 3/4 with newspaper, if your worried about critters getting in you can plug the bottom with the cut off top and glue.

- Spackle works to seal the top and a little goes a long way to fill all those air bubbles holes, for the big ones just stuff some tissue into them then spackle.


----------



## Kelly_A

*Some mods:*

just a slight modification I came up with that saves time and effort. Forgo the expanding foam in favor of "biscuits" cut from a length of foam pipe insulation (or pool noodle if your pvc pipe is that large). Choose foam insulation just slightly larger that the diameter of the pvc. The biscuit will friction-fit in the pvc snugly and is just as steady as expanding spray foam. I cut 2" lengths with a snapknife and used one of the tealights to push the biscuit to the correct depth before adding the glue "wax" drips.

This trick also works to secure AC flicker bulbs in pvc candles - just double the biscuit length to about 4" and use diagonal cutters to trim the hanging clip off the side of the bulb socket. A little extra glue in the top covers the foam & socket.

One final tip, I cut shorter lengths (3.5" - 6") of pvc and created tealight candle walkway lights by hot glueing a 5" nail to the interior of the pvc. Cut the nail head off with bolt cutters before glueing. Just finish as above then push the nail into the ground until the base of the candle is flush with the grass.


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## Kelly_A

Sorry about splitting my reply - is a post count limit for pics.

Below: lousy cellphone pics showing 28 walkway LED tealights & 3 AC flicker groupings. You can just make out the pipe insulation biscuits inside the pvc.


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## Raven Manor

I love this idea and will start making some this week.
Thanks for posting. 

Mark


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## texasjanedoe

*Thanks!!!*

The BEST IDEA EVER! I am going to start making them TODAY!!!

LOVE THEM!!!


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## melmyissa

I was thinking of doing the exact same thing but wasn't sure if it would work so I ended up ordering candlesticks online THIS MORNING! Drat!

Thanks for the great tutorial! I only wish I had seen this about 10 hours ago...I just ordered 54 6" LED candle sticks from Ebay for $33.00! I'm still planning to use this to make taller candlesticks for my candelabras. THANKS!


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## texasjanedoe

So far they have been quite expensive...I am not sure the total amount of candles I will end up with tho....I am at about $100-$150 with everything so far....

Pvc, individual candlesticks, replacement flicker bulbs, funoodle, spray paint, spray expander stuff, misc wiring, hot glue, pvc glue, and some other junk...we'll see...I'll try to take pics as I put mine together and post them...I am also going to try to antique them...

 this will be a FUN project!


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## boneman818

I picked up a 21 pack with extra batteries at Costco here in SoCalifornia for $13 a few days ago. I also saved some money by not filling the tubes with GreatStuff instead cut pieces of shipping foam from my trash bin bigger than the inner diameter of the pipe and shoved it in. The foam can be adjusted up and down but fits really tight so once I get the candle where I want it there is stays. It's also nice to be able to punch the candle back out from the bottom side with a stick when you are done.


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## texasjanedoe

boneman818 said:


> I picked up a 21 pack with extra batteries at Costco here in SoCalifornia for $13 a few days ago. I also saved some money by not filling the tubes with GreatStuff instead cut pieces of shipping foam from my trash bin bigger than the inner diameter of the pipe and shoved it in. The foam can be adjusted up and down but fits really tight so once I get the candle where I want it there is stays. It's also nice to be able to punch the candle back out from the bottom side with a stick when you are done.


I hit 5 stores before I even found the darn candles...I had even tried thrift stores and managed to score one old candle....but found the majority at Hobby Lobby for $2.99 each and then paid 99 cents each for the flicker bulbs...but they are going to be soooooo worth it when they are done....I think I am going to put a crackle finish on them....I would like to find a giant wrought iron stand for them...they would be nice for a my house even as year round decoration  Add a little greenery and you've got some nice Xmas candles....


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## blackcatlane

texasjanedoe said:


> So far they have been quite expensive...I am not sure the total amount of candles I will end up with tho....I am at about $100-$150 with everything so far....
> 
> Pvc, individual candlesticks, replacement flicker bulbs, funoodle, spray paint, spray expander stuff, misc wiring, hot glue, pvc glue, and some other junk...we'll see...I'll try to take pics as I put mine together and post them...I am also going to try to antique them...
> 
> this will be a FUN project!


The money spent is well worth it!! I used 3 pipes and made 49 candles ranging in size form 12 inches down to 4 inches. If you didn't have the basics like a glue gun, hack saw, mitter box, exacto knife, etc. I can see how it would seem expensive. You will have fun!! 

This picture is only the candles from one pipe. 









[/IMG]


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## dionicia

A miter saw if your really careful works too.


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## blackcatlane

dionicia said:


> A miter saw if your really careful works too.


What and get back all the time it took to cut each candle; not to mention the the workout you get from hand sawing 49 candles....  My right bicep is really starting to look good!


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## GhoulishCop

I'm curious as to what the purpose is for using the Great Stuff for the filler. Is it to give weight to the project, because it can't add all that much? Is it protection, though most of that needs to come from the top. I'm just wondering if it's really necessary and you can forego this step. Thanks!

Rich


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## msmello

GhoulishCop said:


> I'm curious as to what the purpose is for using the Great Stuff for the filler. Is it to give weight to the project, because it can't add all that much? Is it protection, though most of that needs to come from the top. I'm just wondering if it's really necessary and you can forego this step. Thanks!
> 
> Rich


Layman's reply: How else can you get the tea light or the actual electrical flicker bulb to stay put? Maybe I'm wrong, but that is what I assumed it's purpose was.


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## GhoulishCop

msmello,

Thanks, that sounds reasonable, but I thought that was the purpose of the pink rigid insulation disk that the socket was inserted into. I just figured you could glue the rigid insulation into the PVC pipe. I guess the Great Stuff provides further stability, but it seems an expensive way to do it (not to mention messy).

Now I did see on this thread that someone used foam noodles, which isn't bad if that is the case, but as I said I just figured glue would be sufficient for that. Between the glue and all the glue "wax" that's applied, I can't imagine it slipping.

As I'm writing this, though, I'm wondering if it just isn't a carryover from when it was the flickering tea lights that were used instead of the flickering bulb hack that Terra did. For the tea lights you would need a platform for it to sit on so that does make sense. The flickering bulbs in a socket however seems like it doesn't need that filler, expense, or mess!

Thanks again for your thoughts.

Rich


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## msmello

You may very well be correct in that the great stuff foam was used only for the tea light gig for the candles, not for the actual electrical socket type. Since I decided to save my neighborhood from the electrical fire of the century by *not* trying my hand at the socket and real bulb candles, I don't know for sure what purpose the great stuff foam would serve for them. For mine, I had to have it to hold the little tea lights snug in place.


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## GhoulishCop

msmello,

As my kids used to tell me when they were young, "I'm so duh!" 

I was just looking through Terra's photos for her electrified version of the PVC candles and I see that she doesn't reference Great Stuff anywhere in her tutorial. I apparently confused jimmyzdc's version with Terra's. So that must be it. The Great Stuff is used as a platform for the tea lights while the rigid foam is used for the flicker bulbs.

Yeesh! Well I just needlessly added to this thread. Thanks for your help!

Rich


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## camsauce

*My variation*

Here's how mine turned out.. my variations to the recipe:

- Angle cuts
- Rolled up cardboard with some hot glue on the top to rest the tea lights instead of foam
- Colonial Red Paint
- Dollar Tree skulls and hands
- 'Enhanced' serving tray found at local thrift store


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## Brimstonewitch

Those are awesome Camsauce! I like the gory red with the skulls. Great look.


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## gravedigger greg

Foam, then styrofoam, then pool noodles foam... to make the candles in shorter time and/or cost. shove newspaper in pipe till full enough to support candle light. Might not work well if it got wet/damp, but not really a problem if used indoors. From then cutting of pipe to paint drying took 5 minutes assuming all of the supplys and tools were on hand. My guess is, if I did them in mass (starting later this week) i might get it done even quicker. 

I also tried using drywall screw and an air stapler, then cover up the screw/staple with a wax drip. It worked but was hard or imposible to adjust height. WARNING the air staple was kinda volient breaking a part of the pipe off inside and not completly flush (solved with wire clipers). did it once and wondered what else might go wrong. moved to screw.


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## texasjanedoe

I stuck my PVC pipes together with PVC cement and liquid nails...I held them together with the yellow and black tape until they dried and then cut it off. They are VERY STRONG. I did not stuff the bottom of the pipes. The hot glue holds the funoodle and the light to the top of the candle. You do not need anything shoved up the bottom of the pipes...I just pulled the cords thru the bottoms....

Here are my photos so far:

My PVC pipes glued together









Funoodle, Candle, and Weatherproof Glue









Cut the bottom off the plastic candles.....









Shove candle into cut Funoodle foam....









Put Candles into PVC pipes.....









Candles with the funoodles shoved into the pvc pipes...









All lit up...replaced normal bulbs with flicker bulbs.....









Melting the HOT GLUE......









The hot glue gun at work......









Almost done...I need to paint and antique these still.....









I am almost finished with my candles...I have a heat gun I think I am going to apply a little heat to cause the drips to run a little better...then I am going to spray paint them...then I am going to antique the whole thing...will post the pictures after that....


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## gravedigger greg

before you spray them, make a test one. i created two, one painted the other not... at night i thnk i like the non painted one looked better. the pipe was satin/lite gray and the glue was shinny and clear (ish). make the dripping wax look wet and hot?

here are my two candles that i threw together for testing. call it preproduction testing if ya like, I just wanted to make sure what i make is what i want. Need to make one or two more with the suggest to create a wash for the antique/dusty look?

View attachment 7223


(yes the glue work sucks... it was the paint on paint off look i was concerned about.)

I am thinking that the painted candle almost looks like it came out of a candle mold. maybe?


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## gravedigger greg

wife just got back from costco.... $13.99 something good got to come out of this....

View attachment 7224


dollar store vs costco tea lights

Dollar Store tealight

better shape - if less than 10 feet away
more flicker <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
less visable LED - not sure that makes a difference from 10+ feet
smaller base*

Costco

larger flame - positive if 10+ feet away
brighter - postivie if 10+ feet away

* the Costo base is a tad larger, two of my production skull candle holders they fit with a little pushing. when attempting to remove, the heavy skull can be lifted by the flame and needs to be wiggled out. Costco flicker is almost 50% less IMO.
View attachment 7227


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## texasjanedoe

gravedigger greg said:


> (yes the glue work sucks... it was the paint on paint off look i was concerned about.)
> 
> I am thinking that the painted candle almost looks like it came out of a candle mold. maybe?


Actually I think your glue work looks quite good...very realistic....


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## Terra

gravedigger greg said:


> before you spray them, make a test one. i created two, one painted the other not... at night i think i like the non painted one looked better. the pipe was satin/lite gray and the glue was shinny and clear (ish). make the dripping wax look wet and hot?
> 
> here are my two candles that i threw together for testing. call it preproduction testing if ya like, I just wanted to make sure what i make is what i want. Need to make one or two more with the suggest to create a wash for the antique/dusty look?
> 
> View attachment 7223
> 
> 
> (yes the glue work sucks... it was the paint on paint off look i was concerned about.)
> 
> I am thinking that the painted candle almost looks like it came out of a candle mold. maybe?


I agree, the unpainted glue looks more real. The drag is that the outdoor sunshine turned my glue yellowish. It doesn't look so bad but something to consider. For mine, I randomly and lightly spray painted the candles so there's hit and miss coverage. Did that on purpose. But, I go back and forth on whether I like the look. Here's a picture where you can see the yellow showing under the light coat of paint on the sides of the drips:










If I redo these, I'm thinking of repainting them completely with eggshell ivory paint and then doing the antique wash to make them look old and dusty.


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## blackfog

I painted mine black. Next year when I have more time I am going to make a boatload of these. I kinda like the way that looks Terra. The universe is helping you decorate............how cool is that!


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## Brimstonewitch

Terra, that's really how old white candles start to look so I think it's great for your props. There is something the air does to them and they look "aged". I wouldn't change them, but then you always come up with great ideas so I'm sure anything you do will be awesome.


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## Last_Chance

I found the led candles at the dollar tree, I think they have an online store also. 2 for a $1


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## Si-cotik

didn't have the funds this year, hope to make some for next year!!


----------



## Aether

First of all, great tutorial, thanks for sharing!!

