This Ghost Ball luminary looks great in the dark! Halloween is a great time to make luminaries! Make several and string them together or use some of the other luminaries that will be posted soon. Another ball luminary from last year can be found here.
What you will need
- Black cardstock
- Vellum
- liquid glue
- a small battery operated light
- Download File
Paper Selection for the Ghost Ball Luminary
I stuck to the standard Halloween colors. Patterned paper looks nice but when it is dark and you light it up you can’t really see the pattern. The vellum needs to be light. I tried black vellum and it didn’t glow well.
Cutting the Ghost Ball Luminary
Vellum can be hard to cut. Make sure it is sealed properly to the mat. Take a scraper and smooth the vellum down flat. Any air pockets will cause the vellum to tear.
Assembling the Ghost Ball Luminary
This project is very easy to make. First you want to attach the vellum to the back of the “arms”. Put the glue on the back of the paper so that it doesn’t show through. Make sure that the vellum covers all the gaps in the paper so that it shines properly. Make sure the glue is dry before you continue to assemble the ball.
Next take each “arm” and bend it up one at a time and glue the circles on the end together. Liquid glue will work for this part, but if you use glitter paper, you may need to use a glue gun to hold it. Mine used foil paper and liquid glue worked fine.
Once the glue is dry, you can insert a battery operated light by squishing the ball and inserting the light between the “arms”. I used a tea light but you could use a battery operated string of lights too and they have so many shapes of these! If you want to string the luminaries together, run the string between the “arms” and string several together.
And your Ghost ball luminary is done! Have a great Halloween!
The History of Samhain
- October 31 lines up with Samhain, pronounced sow-in (rhymes with cow). It is one of the four major Celtic festivals.
- It was believed that during Samhain, the barriers between the world of the living and the land of the spirits was at its weakest. This allowed the dead to easily cross over and inhabit the land of the living for a period of time.
- The wearing of costumes – also called mumming or guising – is believed to serve the purpose of blending in with spirits.
- It was thought that the bribe of treats would appease the spirits and they would not kill your livestock during the long winter.
- The black cat bringing bad luck comes from the medieval notion that witches had the ability to shape-shift.