Here's How To Use Those Thrifted Wine Glasses Into Halloween Decor

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When you're the creative type, there's no need to moan about finding only five wine glasses in a six-glass thrifted set. In what's truly a glass-half-full moment, you see the potential for those glasses to become the foundation for some adorable fall pumpkin decor. Granted, you'll have to dress the glasses in some costumes of their own before they're ready to become the newest additions to your Halloween decor. Once done, you'll have some bespoke lamps that sport Jack-o'-lantern faces and glow from within, thanks to the flicker of a few fairy lights.

This great Halloween decor display starts with you taking at least three wine glasses from your thrift-store haul. If you have different shapes and sizes, that's even better. Choosing a variety of glasses taps into the interior design concept of contrast and variety, which creates a more visually interesting display. You'll paint the glasses with spray paint, and since this is for Halloween, look for orange, white, green, and possibly black hues. Rust-Oleum Painter's Touch 2X Ultra Cover Spray Paint comes in colors like Satin Rustic Orange, so you should have no trouble finding the shades you need. Some additional spray paint — Rust-Oleum Specialty Metallic Gold Spray Paint — is also required. 

Plus, you'll want to pick up some DOAY Green Painters Tape, and make sure it's very wide because this project requires the extra coverage. A craft glue, like Mod Podge or E6000 and a paint brush, should be on your stuff-to-buy list as well. Finally, a couple of paper plates, some scissors, a container of gold glitter, a black Sharpie pen, and some fairy lights complete your supplies list.

To start with, you want to cover the rims and mouths of the glasses with some masking tape. The tape needs to cover at least half an inch of the rim and completely cover the top. This prevents the spray paint from coating the inside of the glass. Spray paint each glass a different color.

While the paint dries, draw a small circle in the middle of one of the paper plates, cut a slit from the edge and then cut out the circle. This should be big enough so the plate can fit snugly over each glass's stem. Turn one of the glasses upside down and slide the paper plate over the stem — it will protect the upper portion of the glass from any overspray. Spray paint the stem, and the top and bottom of the glass's base with the gold paint. Repeat this step on all of the glasses. Next, brush some of your craft glue onto the stems you've just covered with gold paint and then sprinkle some LICOOL Gold Glitter Powder onto the glue-covered stems. Or for variety, use a glitter shade that contrasts with the color of the top of the glass, like LICOOL Holographic Laser Black Glitter, on the stem of the orange glass.

After everything dries, draw a Jack-o'-lantern face onto each of the glasses with the Black Sharpie Marker. Remove the tape from the rim of the glass, and put battery-operated fairy lights into it. Make a centerpiece out of the glasses for your Halloween table. Or you can use them as drinking glasses for a party, provided that you've taped off a big enough portion of the rim of the glass, so it's not covered in paint.

If you don't feel confident enough to draw the faces freehand, paint them on with the help of some Huahui 50-Piece Small Reusable Halloween Stencils. These are only 3 inches wide, so you should be able to tape them onto the glasses while you color in the faces and Halloween designs with the marker. To ensure that you don't rip the dried spray paint off the glasses, tape the stencils down using clear plastic tape or some architect's tape, making sure to apply the tape with the lightest touch (and grip) possible.

Or, if you're really steady of hand, you can cut some masking tape with the tip of a utility knife, before you do any painting. You'll cut out shapes for the Jack-o'-lanterns' eyes, nose, and mouth, or other Halloween motifs, like leaves and bats. Stick those onto the sides of the glasses and then spray paint them. Once the paint is dry, remove the tape. When you add the fairy lights, the pumpkins' faces will glow out through the "holes" left by the taped shapes and resemble vintage Halloween Jack-o'-lanterns.

Finally, create a variation on the lighting theme by filling the glasses with small Luminessence Flickering LED White Tealight Candles or votive lights from Dollar Tree. You can find some that are designed to mimic the flicker of real candlelight. If you choose those and you make a face according to the above instructions, the Jack-o'-lantern's eyes will flicker with warmth and delight.