I just wanted to mention a modified approach if you are like me and not really liking how the led flame looks. 
One trick I use is to wrap a strip of clear plastic (like what is used on overhead projectors or project folder covers) around the top of the candle to a height just above the tip of the flame. Then use the hot glue (I use clear caulk from DAP being that our Octobers can reach 100 degrees in the shade) starting at the top of the clear plastic strip and create your drips. 

This creates the effect that the flame has sunken into the candle and flickers from within, the flame itself is not visible.

Anyway, thought I would share.


----------



## Litenin

*My attempt at the candles*

Thanks Terra for the tutorial on this. I think my wife is going to want to keep these out for the whole year. I am definitely going to be making more of these.

View attachment 7493


View attachment 7494


View attachment 7495


View attachment 7491


View attachment 7492


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## dionicia

Nice setup.


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## Terra

Litenin said:


> Thanks Terra for the tutorial on this. I think my wife is going to want to keep these out for the whole year. I am definitely going to be making more of these.


Thank you but really much of the credit must also go to jimmyzdc. He came up the PVC candle idea. I added the electric powered flicker lights.

Your candles look good!


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## Litenin

Your right. My bad jimmyzdc, thanks for this tutorial.

Terra, yours are my next project with the electric flicker light string. I sometimes get confused with all the great projects I find on here.

Thanks again jimmyzdc & Terra.


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## bball3164

I had a heck of a time finding the electric tealights and ended up having to scrap the project for time. The 5 dollar stores in the area were all consistently sold out. Daily. I finally found some at Joanns for $2.50 for 2...and Michaels for $2.35 for two. Obviously, too much for such a great budget project (a 40% coupon per day would have netted ~the same as below).

The only workaround I found was if you have a Dollar Tree in the area, you can order them online. But you have to order a case of 2-pack packages, for 72 lights in all. I believe it came out to $0.60 per light after handling costs and taxes. Not bad when theyre twice that on ebay/normal outlets, and you cant find them elsewhere.

Definitely something to do for next year, and thanks for the tutorial.


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## Dminor

This may not be of any help, but my local Costco has a set of LED tea candles - 20 candles for $14. I have no clue what they look like when they're on, but that's a hell of a deal.

Unfortunately, they're not available on the website.


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## msmello

I just bought the gig from Costco. It was 28 lights plus 28 extra batteries for $13.99. They are great tea lights. A little larger in diameter than the dollar store ones, but they worked great in my candles. And the savings on the batteries alone is incredible. Last week I had to buy a 2-pack of those same batteries for a calculator. It cost me almost $8.00 with tax for two batteries. The same batteries these tea lights use.


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## pacman

*excellent ....*

these are excellent and really look expensive and totally realistic , wish i had thought of it , but i defintely will be trying to make some for my yard ....


----------



## gravedigger greg

Great idea. thanks

View attachment 7605


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## NIL8r

I built a couple groupings of these over the weekend. I haven't done the hot glue yet and they already look great. Thanks for the geat idea.

Now for my question. Why do people paint these white? Couldn't you just leave the PVC (after cleaning off the markings)? I thought about how PVC usually gets dirty easily. Could it just be sealed? I noticed that Terra mentions coating it lightly with matte ivory or white. But yet the glue still looks clear.

Can someone that has completed these provide some insight?

Thanks in advance!


----------



## Terra

I painted mine because I couldn't get the black lettering off. And the contrast of the clear glue and sparkling white of the PVC didn't work for me.

Now, here's some ideas. You'd have to order it but they do make white glue sticks and I was told that you can wipe off the lettering using PVC cleaner or _(this is a guess)_ acetone.


----------



## NIL8r

Terra said:


> I painted mine because I couldn't get the black lettering off. And the contrast of the clear glue and sparkling white of the PVC didn't work for me.
> 
> Now, here's some ideas. You'd have to order it but they do make white glue sticks and I was told that you can wipe off the lettering using PVC cleaner or _(this is a guess)_ acetone.


Thanks Terra. I used a random orbit sander with 220 grit paper to take off the lettering and dull the finish a bit. I also found that clamping the pipe to a board and cutting with the radial arm saw made nice straight bottoms for candles that stand straight up. 
First batch was with hacksaw=slanting candles. I ended up having to even them out in the saw.


----------



## SpookyMuFu

NIL8r said:


> Thanks Terra. I used a random orbit sander with 220 grit paper to take off the lettering and dull the finish a bit. I also found that clamping the pipe to a board and cutting with the radial arm saw made nice straight bottoms for candles that stand straight up. .


this is exactly how I did mine as well...no problems at all.


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## blackcatlane

NIL8r said:


> I built a couple groupings of these over the weekend. I haven't done the hot glue yet and they already look great. Thanks for the geat idea.
> 
> Now for my question. Why do people paint these white? Couldn't you just leave the PVC (after cleaning off the markings)? I thought about how PVC usually gets dirty easily. Could it just be sealed? I noticed that Terra mentions coating it lightly with matte ivory or white. But yet the glue still looks clear.
> 
> Can someone that has completed these provide some insight?
> 
> Thanks in advance!




I think it really boils down to personal preference. I found two things about not painting the candle, which I personally didn’t like.

1) As mentioned earlier in the thread, the unpainted glue will yellow over time if exposed to the sun (this happened to mine in a week); and
2) I personally think that the dripping effect shows up better at longer distances if it is painted vs. being left clear.

But again, that’s just my personal preference. I like how others have painted their candles black, cream, brownish and neon yellow. The best part about this idea is that you really can make the candles how you want to. Jimmydzc just gave us all a BIG dish of inspiration.


----------



## gravedigger greg

NIL8r said:


> I built a couple groupings of these over the weekend. I haven't done the hot glue yet and they already look great. Thanks for the geat idea.
> 
> Now for my question. Why do people paint these white? Couldn't you just leave the PVC (after cleaning off the markings)? I thought about how PVC usually gets dirty easily. Could it just be sealed? I noticed that Terra mentions coating it lightly with matte ivory or white. But yet the glue still looks clear.
> 
> Can someone that has completed these provide some insight?
> 
> Thanks in advance!


I liked the clear glue on the white candles better as the clear glue looked like hot wax, but as everyone was painting them i created two as seen earlier in this tread and took them outside with the same lighting as halloween. the non painted white turned gray and the glue drips disapeared after just a few feet away, looked like pipes with lightbulbs (funny that's what they are). the white one, although i didnt like it as I thought it looked like it was poped from a mold in china, showed the detail 10 to 20 feet away, reflected the light, created better shadows on the drips and really worked out better in my situation. 

I've seen other colors like black and red posted here, and might look great inside or on a setting with more light. but would become a floating ln my darker graveyard.


----------



## SpookyMuFu

the only thing I didnt like about painted candles was the little glue strings that seem to be un avoidable, show up 100x's worse.


----------



## Zeltino

I made these for my Halloween Party. They turned out awesome! Thanks so much for the Tutorial, jimmyzdc . Great job! I had tons of compliments on how realistic they were, when people realized they were made!


----------



## andjarnic

These do look nice.. just curious why not put in a couple of screws on the side where you want the candles to stop at, rather than expanding foam? Three should do. Then do the hot glue, and paint over them. Would that not work as well?


----------



## gravedigger greg

andjarnic said:


> These do look nice.. just curious why not put in a couple of screws on the side where you want the candles to stop at, rather than expanding foam? Three should do. Then do the hot glue, and paint over them. Would that not work as well?


I tried the screw and a air stapler. what i found it's kinda hard to get it exactly where you want it as making adjustments is kinda hard. I guess once you figure out where, ones after that would be easy. after my second shot, I figured it would be easer just fill the pipe with newspaper.


----------



## Bado

andjarnic said:


> These do look nice.. just curious why not put in a couple of screws on the side where you want the candles to stop at, rather than expanding foam? Three should do. Then do the hot glue, and paint over them. Would that not work as well?



I just used left over foam board. Just laid it on a flat surface and use the pvc (rotating back and forth) to cut circular stoppers. Pushed it down with a flicker candle to the right height, pulled the light out and just put a little hot glue around the edge inside to keep it in place. Took all of 15 min to make 30 candles. Was lucky I didn't throw out all my scrap foam board.


----------



## texasjanedoe

Bado said:


> I just used left over foam board. Just laid it on a flat surface and use the pvc (rotating back and forth) to cut circular stoppers. Pushed it down with a flicker candle to the right height, pulled the light out and just put a little hot glue around the edge inside to keep it in place. Took all of 15 min to make 30 candles. Was lucky I didn't throw out all my scrap foam board.


I am using a cheap Funoodle...they already have the hole in the center for the candle (I am not using tea lights)...It is shoved up inside the PVC...You just trim it to fit snug....once you apply the hot glue to the top it will hold it...no screws needed...Also we glued all our candles together with PVC cement....it melted them together and it is a very strong hold...when I pick them up and move them I just grab the center one and haul it around...its a strong hold!

In addition to looking great in my cemetery, I am making candles I can use all year...I have put a crackle finish on them and sealed them with a matte varnish. I am using electric candles with flicker bulbs in each one as I did not think tea light would be bright enough outside in my light show. I am also going to use these at Xmas time in my Xmas display (imagine some Xmas greenery around those candles) ...but I am also going to place these beside my fireplace inside my house during the year...they are turning out so nice I hate to put them into the attic...

I am going to put a power strip into the giant center PVC...plug all the candles into it so I only have ONE power cord coming out of the back of the whole candle...


I am very happy with the way it looks so far...I am hoping to put the hot glue on today...I have to go have some injections into my spine this afternoon and I am hoping to be physically able to complete them afterwards....

Here is the progress of my PVC candles I am hoping to finish today. 

Base Coat #3 is now on...I put 4 black base coats on total.









I let the base coats dry for an hour and put the crackle coat on.
















I let that dry overnight. This morning I have sealed it with a matte varnish because the crackle paint would melt off in the rain...it is not weather proof (as I learned last year on a beautiful chair I painted)......

Anyhow.....my next step is to melt the hot glue on....then my plans are to antique it....

I will add more pics as it get completed.


----------



## hallorenescene

texas, those are very pretty. i love the crackle. i can't wait to see them finished. all the flicker candles of everyones have turned out so nice


----------



## texasjanedoe

hallorenescene said:


> texas, those are very pretty. i love the crackle. i can't wait to see them finished. all the flicker candles of everyones have turned out so nice


Thank you...I could just kiss whoever came up with the original idea and shared it! I absolutely love everyones candles...

I want them around my bathtub (of course they will have to be the tea lights -would hate to fry myself naked and put the responding EMTs thru that horror)..and around my outdoor jacuzzi (tea lights- again the naked thing)....I can think of so many uses for these adorable candles....a smaller version as a table centerpiece.....ooooh and they would make such great Xmas gifts!

I am hoping to have them completed today...I get my injections in 2 hrs (spinal injections in my neck for headaches)....I am hoping I am well enough afterwards to complete my Halloween decorations BECAUSE IT IS NOT RAINING TODAY --YAY!


----------



## hallorenescene

*flicker candles*



texasjanedoe said:


> Thank you...I could just kiss whoever came up with the original idea and shared it! I absolutely love everyones candles...
> 
> I want them around my bathtub (of course they will have to be the tea lights -would hate to fry myself naked and put the responding EMTs thru that horror)..and around my outdoor jacuzzi (tea lights- again the naked thing)....I can think of so many uses for these adorable candles....a smaller version as a table centerpiece.....ooooh and they would make such great Xmas gifts!
> 
> I am hoping to have them completed today...I get my injections in 2 hrs (spinal injections in my neck for headaches)....I am hoping I am well enough afterwards to complete my Halloween decorations BECAUSE IT IS NOT RAINING TODAY --YAY!


remember the harry potter movie and all the candles hanging from the ceiling in the dining room. i always thought that scene was so pretty. i want to have a magic show for my haunt theme some year and have lots of these candles hanging from the ceiling


----------



## Mad Mad Mark

What a good idea. They look great . I will put this on my "To do" list for sure. I'm thinking of perhaps a floor stand candelabra using your method . Thanks for this how -to !


----------



## Smiter

Great job! I just saw this tonight.. so too late for this year.. but there is always next year! Thanks for posting this.


