Make Halloween Shine: Spooky Floating Candles from LED Torch Kits!
2024-10-10 | By Kitronik Maker
License: See Original Project LEDs / Discrete / Modules
Courtesy of Kitronik
Guide by Kitronik Maker
Happy Halloween 2023 from Kitronik! For those of you celebrating, we are bringing you a magical make that will have your home, office or classroom feeling like a haunted house!
Follow along with Emma's step by step instructions and make your own spooky candles. Please share with us any you make so we can share them on social media too.
We Have Used (Per Candle):
1 x Yellow Flickering Candle LED
Sheets of A4 Card
Sticky Tape. (We used White PVC Tape for Colour)
Fishing Line or other less visible threads for hanging
Scissors
Optional:
Polymorph for forming a Flame Shape.
How We Made Them:
STEP 1 – BUILDING THE TORCH KIT:
Solder together your Torch Kit, leaving out the white LED. Save this for another project!
STEP 2 – CONNECT THE FLICKER LED:
Solder in its place a Flickering Candle LED - these are awesome to have in your toolkit for atmospheric makes like this!
STEP 3 – PREPARING THE CANDLES FOR LATER STEPS:
For hanging the candles later, tie fishing line securely through the top mounting hole and up between the legs of the LED.
STEP 4 – (OPTIONAL) POLYMORPH:
Melt some polymorph in boiled water and form a flame shape over the LED and incorporate the fishing line into it, ensuring the candle hangs from its centre. Polymorph is translucent and will diffuse the light from the LED, but it’s important that you don’t make it too thick so that the light can still be seen well.
STEP 5 – MAKING THE CANDLE BODY:
Noting the size of the board, roll up your card to form the body of the candle. Make a note of where the board will want to sit inside and cut a hole in the card where the switch will be.
STEP 6 – TAPE IT:
Secure the rolled card by wrapping it with tape.
STEP 7 – HOT GLUE:
Using the hot glue, coat the outside of the card thinly to mimic the appearance of wax, leaving the switch hole open.
STEP 8 – PLACING BOARD & SWITCH:
Insert the board, with a little glue on the sides to hold it in place. Make sure the switch is able to poke through the hole you cut for it.
STEP 9 – CAP THE BASE:
Add a cap to the top and bottom, using discs of card (one with a hole and a slit for the LED) to support another thin layer of glue.
STEP 10 – DECORATION:
Add details to your candle! You can form shapes like droplets on a heat-resistant mat, and then use the tip of your hot glue gun to melt the top of them onto the candle. You can also use your glue gun to make creepy cobwebs by flicking it quickly over the heat-resistant mat, perfect to dress these for Halloween! You can also paint them, or even do this entire make using brightly coloured hot glue, or even glittery hot glue!
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