Paper Bag Luminaries
By Marie LeBaron
Halloween is a fun time for spooky lights in the night. These Paper Bag Luminaries can help lead the children up a pathway to some tricks and treats. They're fun to make and give a glowing charm to your home.
Materials
Paper lunch sacks, preferably white
Razor blade and cutting mat
Pencil
Holiday stickers
Scissors
Flameless tea lights (LED lights)
Paper weights, like rocks, rice, beans
Directions
Step 1: Using scissors, cut the top of each sack into a scalloped shape. You can do this with pinking shears or make your own with scissors. First, fold your sack in half at the top so you get the scalloped shape even on both ends of the sack. Then make crescent shapes up and down the top of the sack. You could make zigzag shapes or really any shape you like; it just gives it more of a finished look.
Step 2: If you want to create an image on the bag, you'll need a razor blade to make the cut. First unfold the sack out all the way, so the sides are folded out. If you don't do this, the cuts will be made on the sides of the bag as well, unless that's the look you're going for. Next, lightly draw an image with a pencil on the top of the sack. Lay the sack on top of a cutting mat. Then, being very careful, cut out the image on the pencil lines using the blade.
Step 3: If you'd like to make a more kid-friendly-crafting version for these, you can simply attach stickers to the outside of the sack. Place stickers on each side of the sack so the light can shine throughout either side.
Step 4: Before these sacks are ready for the outdoors, they need a light and a paper weight to hold the sacks down. It might be windy on Halloween night, and you don't want these sacks flying around. I added a handful of pebble rocks to each sack, as we have a driveway full of them. You could add rice, large rocks, uncooked beans, etc. Then place your light in the center of the bag, nestled in the rocks.
Now light them up on Halloween night and they're ready for the trick-or-treaters! Have fun crafting this Halloween!
About the Author:
Marie LeBaron is a crafter, foodie, and mother of three from Salt Lake City, Utah. You can see more of her crafts at her blog Make and Takes. Or for more monstrous Halloween fun, check out her Monster Mania eBook.
These will be an ideal treat to take to my sister and her boys who so love Halloween.
Thank you for the idea, it will be a great surprise. I'm going to make them this weekend.
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These luminaries look great! They make me wish I lived in a house rather than a condo so I could put them up. What a great way to make kids that are afraid of the dark feel more comfortable and safe. I also never knew they made flameless tea lights, I wish I had know that for the luminaries I set out at our wedding instead of fighting with the candles and wind all night!
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Anyone know where to purchase flameless tea lights?
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The flameless tea lights from this project are from Costco. I love that it came in a big pack, I used 14 of them.
But I'm pretty sure they are available at most hardware or big box stores. Check in their light bulb aisle.
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