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## ScardyCat

I made my first candles this year. I spray painted them white after adding the hot glue drips. But I thought they were too pristine for using in a dungeon, so I dry brushed them with 2 different shade of brown paint to make them look dirty. They turned out great. It's fun to see all the variations on this simple project. Everyone make them their own.


----------



## Kuaaron22

*found today*

I did this project last weekend and did 8 candles with the scrap pipe I had leftover from a frisbeer game. They are awesome cheap props. Thanks Jimmy. Was going though the basement putting other seasonal totes back in the closet today. I found a box of 23 led tealights my mother in law had given to the kids in a box of leftover party favors from her work. A trip to home depot for another stick of pipe. They are setting up now. definitely one of the coolest last mintue prop ideas out here.


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## texasjanedoe

*Finally Finished*

I finally finished my candles! 

















Actually I think I am going to go back in there with some dark brown paint and antique them...They should look better that way...


----------



## Zeltino

Wowww. I love that look texasjanedoe. Did a better job than me!


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## hallorenescene

texas, those turned out georgous. wonderful job.


----------



## texasjanedoe

Thank you so much....my head is swirling with all the things I can do with these darn candles!

The tea light ones would be safe for my bathrooms...no worry of fire or electricity...

The would make a beautiful table center piece...

I will be obsessed with these for awhile....Gonna wait for the Xmas clearance to buy all the candles and flickers bulbs....


----------



## pacman

*excellent....*

those are fantastic , they are like something off a movie set , very very impressive.


----------



## texasjanedoe

pacman said:


> those are fantastic , they are like something off a movie set , very very impressive.


Oh my.....Thanks so much


----------



## Terra

The crackle effect is just beautiful.


----------



## Malk-a-mite

Have to add my voice to the long list.

Thank you for the idea, I managed to knock out a dozen or so in a basic white. Already starting to redesign them for a better look for next year.

32 second video of mine so I could show a friend overseas.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-N3jjSDGJM


----------



## hallorenescene

malk, your candles turned out nice. and the video is good for anyone to see how they're arranged.


----------



## Malk-a-mite

Just went back through the thread and didn't see it mentioned so maybe I should throw this in here.

I picked up the PVC pipe so that it was just big enough for my LED tea lights, and since I didn't want to bother with Great Stuff or having to hit a different store for the pool noodles.
I just walked a isle over at the Home Depot and picked up some pipe foam insulation:









Found a size that fits into the PVC with just a bit of squeezing and cut 1-2 inch piece for each candle. Allows me to push it down or back up to play with the height of the flame to see what looked best. The friction of the insulation wanting to expand a bit keeps it in place since the tea lights are low in weight. 

I ended us using the extra ... 6.5 feet or so for a quick and dirty chain links for my hanging ghost.


----------



## toyjunkie

Great idea, I'll have to try the pipe insulation next time. The Great Stuff was a bit messy. Course, I sprayed too much in the pvc pipe and had it oozing for two days. LOL


----------



## HandyAndy

WOW I am doing this for next year my haunt needed this but can I ask how you got the drip down the sides? Thank you


----------



## Malk-a-mite

HandyAndy said:


> WOW I am doing this for next year my haunt needed this but can I ask how you got the drip down the sides? Thank you


Depends on your tools. If you have a HOT glue gun you can just let the glue drip/ooze down the side of the pvc pipe.

If you have a low temp glue gun (like me) it normally starts with a big blob and then ends stringy. I found if works well to flip the pvc pipe upside down and start where the "drip" of wax should be ending. It wasn't prefect but had a nice effect all the same.


----------



## dionicia

One thing I wanted to mention. Make sure to store your candles in a cool place. I stored mine in the garage and I am glad I did. When I was putting them away today, it was getting hot and the got glue started to melt. Luckily, I have black hot glue to make repairs.


----------



## Lonescarer

Malk-a-mite said:


> Just went back through the thread and didn't see it mentioned so maybe I should throw this in here.
> 
> I picked up the PVC pipe so that it was just big enough for my LED tea lights, and since I didn't want to bother with Great Stuff or having to hit a different store for the pool noodles.
> I just walked a isle over at the Home Depot and picked up some pipe foam insulation:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Found a size that fits into the PVC with just a bit of squeezing and cut 1-2 inch piece for each candle. Allows me to push it down or back up to play with the height of the flame to see what looked best. The friction of the insulation wanting to expand a bit keeps it in place since the tea lights are low in weight.
> 
> I ended us using the extra ... 6.5 feet or so for a quick and dirty chain links for my hanging ghost.


I actually made about 6 of these candles this year and also wanted to be able to play with the height of the candles inside, so I just used scrap pieces of foam from my tombstones which squeezed in nicely and I could push up and down as I wished.


----------



## Brother Grim

So I'm all set to try this project and when I was shopping for supplies all I could find was clear glue sticks. In the pics they look really white, are you painting them or using white glue?


----------



## msmello

I believe some of us used clear glue sticks, some of us used white, and even some used black and red. 

Some of us left the clear glue unpainted. I went ahead and painted the whole thing, glue and all, when I was finished.


----------



## Brother Grim

I'm sorry, I re-read the first post and saw where it says paint....  long day I guess


----------



## SpookyMuFu

I used the clear ones, they turn a milky white when dry and look good


----------



## Rev. Noch

Scott N. said:


> I used the clear ones, they turn a milky white when dry and look good


Agreed, I do like the look of the clear sticks when they are unpainted. I painted the first one that I made and I definitely do not like it as much as the unpainted.


----------



## Brother Grim

Not that this is anything new but here's my first attempt









I used the foam instead of the great stuff and I have to say I'm a fan. It only takes a small piece and it shaves tons of time and effort off of the task. On my next batch I think I'm going to try and get rid of the writing on the pipe before I start working but overall and in the dark they'll look good.


----------



## SpookyMuFu

Brother Grim, can I make one suggestion?

You have about the same amount of melted wax on all the different sizes. I put less on my tall ones and much more on my shorter ones to give them a look of wearing or melting down....Just a suggestion

they look good tho!


----------



## GhoulishCop

I've made several sets of candles now (one strictly for indoor use using a mailing tube!), but one technique I haven't got down yet is the melting part. There seem to be two different styles: one where the wax seems to have wriggled down the side (I got that one down) and the other where it looks as though the wax has flowed smoothly over the top and dripped down the sides.

How is that latter effect achieved?

Thanks!

Rich


----------



## Brother Grim

> Brother Grim, can I make one suggestion?
> 
> You have about the same amount of melted wax on all the different sizes. I put less on my tall ones and much more on my shorter ones to give them a look of wearing or melting down....Just a suggestion
> 
> they look good tho!


You're absolutely right, I ran into two issues... The first is I'm impatient and wanted to see them. The second was that I noticed that the glue really needs to cool before you can add multiple layers which brings up a good question.

How long does it take you to make candles? Mine roughly took a couple of hours straight. I'm thinking two or three runs on the glue gun maybe a day apart is the key.

I'm also wondering how to do the crackle paint job. I like the white but it seems sort of plain to me.


----------



## GhoulishCop

Brother Grim,

The cool thing I've found with this project is how easy and relatively inexpensive it is to make multiple sets. Now that you've got at least one set under your belt you can make many more using different techniques and materials.










My first set was made with PVC, but as I noted in a prior post I also made one out of a cardboard mailing tube. My wife liked it so much I think it's found a permanent home on our stairway landing. 











I'm also finishing up a bunch made out of toilet tissue tubes. The interior dimensions of the cardboard tube perfectly fits the flickering tea light. I'll be experimenting with different paint colors soon too.

Another advantage of the project is that they look good no matter the holiday -- or even if there is no holiday! Sitting on a mantle or on a side table by themselves works well too. One thing I have done with the stand alone versions is put a base of "melted wax" around the bottom to give it some stability and lessen the chance of it falling over.

Rich


----------



## Brother Grim

odd, your pics aren't coming up


----------



## GhoulishCop

Brother Grim,

Yeah, they didn't show up because I'm an idiot, but hallorenescene set me straight. Forgot to upload them to my album first. Duh.

Anyway, here are my meager efforts that I was trying to convey:



















When I finish with my toilet paper tube candles (I'm so glad this tutorial was started using PVC, since "Toilet Paper Tube Candles Tutorial" just doesn't have the same ring) I'll post them, supposing that is that I've got this whole picture posting thing down now. 

I do like that cracked paint effect, however, and definitely want to use that on a set. 

Rich


----------



## hallorenescene

some more pretty candles everyone. WOW!


----------



## hirez00

*LED Tea Lights 2 for $1 at Dollar Tree Store*

I found decent "LED Tea Lights for 2 for $1 at the DOLLAR TREE store and bought 22 packs - thats 44 LED candles for $22) ... I have never ever seen these LED tea lights this cheap and thought I would share the info on here.

What I didn't notice when I bought them because they were still in the packaging was that the "fake flame" was coated in silicon / rubber to have a taller and more "flame" shape. I recently saw this has been done on the larger "flicker candle" bulbs, the same as the ones that people put in their lanterns and chandeliers, but they were usually double the money. 

I was please to find these tea lights had this already done to them ... Then when I went to Target later today I saw the ones they sell there for Xmas DON'T have this silicon coating on them and the bulbs looked considerably smaller, even though they were twice the price to what I found at the DOLLAR TREE store.

I thought maybe others might be interested in this idea of making their bulbs / LED tea lights have different variation and size of the flame. I bought some caulking silicon for $2 and experimented with "stretching the flame" and it appears to work nicely.

Simply put a nice size glob of silicon (maybe you can even use hot glue) onto the plastic flame of the LED tea light and then suspend the tea light upside down and wait for it to drip ... or wait for it to dry slightly and then pull on the silicon with a pair of tweezers to stretch it up and maybe even curl it a bit.

Below are the 2 for $1 LED tea light I found. I have not modified these ... yet ... but I thought by others seeing the packaging, they knew what to look for for such a cheap price.

Once i get my PVC candles all done and painted I will post pictures of the finished pieces.

Thank you for posting such a great tutorial about how to make these PVC Candles. It will be the first "tutorial" I am trying from this site.

http://www.hi-rezdesigns.com/xmas_halloween/tea_01.jpg
http://www.hi-rezdesigns.com/xmas_halloween/tea_02.jpg


----------



## Terra

GhoulishCop said:


> I've made several sets of candles now (one strictly for indoor use using a mailing tube!), but one technique I haven't got down yet is the melting part. There seem to be two different styles: one where the wax seems to have wriggled down the side (I got that one down) and the other where it looks as though the wax has flowed smoothly over the top and dripped down the sides.
> 
> How is that latter effect achieved?
> 
> Thanks!
> 
> Rich


I do that style. Here's part of a tutorial I made showing how I did that: Halloween Forum - Terra's Album: Tutorial: Outdoor flicker lights










_To give a glowing appearance and to hide some of the bulb you will need to build up the top of the PVC. Starting at one edge of the cut you made, circle the top with your glue gun. Let cool and repeat until you get a nice build-up. It takes about 5 passes._













_Starting from the outside of the top zig-zag large swaths of glue being sure they butt up as you go down. Gravity will connect it to give it a nice covering look. As you reach the bottom, add large glops of glue and that will give you a bulbous drip at the bottom._















_Add a second layer to cover the gaps left by the first layer._
















_Keep adding drippings until you like the look. _


----------



## halloweenjunkienick

I AM DOIN IT! thanks so much


----------



## MarkOf13

hirez00 said:


> I found decent "LED Tea Lights for 2 for $1 at the DOLLAR TREE store and bought 22 packs - thats 44 LED candles for $22) ... I have never ever seen these LED tea lights this cheap and thought I would share the info on here.


I found a similar deal for packages of 4 for $2 at my local Home Depot. They weren't so cheap after Halloween but I found them in the Christmas clearance area (50% - 75% off).

I grabbed a bunch but didn't notice that a few were the kind that changes color from red, orange, blue and green. I wouldn't have normally gotten them but since they weren't that expensive, I didn't mind. 

I made a few of these candles this past Halloween but for this year I'd like to do a free standing candelabra of some kind. Just with a lot more glue running on the sides.


----------



## paganmama

I noticed that your hot glue drips are white.......mine are clear! Did you use a special glue? Or did you paint over them...I love these! You can put them all around your outdoor haunt and not worry about fire hazards!!


----------



## Terra

paganmama said:


> I noticed that your hot glue drips are white.......mine are clear! Did you use a special glue? Or did you paint over them...I love these! You can put them all around your outdoor haunt and not worry about fire hazards!!


If you are lucky you can find the white glue _(or order online)._ I spray paint the candles when I'm all done. Someone up-thread found red glue and used them on a black pillar. Looked awesome and _evil!_


----------



## Mandathewitch

Just started working on some pvc candles. I really like the gold. May add some dark veins to give them a cracking appearance....









































I used the PVC Insulator foam for the insides... the 7/8" is perfect for the 1 1/2" PVC Pipe... it slides right inside nicely, and doesn't move unless you want it to. I ordered Flicker LED Tealights online for $16 for 24 of them including shipping. Hopefully I'll have those in a few days! I'm very excited to almost be done with my first project of the year...


----------



## Terra

Oh, I like the gold! Very Phantom of the Operish.


----------



## BlueFrog

Terra said:


> Someone up-thread found red glue and used them on a black pillar. Looked awesome and _evil!_


I know that color combination as a "weeping rose" and have begged very candlemaker I know to make me some, to no avail. For some reason they seem to be a U.K. only item. Some quick Googling turned up red hot glue and if you all will excuse me, I'm off to order some! So excited I can finally have my own weeping roses AND even use them in my display!


----------



## Mandathewitch

Terra said:


> Oh, I like the gold! Very Phantom of the Operish.


I kinda felt like the gold was a little richer. Since I'm doing a modified pirate theme, I wanted something that I as the leader of the eastview trading company may have confinscated(or stolen however you want to see it. Hehe) from my pirate foes! Hehe I started to do them just a basic offwhite and it bored me! The paint I used is very metallic... The pictures don't do it justice. I'll post finished pics in a few days.


----------



## paganmama

So what type of paint did you use? I didn't know if acrylic, or spray paint would be better. Does the paint adhere to the glue, or do you leave that part unpainted? Looks great...adding this to my loooong list of goodies to make!


----------



## Mandathewitch

paganmama said:


> So what type of paint did you use? I didn't know if acrylic, or spray paint would be better. Does the paint adhere to the glue, or do you leave that part unpainted? Looks great...adding this to my loooong list of goodies to make!


I personally used a combination of both. I spray Painted the base color as White to cover up the writing on the PVC, and then I hand painted the gold on. The gold I used was an acryllic paint I found on clearance for $2 that has flecks of real gold in it... it really shimmers. I had bought all the gold base clearance colors in like June last year, and had absolutely NO use for them til this project... lol.

The paint doesn't really like the hot glue, so it will probably take 2-3 coats to be satisfied.... at least from my experience. my candles all have 2 coats of gold on the glue and the PVC.


----------



## yardhauntjunkie

Terra said:


> Someone up-thread found red glue and used them on a black pillar. Looked awesome and _evil!_


I looked through the entire thread and didn't find and pics of this, do you possible know where I could find them?


----------



## Kimber53711

I went to K Mart today and scored a pack of 6 rechargeable LED candles with the charger base for $2.19! We found them laying with random valentines day and other holiday clearance items, including Christmas. It was the only pack we seen. So we scanned them and it said check shelf for price, so we had to ask the people at costumer service how much they were. Long story short since they couldn't get it to scan either they called the manager who told them to take 90% off of the original price showing up! Plan on hitting up the other K Marts in the area tomorrow to see if we find anymore. Just though id share in case other K Marts did this as well. It is a deal!


----------



## Mandathewitch

ok. so I couldn't resist going 1 step further... I cant just leave well enough alone. I know. So I added GLITTER to my PVC Candles...I think it makes them look better... what do you think?
original:








Glittered:


----------



## GhoulishCop

Mandathewitch,

As Terra said, the gold adds a Phantom of the Opera look to it, and the glitter works well with your pirate booty/trading company theme. 

Terra,

Thanks for your reply several months ago. Sorry, I've been away from the thread for a bit. I wonder if the difference in drip texture is also due to the glue gun you use. I have one of those dollar store versions and your glue gun looks somewhat bigger, more substantial. Maybe it's able to push more of the glue stick through.

Cheers,
Rich


----------



## Terra

yardhauntjunkie said:


> I looked through the entire thread and didn't find and pics of this, do you possible know where I could find them?


Sorry I missed your question earlier. 

I think I'm going insane. Anyone please help me here. I *KNOW* I saw black candles with blood red drips. I thought it was on this thread but I guess not. I've searched and searched and I can't find it. I spent 20 minutes looking. UGH!


----------



## Terra

GhoulishCop said:


> Thanks for your reply several months ago. Sorry, I've been away from the thread for a bit. I wonder if the difference in drip texture is also due to the glue gun you use. I have one of those dollar store versions and your glue gun looks somewhat bigger, more substantial. Maybe it's able to push more of the glue stick through.
> 
> Cheers,
> Rich


That could be. This was my second glue gun because I broke the first one making these candles. What happens is that you must go very slow to get the thick glue and you tend to run out of patience so you squeeze the handle harder until you break it off, LOL!

So, when you get a bigger gun_ (that has a high setting)_ and break that handle off too (DOH!) you then learn that you have to let the gun get super hot. Squeeze the glue until it's harder to come out and then put the gun down and let it reheat. This takes frustrating patience so I suggest you have a second project going.


----------



## Terra

Mandathewitch said:


> ok. so I couldn't resist going 1 step further... I cant just leave well enough alone. I know. So I added GLITTER to my PVC Candles...I think it makes them look better... what do you think?


 
Well, now they are really fashionable. Remember all the glitter last Halloween? Very cool. I liked it better without the glitter but they still look really good.


----------



## GhoulishCop

Terra said:


> Sorry I missed your question earlier.
> 
> I think I'm going insane. Anyone please help me here. I *KNOW* I saw black candles with blood red drips. I thought it was on this thread but I guess not. I've searched and searched and I can't find it. I spent 20 minutes looking. UGH!


Terra,

I didn't find black candles with red wax (or vice versa) but I did find black candles with black wax and red candles with red wax further back in this thread. Here are some pics:

http://www.halloweenforum.com/attac...224378240-pvc-flicker-candles-candles-007.jpg

and 

http://i588.photobucket.com/albums/ss324/art_pottery/flicker_1.jpg

and

http://www.halloweenforum.com/attac...12-pvc-flicker-candles-candlessideresized.jpg

Hope that helps restore your sanity.

Rich


----------



## Terra

Thanks but no. I saw black candles with red drips. I know I did. I did.....

_<puts head in hands, sobbing>_

heh.


----------



## GhoulishCop

Terra said:


> Thanks but no. I saw black candles with red drips. I know I did. I did.....
> 
> _<puts head in hands, sobbing>_
> 
> heh.


LOL! Okay, maybe you visited the Garage of Evil? I found a tutorial there by RavensBarrow for a black candle with red wax:

http://api.ning.com/files/Jiklew2yJ...*x5dMIg-WQiqzVoh*Svu7Q/DSC_0091.JPG?width=300

Hope _that_ helps... ;>

Rich


----------



## GhoulishCop

Er, make that Ravens Hollow...


----------



## GhoulishCop

And since I'm spamming the board with multiple posts, here's the link to tutorial.

PVC Candle How To - Garage of Evil!!

No new ground being broken there, though the painting techniques were a little different.

Rich


----------



## Guest

Terra said:


> That could be. This was my second glue gun because I broke the first one making these candles. What happens is that you must go very slow to get the thick glue and you tend to run out of patience so you squeeze the handle harder until you break it off, LOL!
> 
> So, when you get a bigger gun_ (that has a high setting)_ and break that handle off too (DOH!) you then learn that you have to let the gun get super hot. Squeeze the glue until it's harder to come out and then put the gun down and let it reheat. This takes frustrating patience so I suggest you have a second project going.


I thought I was the only one that kept breaking those danged glue guns!  When I watched a video of the candles being made, the glue appeared to flow freely all the time. I couldn't understand why mine wouldn't, so I tried to force it. Definitely takes a lot of patience. I never did get mine looking realistic. lol

p.s.- Terra I've seen those black candles with red drips, also. But unfortuntely can't remember where; dang it. Now, I'll probably drive myself nuts looking for them..  Okay, more nuts than I already am. LOL


----------



## Terra

GhoulishCop said:


> And since I'm spamming the board with multiple posts, here's the link to tutorial.
> 
> PVC Candle How To - Garage of Evil!!
> 
> No new ground being broken there, though the painting techniques were a little different.
> 
> Rich


Well, it's close but not the ones I saw. I swear it was here at the forum!

Cathy, do not drive yourself crazy looking for them. I went down that road and it was a horrible, lonely place.


----------



## rpick89

Thanks for posting this tutorial. Had a lot of fun last October making these candles. Always wanted to post pictures of mine but forgot. Now I'm back getting ready for 2010 and thought I would post now.


----------



## hallorenescene

cool candles rp. love your setup. did you make the stone or coffin


----------



## Terra

Oooh, nice looking candles and the graveyard looks so spooky.


----------



## Rev. Noch

Has anyone discovered a better source for the flicker bulbs? The ones that I bought had all kinds of issues and about half on H'Ween weren't even turned on.


----------



## rpick89

hallorenescene said:


> cool candles rp. love your setup. did you make the stone or coffin



No, those were store bought. Working on making new ones for 2010 though.


----------



## rpick89

Rev. Noch said:


> Has anyone discovered a better source for the flicker bulbs? The ones that I bought had all kinds of issues and about half on H'Ween weren't even turned on.


This may have already been noted as a source earlier in the thread, but I got mine at Action Lighting (actionlighting.com). $1.34 for 2-pack + shipping. I used ±30 last Halloween. Had 1, maybe 2 duds.


----------



## The Reapers WS6

*Action Lighting is where i get all mine at as well,, male and female plugs too,, their shipping is kinda high, but they do a great job of packing everything really good with those fun peanuts.... we just started ours this last weekend,, the plugs and sockets are super easy to use.
I used great stuff AFTER i ran the wires to hold everything in place,, and use styrofoam bases that look like the candles are sitting on a rock next to my stones (hahahaha),, makes it easy to hide the wires at the bottom inside the cavity i carve out of the foam, then just make the plug ends come out the back of the stone. The first set i did, i cut lil round styrofoam circles to hold the C7 sockets in place, but just getting everything wired up and squirting the PVC with great stuff after the fact was much easier to do,, no cutting or drilling. *


----------



## Kurtluckman

These are amazing and cheap to make, They will look amazing on top of the organ im making. Thanks for the post. Happy Halloween.


----------



## jimmyzdc

Bump about finding another source for flicker bulbs. I also bought about 50 last year and I would say about 20 of them stopped working by Halloween night. I also ordered from Action Lighting. Everything else I got there was fine (wire, plugs, sockets).


----------



## The Reapers WS6

really? ive never had an issue with AL's flickers,, and ive ordered over 100 of em,, and some ive been useing in my garage almost everyday since 2009 Halloween...


----------



## jimmyzdc

Hmm....did you order any last year? Maybe they changed vendors? Or I guess maybe I got a bad batch. I need to re-order some more this year so maybe I will give them another try.


----------



## The Reapers WS6

most from last fall, more this spring,, and getting ready to order about 40 more cards in a week or two. 

Here are some pics with my candles...

View attachment 10531


View attachment 10532


View attachment 10533


View attachment 10534


View attachment 10535


----------



## The Reapers WS6

and more,,,

View attachment 10536


View attachment 10537


View attachment 10538


----------



## Terra

*The Reapers WS6*, everything is just so wickedly awesome!


----------



## The Reapers WS6

thanx Terra!!!


----------



## hallorenescene

*WOW* reapers, you're candles look wonderful, you're whole set up rocks. you're going to have a heck of display this year


----------



## jimmyzdc

Awesome stuff!! I guess I will go ahead and order another batch from them this year. Hopefully I'll have better luck


----------



## sarahtigr

This is my very first prop! Opinions and advice welcome. I appreciate any help. Its not painted yet, waiting for glue to totally dry and deciding if I should add more. I'm pretty happy with the way this one looks but I think with a little practice it will definitely get better. Thanks to everyone I borrowed ideas from (Jimmyzdc  and pretty much everybody else that commented here)! I'm so psyched about getting into making props and I know this is just the start. I'm hooked.


----------



## hallorenescene

sarah, i don't think they need more glue. look great. what color you gonna paint them


----------



## sarahtigr

Thanks! I'm just going to do them white for now. Next year I'm definitely going to do the black pvc with red hot glue. Haven't used a glue gun in a while and I forget what a work out they are. lol


----------



## pagan

A great use for all the flickering tealights I got from Costco last year!! Thanks!


----------



## REV

Wow! OK im hooked... Home Depot here I come. Thanks all this will be a really fun project.


----------



## Si-cotik

I'm going to try my hand at these this year


----------



## CobhamManor

Excellent melting effect! I love those!


----------



## blackfog

Nice work sarahtigr! They turned out great! I did some last year to and they can be addicting.










The Reapers WS6 I would love top make those with the electric bulbs. You did a great job on your display and love the red color of the candles. I will proabably be making more of them.


----------



## 7500Blizzard

Well my 14 yr old son just made a set of these turned out pretty good so far. We made them with black PVC they are unpainted as he's not sure what he wants to do yet. Here's a pic and hopefully a short clip i hope.









Vid:


----------



## hallorenescene

7500, those turned out fabulous


----------



## Saffyre

7500Blizzard said:


> Well my 14 yr old son just made a set of these turned out pretty good so far. We made them with black PVC they are unpainted as he's not sure what he wants to do yet. Here's a pic and hopefully a short clip i hope.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Vid:


Tell your son he did a great job with these! I especially like the Great White music in the background on the vid


----------



## skullnbones

wow! these just got moved to the top of the list! thanks!


----------



## 7500Blizzard

Thanks for the comments my son really appreciates it.


----------



## grimghost

hi

Quick question. Is this version of the PVC candle usable outdoors (i.e. in the rain)? If not, can they be made so. Terra's non-battery PVC candles have a groove cut in them to let water drain out, would this work on battery-powered flicker lights?

thanks for any help in advance


----------



## killerhaunts

I started working on more dynamite when ... I ran out of GreatStuff! What am I going to do with these cardboard tubes ??? I had some of my LED flicker tealights sitting next to me and wondered if they would fit into the tubes and they DID!!! I packed up the bottoms with wadded newpaper and hot glued them to the foam piece. Because the cardboard tubes soak up spraypaint I have to wait til they dry and put a second coat or paint on the candles. This is just a first step. I have to add two more shorter candles in the front to light up the taller ones, then paint them and DryLoc coat the foam piece they are all sitting on. The good thing is that the flicker candles can be easily removed to store them or change th batteries.


----------



## Terra

Great-looking candles everyone. KillerHaunts...cardboard tubes?! Dang, that's easy. Nice idea.



grimghost said:


> hi
> 
> Quick question. Is this version of the PVC candle usable outdoors (i.e. in the rain)? If not, can they be made so. Terra's non-battery PVC candles have a groove cut in them to let water drain out, would this work on battery-powered flicker lights?
> 
> thanks for any help in advance


I wish someone was able to answer this for you. I do not know but gut instinct tell me that it wouldn't work. I would assume those battery flicker things aren't waterproof. 

The flicker light string that I was using was already outdoor rated but I figured I needed to still keep it from just sitting in a pool of water so that's why I made those channels. By the way, they hold up great. Been outdoors for a total of 60 days and nights and no problems


----------



## hallorenescene

killer, whose not so into haunts, a second coat of paint and those will be dynomite. nice job


----------



## Pumpkinprincess

FYI...Target has nice quality color changing and yellow LED flicker candles clearanced for $2.49 a four pack. 

I bought several coloring changing. Thought they would look good in JOL and pvc candles for my clown haunt this year.


----------



## heartlady

I would love to make some of these candles but I need to be able to connect them in groups or "pods". Has anyone done this and can you tell me how. I need them to be permanently connected. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


----------



## Push Eject

Heartlady, I hot glued mine in groups of 2, 3 and 4 on a single run of wire. Cheers!


----------



## Darth Sparrow

Just finished mine today...










Now hopefully I make enough money at our yard sale tomorrow to start on my BELOVED Tombstone


----------



## hallorenescene

darth, they look very pretty


----------



## heartlady

I made some of these great candles but fixed them so they could be decorations on a porch or hallway. I used fall flowers to decorate these but plan on making them with pine and christmas ornaments for my Christmas craft shows. I don't know how to upload the photo so it appears in the post so you'll have to click on my link to see them. Thanks for all the help from everyone.


----------



## hallorenescene

heartlady, those turned out beautiful


----------



## ryanrgrnt

awesome
so simple to do too...


----------



## ryanrgrnt

i c something to go with the casket room..... thanks for the post


----------



## Dminor

I feel like I'm in the minority when it comes to the PVC candles. I always hide the tip of the flame. I think it's spookier that way.


----------



## lorod

*LED candles*

Dminor, you are not the only one. Even though I think everyone's candles I have seen in this thread have been very cool, I personally like the "flame" to be in the candle. I had some real candles laying around and wanted to see if I could make a flameless candle using them (since i was not going to have time to make the PVC candles shown in this tread).

Using a forstner bit the same diameter as the LED flame tea light, slowly cut into the top of the candle. Go slowly here or you could break the candle. To give the candle the "melted" look, I used a heat gun to melt a bit of the wax.

Quick and easy way to make a flameless candle.


----------



## slvreagl

jimmyzdc said:


> *Parts List:*
> 
> ~ 1 1/2" PVC Pipe - Full length 8-10 ft pipes --> Home Depot
> ~ Great Stuff Insulation Filler - Link --> Home Depot
> ~ LED Tea Lights - Pic --> 99 Cent Only Store
> ~ Hot Glue --> Wal-Mart
> ~ Hot Glue Gun - Pic --> Wal-Mart
> ~ 1 1/2" Forstner Drill Bit (or whats the size of your tea lights are) - Link - Pic --> Home Depot
> ~ Rustoleum Painters Touch Spray Paint (Heirloom White - Satin) - Link --> Home Depot
> 
> *Steps:*
> 
> 1. Cut your long PVC pipe to your desired lengths. I used a chop saw (Pic) but if you don't have that then you can use a hacksaw. I went in 2 inch increments (12", 10", 8"...etc.). I also tried to cut them a little taller or shorter than each one of the those increments so each candle looked to be a unique size.
> 
> 2. Place the pipes upright on a hard surface. Make sure you cover the surface with some type of material since the foam insulation will come in contact with it. I just put down some painter's paper on my garage floor and set the pipe on top of that.
> 
> 3. Fill the pipes with Great Stuff Insulation Foam. I usually filled mine about 1/2" from the top since it expands.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 4. Let the foam dry completely. I filled mine up at night and then worked on them the next day.
> 
> 5. Cut off the foam so it is even with the pipe. I came back with chop saw to trim it off or I found you can just slice it off with a hacksaw as well.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 6. Use you forstner bit to trim down the foam inside the pipe to the desired height you want the tealight to sit. I found that putting the drill in high speed mode rather than high torque works best. Drill slowly so the bit cleanly slices away the foam. If you go to fast the bit just rips out chunks.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 7. Once you have the pipes drilled out it's time to apply the hot glue. I found that using a high temp hot glue gun works the best. Since the gun is high temp the glue becomes very runny and creates nice drips. Just work around the pipe and going in multiple layers seems to give a nice effect. Another thing I found out through the whole process is try to make a nice long drip right over the printing on the pipe. When you paint it it will help in covering up the printing.
> 
> 8. After the glue is dry you are ready for paint. If the printing on the pipe is showing you can try to remove it by sanding it off or using nail polish remover to take it off. Spray the candles in nice smooth strokes making sure you get all the nooks and crannies around the drips. It took me 2-3 coats to get the printing on the pipe to not show through.


Thanks for the great idea jimmyzdc! Quick easy and fun!


----------



## hallorenescene

slv, those are pretty all different colors like that


----------



## GiggleFairy

I sooo love these candles. I have my goodies ready to make a batch, just need to get started. I've never seen the colored tea lights. Neat-O !


----------



## doramide7

Dark Star said:


> Very creative thinking with the expanding foam. Those look great!


Those turned out great! I'll definately be trying this when I get a chance!!


----------



## JBOOGIE

How about the bulbs? How did you do them? Did you consider making them flicker?


----------



## JAG435

*candles*

I did some too this weekend. They look great and are VERY easy to make.
They didnt get painted yet, as we had some heavy winds here all weekend.

I hope to paint them tonight after work.

Here they are...

http://jerry-ravencrest.blogspot.com/

I do like the colored lights. I havent seen those in tea candles yet.

Jerry Greene
[email protected]

Cranston, Rhode Island


----------



## Greeneyes

Jag, I like the way that you made the drips puddle up at the base of the candles, that looks great!

What did you put them on to not have them stick? Wax paper?


----------



## JAG435

I did mine on cardboard, and the hot glue at the bottom did stick.
I let it dry and them pealed it off the cardboard and then pulled off any extra cardboard. Once painted it didnt matter if there was some cardboard stuck on the bottom side.

These were so easy to make. I went and bough some more pipe. I hope to find time to make more this weekend.

TIP:
I found white colored PVC pipe that the tea candle fits right inside without having to drill out any of the pipe. One less step and no power tools required. I think it was a lower grade PVC pipe. The wall of the pipe is thinner.

Jerry Greene


----------



## RCIAG

My glue gun came with a silicone pad to rest the tip on & I used that to sit the candle on & puddle glue around the bottom on the pad. Once dried it came right off.


----------



## jimmyzdc

Hey guys...can't believe how monstrous this thread has gotten. I just wanted to post a quick update to my original candles. I wanted to add some more detail this year so I added some more depth by painting the candles to look aged. Thanks goes to HiRez for the idea!

I used Liquitex Basics Raw Umber paint which you can get at Joann's or Micheal's in different sizes. Just applied the paint to the candle and took a damp paper towel and wiped off the excess. All the paint that the towel doesn't hit gets left behind and really adds some depth of detail to the candle.


----------



## msmello

WOW !!!! Those look awesome jimmyzdc. Very well done.


----------



## blackfog

Those look great! I painted some black and the newest ones I did for my tombstones this past Halloween I didn't have enough time to paint. I will have to do this for those cause I really like the look of them. Thanks for sharing!


----------



## hallorenescene

jimmy, those look awesome.


----------



## SkipWire

@jimmyzdc's 

Am very impressed


----------



## hirez00

Greetings all,

For anyone interested, I just posted some photos of some new PVC candles I did for a Pirate Chandelier in another section of this site. So as to not double post, here is the link: http://www.halloweenforum.com/hallo...rop-season-pirate-wagon-wheel-chandelier.html 

I explain some "new" tricks (at least new to me) as to how to get long drips with sticking.

Hope you find this information useful.


----------



## SkullAndBone

Ack, maybe I should have posted this before 40k views..

...Let me save everyone 20 hours or so, and share the secret to roll your PVCcandles in an acrylic based white mortar mix. It will coat the whole pipe so it does not look like plastic. Then, do your goops, and drips by dipping the end of the pipe into the mortar mix, and letting it dribble down the pipe.. After it drys go back with more dipping and dribbles to get the perfect look. It is also highly suggested that you bundle several candles together with jute, so that your placing a cluster of candles together rather than singles... Its a real time saver!!!


If anyone asks, the roll dip and drip with ACRYLIC based mortar was brought to you by SkullAndBone.com =).

cheers.

p.s. Hi Rot.


----------



## Empty_W

Suggestions from the best, got to love that


----------



## robalex32

Great work Hirez00,can you explain a little more about the painting technique that you used for the candles?
And keep the good work on your videos.


----------



## hirez00

Sure. I will write up a step by step tomorrow and post it in this thread and the thread for my pirate chandelier.


----------



## Stonez00

jimmyzdc,
These look really great.
I'm assuming your idea came from Skullandbone?


----------



## hirez00

PVC CANDLES: TIPS & TRICKS - BY HI-REZ DESIGNS

There are TONS of tutorials out there on the web on how to make PVC candles, so I don't need to start a tutorial from scratch. This is more of "Tips-And-Tricks" list of the things I personally do to make my PVC candles.

1. CUTTING PVC: When you get your big stick of PVC pipe, whatever the size, try not to always make 90 degree straight cuts. Candles do not burn level all the time. Cut some angles at the top like 45 degrees and other sharp angles so when all done, the candle will look like it is burning / melting more naturally. Remember, make some with angles on top. It is easier to do at the cutting stage than it is at the hot glue application stage.

2.) PREP: Use "ACETONE" or nail polish remover to get the BLACK writing found on the sides of PVC pipe off. The writing doesn't have to be completely gone, but at least very faint (sometimes you just can't get it off completely). This is important because I have found it takes A LOT more paint to cover up that writing in the painting stage than if it has been wiped off. For some reason that writing is printed with something that paint has a hard time sticking to unless you apply at least 6 coats. Save yourself the headache and spend the 5 minutes wiping of the writing on the side of the PVC with Acetone.

3.) INSIDE THE CANDLE: I do not use "Great Stuff" inside my PVC candles. Nor do I chop up Pink or Blue Foam to fit inside. I use in-expensive pipe insulation that is normally black and in 4-5' lengths in Lowes and Home Depot plumbing department. Get pipe insulation that is "bigger" than the inside of the PVC pipe you are using because you want it to be snug and a tight fit. You can also use pool noodles. Simply cut a 2" section of insulation or pool noodle and put it inside your PVC candle to rest your Tea-Light on. If you are making "electric-powered" (flicker bulb) PVC candles, you can put the C7 fixture snug inside the piece of insulation or pool noodle and push it down into your PVC candle, then coat the whole thing (minus the fixture) with hold glue to hold it permanently in place.

If you are using Tea-Lights, it is good NOT to glue to piece of insulation or pool noodle in place permanently because you can raise or lower the piece of foam later depending on the look you want to achieve. This is a nice thing to be able to do later.

IMPORTANT: If you are planning to spray paint your PVC candles, it is best not to have the pipe insulation / pool noodle exposed for the paint process. Spray paint will eat through the foam quickly. If you plan on permanently securing the foam in place, simply coat the whole top part of the foam with hot glue once it is in place, so when you spray paint it doesn't come into contact with the foam.

4.) GROUPING : If you plan on making a lot of candles and will display them together, if is best to do "groupings" of candles when you make them. Select 4-5 pieces of PVC pipe and arrange them in a good formation and then using PVC cement in a thin beam on the outside touching edges, glue them together. It is best to do this BEFORE you start applying hot glue to your candles because you will have a tough time getting them to fit together symmetrically if you have loads of hot glue around the tops of the PVC. Also, once done, and you have all the faux melted wax / hot glue, it looks like they have fused together in the "dripping" process, ie: wax from one candle has run onto another. See attached photo.

5.) WAITING FOR DRYING: I know everyone want to work fast, fast, fast, but there is a benefit to waiting and taking you time while making PVC candles. Once you start putting drips and globs on your candles, do a small amount at a time. If you keep applying hot glue to "still warm" hot glue, it all starts to mush together and makes great big globs instead of nicely detailed drips. Start with a single layer of drips at different lengths, then set it aside and let it cool down, go work on another candle and come back to this one later. Now once the candle is cooled down, apply another layer of drips, and let cool, and repeat process. This way the new layer of hot glue sits ON TOP of the old layer and doesn't all mush together. This makes a nice layered effect and you get much more defined drips instead or huge fat ones.

6.) PAINTING: I like to use Rustoleum: American Accents paints ... preferably light colors as my base. I think the color name is "HEIRLOOM WHITE". It is important YOU DO NOT USE ANY GLOSS PAINT for your base layer because the aging paint "Liquitex Raw Umber" will NOT stick to any "gloss" surface. It will just bead off and doesn't work. I found this out the hard way. ONLY USE SATIN OR FLAT !!!!

Make sure you pick off any tiny strings of hot glue BEFORE you start painting. They will look like painted cob webs if you don't. Using your desired color (preferably a light color), spray a layer of paint all the way around the candle or candles. Do not put on too much paint on the first pass, a light coat will do because it will provide the basis / bite for the rest of your paint to stick to. Apply other coats after the first coat has dried.

7.) AGING: After you get a nice base coat onto your candles, now it is time for the aging.

You will ned the following: LIQUITEX ACRYLIC RAW UMBER (or dark acrylic paint), MEDIUM SIZED BRUSH, RAG, WATER.

Make a dime sized blob of acrylic paint on a plate or piece of cardboard and put a medium amount on your brush. Once the brush is "loaded" quickly dip the brush in your water just getting it wet buy not completely diluting the paint. Apply the acrylic around the top of the candle with downward strokes. Put a good amount of paint on, don't skip, it should be thick enough so you can't see the lighter color underneath. Immediately take your rag and wipe off the paint (don't push too hard) in downward strokes. The goal here is to wipe of the upper layer of the paint, but still leaving the paint in the crevices between the drips, etc. If the paint has dried to much and doesn't wipe off easily, then wet your brush with water and rub in all over the dried area and quickly wipe it and it will come off.

NOTE: The darker acrylic paint with "stain" the lighter color underneath, even if you apply lots of water, but this is a good thing and gives the overall impression of aging.

Make your way around the whole candle or group of candles working fairly quickly so as to not let the paint dry before you get the look you want. It is ok to redo areas multiple times until you get the desired effect you want.

It looks best to have lots of darker spots in all the crevices and around the drip areas to achieve "depth" and not a flat look.

8.) PROTECTING: I like to apply a coating of "CLEAR COAT - MATTE FINISH" spray to all my candles once they are all painted. The clear coat re-activates all the layers of paints once is is applied (SO DO NOT TOUCH IT UNTIL IT IS DRIED), but does a nice job of "fusing" everything together to look for natural. If you have any foam or electrical parts (ie: C7 bulb sockets), make sure you plug them before painting them.

I discovered something interesting with CLEAR COAT: If you overspray way to much clear coat, it begins to crack like spiderweb cracks in ice. At first I was upset when this happened and then I realized it looked really good when used sparingly here and there. Happy accident.

9.) EXTRA LONG DRIPS: As mentioned in my other posting about PVC candles, I tried / discovered a new technique for doing super long drips as if the candle wax has melted "past" the bottom of the candle. Use a cooking / cookie sheet and make different lengths of hot glue strips that you can then easily removed from the cookie sheet and then attach / glue to the bottom of the candle, then paint. It is very hard to make good long drips in "space" ie: without the hot glue adhering to something in mid-air, so I made all the drips separate and then attached them with a glob of hot glue. See photo.

I hope you find the information in this write-up useful.

-HiRez00


----------



## fallgirl

Holy Cow!!! 

Absolutely fabuous! I hope mine come out half as good as yours...thanks so much for the great ideas/information!


----------



## chef

Great tutorial and thanks for the step by step photos!


----------



## Jack Skellington

Finally made mine this year and they came out great. All I have left is to do the clear coat. My wife loves them and now she wants a wagon wheel chandolier. I told her to find a wagon wheel and I'll make one. Maybe not this year. 

I made 15 in 5 groups of 3 with candelabra bases and flicker bulbs. Mrs. Skellington wants a group of 5 for the bathroom so I'm not done candling just yet.

Thanks for the great tutorial and all the tips. The aging of the cadles really makes them jump out at you. I have some candle wall sconces and a skull sconce that I would like to wax up the same way. More work to do.


----------



## Johnson724

I was thinking about how to do this with the candles black and the "dripping wax" in red and the only way I could think of doing it would be to have red glue sticks. I did some searching and could only find online places to buy glue sticks. I knew there had to be a way to make some and I ran across this.

http://www.observationsblog.com/4/post/2011/08/make-your-own-color-hot-glue-sticks.html

I wouldnt recommend doing this without protective gloves and clothing. I dont know if I am going to try this or not but it seems like a neat (dangerous) idea.


----------



## NIL8r

Johnson724 said:


> I was thinking about how to do this with the candles black and the "dripping wax" in red and the only way I could think of doing it would be to have red glue sticks.


I used a clear glue and just top coated with regular latex paint. I think others here have done the same. Some people have changed their minds on the color and repainted to a new color. You can also use multiple layers to add an antique effect, which also shows off the texture of the "drippings".

For adding drips in different colors, you could just try dry brushing the drips only.


----------



## Instant Monsters

I recently did something similar but with a paper tube instead of PVC. It let me hang them from fishing line for a Harry Potter party 










-Chris


----------



## Halloween Scream

*Amazing!*

Thank you for this amazing tutorial! I've been dreaming of a "room covered in melting candles" effect, but I've been too afraid to light large amounts of real candles at our Halloween party. I know what my weekend project will be!


----------



## Darkabeus

Wow these are super cool!!! Your tutorial is easy to follow, short and to the point. 

Thanks for this.


----------



## thepartypros

I love these!!! How in the heck do you think of how to make this stuff??? Anyways I am going to give it a try..... One tiny question I did not see in your note... How do you keep them from falling over? Mainly the really tall ones..... Should I take a board of wood and route out grooves for them to fit in and with some liquid nails put them in place? I wanted to see what you thought before I went on my own journey on how to get them not to fall over in the wind etc. Thanks! Mark


----------



## tonyesc76

I made these last year and they look great! They will be up this year again


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## thepartypros

Anyone that made these.... Did you mount them onto anything? Do they fall over if it is a little windy? Would a little glue from the glue gun on wood be something to do on a base? Or more for something that will not ever be moved again.... liquid nails?


----------



## boogybaby

the ones i made so far are for indoor use, but if you want to use them outdoors there are several different ways to do it.
1) you can pound a stake or rebarr into the ground and place the candle on it to keep from blowing over
2) you can glue a cluster of them to a board to hold them up and cover the board with leaves and sticks so it wont be noticable.

im sure there are other ways to make them stable for outdoor use as well.


----------



## mmxvi

I have enjoyed reading this thread immensely and have made two sets following (and slightly modifying) the directions over the years. I have been looking to do something different, and then I saw this:










Has anyone seen these or have had this idea? Here is the actual link: http://http://www.etsy.com/listing/80944680/halloween-candle-decorations-evil-twin This artist has multiple designs that look really cool. 

The way I see it, now I have to string two sets of lights through an entire set of candles with faces, or at least the front candles.


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## GhoulishCop

That's really cool. It's the first I've seen something like that. I liked the "creepy crawler" designs. Very cool. Thanks for the find.

Rich


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## boogybaby

those are awesome!!  

thanks for sharing this with us.


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## texasjanedoe

*2cd year of Making the Candles*

Made more PVC candles....I love them 

I made the skulls out of plaster. I cut open a plastic skull I had from last year...coated the inside with vaseline and taped the seam where I cut it in 2....and filled with plaster....each one costs just pennies to make.....

I am thinking about making some of these candles into a fountain and have blood dripping from the candles....gonna try that next...I would need a pretty good sealer on the candles so the "blood" wouldn't wash off the paint......hmmmmm......

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE TUTORIAL! LOVE THESE CANDLES!


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## sumrtym

Thanks for posting the Etsy candles! I was going to make my first PVC candles for these witch pillars (want some for outside, but it's not a priority), but these Etsy ones would be perfect for inside on those pillars that won't get wet anyway. She tells you it's just paper towel tubes and paper clay, and then she paints them. So, she just paints the inside of the tube white, cuts a face in it, makes the drips / texture with paper clay, then paints it black & dry brushes some white on it. I haven't worked with paper clay before, but I'm going to give it a try.


----------



## texasjanedoe

I had a hard time with paper clay...it stayed lumpy...

If you have any luck with the paper clay let me know which brand you bought...I got mine at Micheal's {it was a big bag but I don't remember the brand}


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## sumrtym

Going to make the paper clay, actually, per instructions at Stolloween.


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## texasjanedoe

Ohhh....Googled it....looks very interesting  I have some bones to make.....


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## ScaredyCat

I made about 15 of these PVC Candles following your instructions and they are AWESOME! Thank you!


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## Spats

These are amazing. Sweet Hessian Horsemen. The ghouls of the forum always dig up good, juicy stuff.

One thing I want to mention, though.

The single element I want from these is that translucent quality real candles have in the top 2 inches, something PVC and cardboard doesn't give to the finished project. I made one once, just to try it, and light was only visible over the lip of the candle. The candle itself had no real glow.

I think that even if treated with white paint, transparent plastic and hot glue will allow a residual glow in the top of the candles - question is, what sort of clear plastic tube is rigid enough? What could I use?


----------



## GhostTown

Spats...... You're speaking of something us digital 3D junkies call "sub-surface scatter". It's similar to the light you can see through an earlobe when the sun is behind it. I agree with you, I think that it is a very important effect that would be cool to figure out with these candles. The wife and I are thinking about making some of these, but my intention is to make several and use them to light the entire scene. Very, very low light relying on shadows and silhouettes only. The candles might blow the illusion if there were no sub-surface scatter.

Acrylic tubes would work, but I just happened to google them and the prices are friggin' ridonkulous.


----------



## Xane

What I'm planning on using if I get around to it this year are plastic under-the-sink pipes. They tend to be much thinner walled than structural PVC yet still tougher than the fluorescent bulb protector that was suggested earlier this year. The only thing is I don't know if they're PVC or something else. If they're HDPE then glue and paint won't stick to them (normally). You can flame polish HDPE to get the "oils" out that normally prevents it from being painted but you have to be quick and careful.


----------



## Hoodoo_Hermit

Amazing tips HiRez thanks so much


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## sumrtym

How about using these to get the glowing effect at the top?

http://www.uline.com/bl_3651/Clear-Plastic-Tubes


----------



## Spider Rider

I just finished a flicker bulb version. They are glued to a board which was covered in Great Stuff and then carved down. This was painted brown to look like a mound of dirt by the tombstone they will light. Better pics in a week.


----------



## Bryan316

The clear tube idea should be kickass! I say give it a try!!!


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## sumrtym

Looks like PETG tubing has a melting temp of 150 degrees F. Since even a low temp glue gun gets to 250 degrees F, I'm guessing it would melt. Thoughts? Of Course, PVC for a good part of it's range falls into the range of a hot glue gun too.

I did request a sample from a company of 1-5/8" medium thickness PETG tubing while also asking how it would handle hot glue and acrylics. That should make their head spin. I'm so ignoring the phone call and hoping for just an e-mail.


----------



## Bryan316

By the way.... anyone tried using old caulking tubes? Had a bunch of them saved after using up Liquid Nails en masse, gonna see if tea lights fit into them.


----------



## sumrtym

Got some samples of PETG tubing coming (e-mail came today). I'll have to give the glue gun a try on it when it comes in, and if it survives the melt test, then will come the paint test. Will be interesting. 

IF (and I'm putting a big if) this works out, it should give the glowing candlestick look. I'm also a little concerned about the site saying something about PETG having poor outside resistance...not sure what that is about. Might mean it reacts badly to light / temperature for cracking....not sure.

Got a lot of questions right now, have to see.


----------



## TJN66

Oh wow...I need to add these to my list of things to do for this year!


----------



## Samhain1031

What an awesome idea!


----------



## Spider Rider

I'm going candle crazy. I'm making more for the mausoleum and on top of a tombstone. Also some for the upstairs window.


----------



## Zombiegirl1

Oh wow fantastic job. I found out that being sloppy sometimes works to your advantage. I did my candles w/glue going around the outside letting it drip down. I did many layers. I was tilting the candle & letting the big line of glue drip down the side. I wanst keen on the effect. It makes 1 big str8 line of fat glue down the side. Its ok, but not great. So I decided to go back & run a bead of glue up the sides of the candle, and connetc it to the top drips holding candle on an angle. 

Decided to do this after eating handful of candy corn. To my surprise my hand started shaking. Normally doesnt even after coffee. Need to lay off the candy I guess lol. So to my surprise, my shaky long drips up the side actually look better than the drips down the side of the candle. The drips from the top were too str8. Shaky drips actually look creepier/better! Who knew. So I went back & redid all my candles. Looks creepier now w/that. Cant wait to shade them in, really like that look, makes them look spookier!!! 
Also had some of those packing peanuts saved from a box I got in mail. I was going to use make hands w/it. Anyway found out they work great if you have a gap btw ur great foam & where u want to position t-light. Or if you can glue them in to support t-light. Its free if you save it from a pckg instead of throwing them out.


----------



## Titus

I did the glue gun work on my first 14 candles last night and as I look back on it now, I have some interesting observations. At various points through the night, the glue was acting differently than at other times. At some points, the glue was more runny than others, and at some points, I had a lot more glue string issues than others. Variables that could have contributed to this include pulling from a box of glue sticks my wife had that were likely of varying age and brand, turning on the ceiling fan at one point, and the steady rise in B.A.C. as the beers kept me going. I plan on making a bunch more in the off-season and will have to experiment with these variables to identify the optimal conditions. I for one am praying that the beers were not a factor.


----------



## Spider Rider

I had my best luck avoiding glue strings by starting at the top and doing a full run to the bottom, keeping the tip immersed in the glue all the way down.


----------



## GOOolishPumpkin

only my first day on this forum and theres so many good things.. i jus thope i have time to do this too. thx for the tutorial. definitely bookmarked


----------



## Samhain1031

I've bookmarked so much since I joined the site as well. I don't know where I'm going to get the time (or money for that matter. lol) to complete all the awesome projects.


----------



## James B.

Here are some of the candles I made this year; I want to do a bit more with them before I put them away until next year.


----------



## greeneyes3131

OH! I love the black candles, I tried a few different things this year for our yard, one of the things was to use coffee creamer containers and then just spray paint them, they looked cool because they had that weird shape. Then we used card board ULINE tubes and just taped the battery LED tea lights. We had the most success with this it made our yard have these little twinkle looking lights.


----------



## Zombiegirl1

I have a big problm w/glue strings too. Perhaps its my glue gun? Ill have to see if my smaller glue gun also produces a lot of strings. I like to do my candles in about 3-5 layers. I just do 1 side of the candle then let it cool. I also check for strings bc they are a lot easier to remove while warm. I found that if I try to do 1 layer on the pvc then put it down to cool, I end up burning myself & getting a lot more strings in the process. They are such a pain!
I also found when I did the top layer, it looks much better if I only do a 1" sectn at a time. Its a better look than trying to do a bigger sectn, or the whole rim at once. I notice a big improvement over the first candles I have done. So I use them for outside in low light. I also like a dry brush technique, then wiping it off. It hides a lot of inperfectsions. I used some old wood stains I had from doing a bucky corpse. They worked great & didnt have to spend more $. 
Im trying to figure out how to hide the inside of a big 3" pillar pvc candle, to make it look more realistic. I sprayed the outside black & it looks great. A 11/2" pvc candle looks fine w/a tea light stuck in it, but its harder to hide in a 3" pillar candle. I can paint the tea light black, just would like a way to insert the tea light from the bottom, & have that pooled flat melted candle wax look on the inside of the pillar.


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## Zombiegirl1

Oh yes James B lov ur candles! Lov that they are sitting on top of skulls too, & the wax is dripping out the eye sockets. Great look!!! Lov the collectn of black candles too. Where did u get the red lights for them? Are they reg tea lights or something else? Also like the religious candles on the table too great touch!


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## jwproductions

Looks so much like my Garage!!! lol


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## Attain

Does anyone know of any low voltage landscape type flicker bulbs? I would love to wire these permanently on low-voltage.


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## drunkenmonkeyrage

Hi all, 
Just working on my pvc candle project (ill post pics soon)

Anyway I was at costco today and they had 28 led lights for 15$ but the pack also comes with an additional 28 batteries. The pack says each battery lasts 100 hours....I will let you know if they last that long.


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## James B.

After Halloween last year I went to Walmart and they had 4 packs for 25 cents, or 16 for a $1; I took as many as I could. That Costco deal sounds great if you need them right now.


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## baykay1984

made mine yesterday!!! very happy with my first 5... more to make though


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## Jessica Upchurch

Johnson724 said:


> I was thinking about how to do this with the candles black and the "dripping wax" in red and the only way I could think of doing it would be to have red glue sticks. I did some searching and could only find online places to buy glue sticks. I knew there had to be a way to make some and I ran across this.
> 
> http://www.observationsblog.com/4/post/2011/08/make-your-own-color-hot-glue-sticks.html
> 
> I wouldnt recommend doing this without protective gloves and clothing. I dont know if I am going to try this or not but it seems like a neat (dangerous) idea.


use a cheap hot glue gun and use red wax crayons to form the drips. or just use the hot glue and paint with red paint.


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## Old Man Bakke

jwproductions said:


> Looks so much like my Garage!!! lol


Did you find any way to wire these to a household current? I too am looking to avoid the battery!


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## hallorenescene

james, those are amazing. wow everyone, you all have done wonderful candles. i love these things


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## WitchyKitty

I saw some candles like these in some pics in other threads, and I looked all over for them trying to buy some for the front yard graveyard we are working on...if only I had searched a little more and found this thread! Hahaha...oh well. Now I know where they came from, and I immediately started to make my own just today. Hope mine turn out as nice as the ones that have been posted so far. We did make one money saving change though: instead of the spray foam filler, we decided to use screws drilled into 3 sides of the pipes, to form a little shelf for the tea lights. (i used the tealight to mark where the screws should be drilled in, so they would be even and not need to be adjusted.) Saves money on the foam, and also leaves better drainage in case any water gets below the candles. Hoping the hot glue and paint will mask the small screw heads. We shall see I suppose, lol.


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## Old Man Bakke

I had see a post, I believe it was on Halloween Forum, where this lady had taken some plug in style tea light from a paper globe type thing and had put them into a candle for Halloween. She was going for super realism and had even had pictures of real candles next to her project candles.

Has anybody see this post? I have search far and wide and cant seem to find it again.


----------



## Old Man Bakke

*Cheap Flickering Tea Lights*

I found 10 flickering tea lights at Big Lots today for 6 bucks AND they came with an extra battery.


----------



## WitchyKitty

I finished my first set of candles! I think they turned out pretty decent for a first try! Used an off white paint instead of bright white. I like the look of that. Hoping the flickering tea lights I bought have a decent lifespan. (They are sitting on wax paper because they are still a tiny bit tacky yet in this pic.) I'll be placing them by two of my gravestones when I put them up next weekend.

Here they are unlit:








Here they are lit:


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## GiggleFairy

WitchyKitty, I think you did a FA-BOO-lous job!


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## WitchyKitty

GiggleFairy said:


> WitchyKitty, I think you did a FA-BOO-lous job!


 Thanks GiggleFairy!


----------



## bkr1969

I went a step further. I removed the batteries fro the tea lights and drilled 2 small holes in the bottom so I can run wires from the 3V outs of an old computer power supply. I drilled a hole through the great stuff to run the wires through and out. I can use regular battery operated tea lights or run off of AC this way.


----------



## Old Man Bakke

Do you have any pic? Or better yet how did you wire the old CPU PS? Seems to be alot of wires and "prongs" that come along with a PS


----------



## bkr1969

I am so swamped with projects right now, but I'll post a pic of the standard wire colors for an ATX power supply. I cut all the extraneous wires off and connected all the 12V, 5V, & 3V to 3 banana jacks to run a prop that will use all 3 voltages. For my candles, I didn't bundle th 3V, but ran each out for an individual candle. I got 5 supplies for free at work. They are great for props. 

Will post the wiring pic when I get home tonight.


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## hallorenescene

witch kitty, they are fabulous. everyone, i love looking at all the varieties


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## bkr1969

Here is the diagram I used. I wired a ground and the green power wire to a switch. I'll upload more pics as I finish some projects. Hope this helps.


----------



## SilverstarDragon

Wow this site is amazing  cant wait to work my way through!!


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## bkr1969

So here are some pics of the candles. You can see how I drilled two small holes in the base and soldered wires through them for + and -. The wires are twisted together and fed down a hole in the great stuff and will hook to the power supply (pics of this later). The three candles glowing in the last pic are all connected to the same 3V (actually reads 3.43) terminal. There is plenty of amperage to drive them all (seven in my current display).


----------



## jpbaily1

Very cool.


----------



## tawnidilly

AMAZING!!!! I want to try these! Great job!


----------



## Cougarwalker79

So I've been working on my own PVC Candles, and I've run into a bit of a problem... Enough of the hot glue has rolled over into the inside of the candle that I can't get the little tealights in. What would be the best way to get the hole cleaned out again? I'm afraid of using my spade bit again, because I think it might tear up the hot glue instead of actually cutting through it...


----------



## vampyrespro

Cougarwalker79 said:


> So I've been working on my own PVC Candles, and I've run into a bit of a problem... Enough of the hot glue has rolled over into the inside of the candle that I can't get the little tealights in. What would be the best way to get the hole cleaned out again? I'm afraid of using my spade bit again, because I think it might tear up the hot glue instead of actually cutting through it...


I'm not sure if this will help you, but usually I make hot glue tops for my candles, to make them look a bit more realistic. I make a thin circle of glue on a piece of glass, the width of the candle, then I place it on the PVC and glue/blend it with the wax drips. After that, I simply use an old knife, heat it up with a handheld torch, and poke a hole in the center for the tea light.


----------



## bluize

Cougarwalker79 - that happened to me with one candle. Hot glue is relatively soft, I just trimmed it bit with a utility knife and then smoothed it out by heating with a lighter. Anyway, that worked for me.


----------



## WitchyKitty

I had a little glue drip inside my candles as well...I just trimmed it carefully with an exacto knife.


----------



## Count Chocula

Here's some i just did real quick so i could get a couple more sets out in the yard.

























I used some flicker strings i get from the Christmas section at Menard's, then stuff them in PVC with Great Stuff and Liquid Nails. 

Because I was too impatiant to get them out in the haunt, i just cover the tops with plastic wrap and a rubberband to water proof them till the big night, then take off the plastic. 

I'll take some down time the rest of the year to do them right lol


----------



## kurtnotkirk

Nice candles! I am posting something similar, but I like your idea of using the battery powered votives.


----------



## Coors

Those are definitely very nice. Looking forward to making some of my own.
Thanks for posting.


----------



## Blarghity

CMGhost said:


> I looked all over our 99 cent stores around here today...nada on the LED tea lights. Found all kinds of regular tea lights.
> 
> Maybe I'll give wally world a try or do some more online searching.....
> 
> These do look great too!!


electric tealights are a highly variable thing at the dollar stores. I have noticed that without fail, when a holiday season rolls around, the multipack tealights vanish, replaced by something gimmicky. Last Halloween it was $1 tealights with an orange shell silkscreened with little bats and skulls. At Christmas it was $1 tealights with an illuminary paper bag. But shortly after a particular holiday season passes, the 2- and 3-pack tealights return. Wait a week after a holiday passes, and the mutipacks will be there. But don't wait too long, because they tend to sell fast.


----------



## Old Man Bakke

Check Big Lots!


----------



## cybrknite

I was wondering, how do you turn the candles off and on or change the battery?

Chris


----------



## Blarghity

cybrknite said:


> I was wondering, how do you turn the candles off and on or change the battery?
> 
> Chris


I think most people just don't permanently affix the electric tealight at the top, or secure it by refrain from using anything more than a drop or two of hot glue. Just pop the tealight out, turn it on/off, change the battery, etc.

Other people rebuild the tealights into a hardwired system with one switch, wall wart power adapter, etc. I've actually done some with the tealight base mounted in the bottom of the candle, with the LED and flame shaped diffusion cover mounted at the top, the two connected by long leads placed through the tube before I filled them with foam.


----------



## Whispers

I love, love, love these! They are the best I've seen...


----------



## Sassygirl

WOW! They look GREAT!


----------



## 1031 Engineer

Bed Bath and Beyond has a 24 pack for 19.99. If you use one of their 5 dollar off coupons or 20% off coupons, then the cost drops to 14.99 or 15.99 respectively. This ends up costing 62 - 66 cents each. The quality of them seems to be pretty good.


----------



## Sflcowboy78

I have finally got aroung to building a set of these!!!! I used 2 inch pipe, but i am still undecided if i want to go electric flicker bulbs, or battery opperated tea lights. I however did find a color of the valspar paint plus primer spray paint called hotel vanella that I like. I should be finishing them this weekend except for the flame ( opnions of which is better tealights or flicker bulbs would help )


----------



## msmello

All I can say is that running around flipping the switch on some 40-something tealights can be a royal PITA. I wish mine were electric.


----------



## Old Man Bakke

Sflcowboy78 said:


> I have finally got aroung to building a set of these!!!! I used 2 inch pipe, but i am still undecided if i want to go electric flicker bulbs, or battery opperated tea lights. I however did find a color of the valspar paint plus primer spray paint called hotel vanella that I like. I should be finishing them this weekend except for the flame ( opnions of which is better tealights or flicker bulbs would help )


Tea lights are the way to go! Very realistic looking. Don't get me wrong the electric flicker bulbs are very cool...just different applications. I use the flicker bulbs for candelabra type stuff and lanterns. OH>>and hard wire the tea lights with a wall wart...fo sho!...They are awesome!


----------



## kcjameson74

Super quick question: Does the foam float over the top and down the sides? Is that how you achieved the look of dripping wax? Just wondered if I missed a step. Apologies in advance if it's clear and I'm a newbie-duffus.


----------



## Sflcowboy78

kcjameson74 said:


> Super quick question: Does the foam float over the top and down the sides? Is that how you achieved the look of dripping wax? Just wondered if I missed a step. Apologies in advance if it's clear and I'm a newbie-duffus.


The dripping wax effect is achived by using hot glue and dripping it down the sides before painting it.


----------



## Old Man Bakke

kcjameson74 said:


> Super quick question: Does the foam float over the top and down the sides? Is that how you achieved the look of dripping wax? Just wondered if I missed a step. Apologies in advance if it's clear and I'm a newbie-duffus.


And...get yourself a high temp glue gun...about ~20 at wally world. The high temp is the best way to get that running down the side dripping effect. I also found it useful to "build" up the edges of the candle before I let it drip down the sides. If they are going to be outdoors and potentially hit by rain, make sure you allow for run of the accumulated water.


----------



## Scottv42

I made my first set last night, I am pleased with the result. I used 1 1/2 inch pipe and then a piece of 1" inside of that with hot glue as the platform for the tea light to sit on. I wanted any water that got in there to drain so that seemed the best way, plus I had extra 1" laying around. Maybe in the future I will wire them up to a power supply but for now going with batter only.


----------



## awokennightmare

I still need to do some of these! I'm hoping to make some this season!


----------



## Sflcowboy78

Here is the set I made, the paint is still a little wet in the photo so it looks like gloss but it is satin. I still need to drill out the spot for the tealights and I and gonna drybrush with some black to give them an aged look.


----------



## 556boyer

Very cool, thanks for the write-up. So much better than buying them for 5-10 each at the store. Totally going to do this this year


----------



## Sflcowboy78

So I showed these to a few of my co-workers and now they want to buy them from me, I have had offers as high as $50. I told them if they buy the materials I will make them for a sixer of beer


----------



## Oak Lane Cemetery

Just finished a set of them setup like Sflcowboy78's, but a little shorter. I used a scrap of pool noodle rolled up and hot glued inside mine for the support. Mine are going to me set on a small fake stone slab in front of a tombstone with a couple of black roses lying beside them on the slab.


----------



## Oak Lane Cemetery

Oh, and just a heads up, I found LED flickers at Big Lots today - A pack of 10 small and 6 large with 16 replacement batteries for $10.


----------



## Chewbacca

I made a bunch of these last year and hung them from the ceiling with fishing line like in Hogwarts.


----------



## LairMistress

Forgive me if this has been asked, it's a long thread, and not the easiest to navigate on the mobile app.

Is it possible to "gut" an LED tealight, to make a slim taper? I don't have any handy to try it, the last sets I bought were duds.

Thanks!


----------



## Old Man Bakke

Yes it would. It would take a bit more ingenuity ...but it could be done! Big Lots has great tea lights...so does Dollar Tree


----------



## Oak Lane Cemetery

LairMistress said:


> Forgive me if this has been asked, it's a long thread, and not the easiest to navigate on the mobile app.
> 
> Is it possible to "gut" an LED tealight, to make a slim taper? I don't have any handy to try it, the last sets I bought were duds.
> 
> Thanks!


Just today I gutted a battery powered Holiday Christmas candle and used one of the LED votive lights to convert it. - http://www.halloweenforum.com/halloween-props/124641-christmas-candle-makeover.html


----------



## LairMistress

Thank you! My last sets were from Dollar Tree, but they didn't work. That happens from time to time, I buy them pretty frequently for different projects (and tend to lose them somehow!). I'm hoping to pick more up tomorrow.


----------



## katshead42

I can't wait to do this! I found Led lights at Lowes for only .50 here's the link http://www.halloweenforum.com/hallo...-flicker-tea-lights-clearance-lowes-49-a.html I paid online and picked them up in the store. My friend is remolding and is going to just give me a ton of PVC piping for free. I'm super excited.


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## Speedracer

Hello, I'm new to posting, Although I've lurked for over a year. I've used plenty of your ideas to get a start on my Graveyard. So Yesterday I was reading this thread and went home to make some candles. I tend to over think things and try to be too perfect with my builds, I am getting better though. I realize most people only look at a prop for probably 10 seconds, so I hurried through these because they'll be outside anyway. Having said that I want to pass along a couple things that made it easier. I used 1-1/2" PVC then got 3/4" pipe insulation to set the Tea light on, as someone else had mentioned. After a day of letting the glue dry I used one of the tubes of insulation as a handle while I painted the candles. Simply push the tube in a couple inches and you can then rotate the candle as you paint them. When removing I used two finger on my other hand and inserted them into the top, spread my fingers and pulled it off. The other thing I did was buy Rust-oleum "Painters touch" 2X ultra cover spray paint. Everything was done in one coat without any prep to take the lettering off. One other thing I did was paint them length wise. After I had a couple done I noticed that the very top was still clear, not the top of the sides, just the very top, which actually turned out alright because that look like molten wax. Also, I experimented using wood stain. seems to work all right. The only caution to this is make sure you water based stain or it will eat through the base color.


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## Belovedldg

Awesome! Turned out real good


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## Scary Papa

Jimmyzdc, Was looking for some PVC candles and found your earlier post. Most of the photos on the tutorial are gone. Is there any chance of reviving this post. Your PVC Flicker Candles are stupendous.


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## SpiderMonkey

Anyone have some good tips on getting a clean, straight cut on PVC, without any power tools?


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## GhoulishCop

SpiderMonkey,

Clamping the PVC in place and taking care by cutting slowly will greatly improve the cut, but if you're looking for a really straight cut using or constructing a miter box of sorts to accommodate the size of the PVC you're cutting would probably be best. Since PVC is prone to produce burrs, using a bit of sandpaper on the edges will smooth things out.

Rich


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## SpiderMonkey

Thanks GhoulishCop! I ended up using a coping saw and while the cut ends might be off square slightly, they pipe will still stand up fine on its own. I measured the pipe and marked where I wanted my cuts and then used a piece of paper - wrapped it around the tube, so that I could get a straight edge and using a sharpie, marked a line around the pipe. 

I then used the coping saw, slowly sawing along the line while I turned the pvc. Slow work but at least it's cut. Now just need to great foam inside to create the ledge for the tea light to sit on, hot glue to simulate the dripping wax and then paint.


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## jpbaily1

http://www.harborfreight.com/finger-release-ratcheting-pvc-cutter-66971.html

Not the perfect cut but way faster than what you are doing now.


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## SpiderMonkey

Yeah - I have a pvc pipe cutter, but trying to use it for 1 1/2" pipe wasn't going to be easy. It took me quite a bit of time just to cut a 10' ft length in various increments between 10" and 5" inches. 






jpbaily1 said:


> http://www.harborfreight.com/finger-release-ratcheting-pvc-cutter-66971.html
> 
> Not the perfect cut but way faster than what you are doing now.


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## jpbaily1

I did not catch that they were 1.5" pvc.


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## SpiderMonkey

No biggin! I probably didn't mention it. I'm going off the original post which used 1 1/2" pvc pipe and which the tea lights work well with. I came out with 15 candles from a 10' piece of pvc pipe. I'm sad to say that I'll probably have have to make more at some point - so more manual cutting  

Anyway, thanks for throwing out the suggestion of the pvc cutter - I wish I could have used mine 



jpbaily1 said:


> I did not catch that they were 1.5" pvc.


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## FrightFind

I used Eco Flow Saddle Tan from Tandy for the aging. It's a great stain/gel that makes a nice smokey aged look.


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## Artcurus Art

as a heads up, 1950's Noma C7 lights will fit in 3/4 or 1/2 inch PVC.










However, you must use the style of sets posted (pre 1958), with the round bakelite plug. Once installed inside the PVC, they can be used outdoors with no problems, the plugs can be sealed with silicone ie: waterproof. There's 18 inches between sockets on these, so there's enough wire to run. The plugs can be desoldered and then reinstalled easily. I haven't rtried newer sets but the side feed on newer sets might cause issues, the older ones feed from the bottom. 

There's huge advantages to these, you're not changing batteries for one, and you can use these bulbs. The look is 100s of times better than LED


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