Looking for an easy Jack Skellington Halloween decoration you can make yourself? This DIY Jack Skellington light turns a recycled light fixture into a fun Halloween decoration inspired by the iconic character from The Nightmare Before Christmas.
Instead of throwing away an old light, you can give it a spooky makeover with a few inexpensive craft supplies. The finished light makes a fun addition to a Halloween display, mantel, shelf, party table, or spooky corner of your home.
This project is especially useful if you enjoy upcycling and budget-friendly Halloween crafts. You don’t need to be an expert crafter, and you can adapt the design depending on the size and shape of the light you have available.
In this tutorial, I’ll show you how I transformed a recycled light into a Jack Skellington-inspired Halloween decoration, including the materials I used, how I created the face, and tips for getting the best results. I provide both the SVG for cutting machine users and a printable pattern. Both are free for you to use.
Patterns are available in our free resource library below.
Supplies List
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- white glass or plastic globe light shade. (6 or 8-inch diameter)
- Black felt (we used an 8-by-16-inch piece
- White HTV Vinyl (glitter recommended)
- black adhesive shimmer vinyl
- Remote-controlled LED light (colour changing)
- small pedestal stand (optional)
- black or white Halloween fabric (if using a pedestal dish)
NOTE ** You can easily make the collar out of heavy cardstock if fabric is not an option for you. Replace the black felt with heavy black cardstock and the white HTV with white adhesive vinyl or white cardstock, and glue it on)
Craft Room tools list
Cutting Machine Users
- Cricut Cutting Machine (A Cricut Maker or Maker3 is needed if cutting fabric)
- Cricut fine point cutting tool
- Cricut Rotary cutter tool (for fabric)
- Standard grip mat
- Fabric grip mat (12 by 24)
- weeding tools
- transfer tape
- heat press
- Parchment Paper
Note: If you are unable to cut fabric on your Cricut cutting machine, cut the fabric pieces from cardstock and use the piece as a pattern to cut the fabric collar.
Non-Cutting Machine Users
- parchment paper
- X-Acto Knife
- Transfer Tape
- Heat press or household iron
How to Make a DIY Jack Skellington Light
How to Make a DIY Jack Skellington Light
Instructions for Cutting the Face Pieces.
- Measure your globe light and choose the size of the face you want for your light. (Mine is an 8-inch diameter glass globe )
Cutting machine Users
2. Upload the DIY Jack Skellington light design into Cricut Design Space.
3. Select Ungroup
Note: Each component of the Jack Skellington face is resizable or can be deleted. Once you have each component as you like, be sure to weld.
4. Adhere Black Shimmer adhesive vinyl to a standard grip cutting mat.
5. Load the mat into your Cricut cutting machine.
6. Select “Make” from Cricut Design Space
7. Follow the prompts on the Cricut Design Space screen.
Choose “Cricut Shimmer Adhesive Vinyl and more pressure.
NOTE – Before unloading your mat, check to make sure that the cuts are complete. If not, push the “C’ again to prompt the cutting machine to make another pass. If you unload the mat and need to recut, there are no guarantees that the cuts will be in the same spot.
8. Once cut, remove the vinyl from the mat. The best way to do this is to turn the mat upside down and remove the mat from the vinyl. This will prevent the vinyl from curling, which makes weeding much easier.
9. Weed vinyl and discard the weeded portions.
10. Apply transfer tape onto the shimmer vinyl. Shimmer vinyl can be difficult to remove from the paper backing. I find that the Cricut brand regular grip transfer tape works best. I have heard from others that it doesn’t work for them, and they prefer strong grip transfer tape. It’s trial and error, so use the product that works best for you.
Printable Pattern Users
Download and print the free printable pattern.
For the face pattern, cut out the facial features, leaving a stencil-like pattern. Discard the inner pieces. We will be using this as a stencil.
Lay the stencil over top of a piece of black shimmer HTV, with the shimmer side facing up. If necessary, use a piece of masking tape to hold everything flat.
Use the X-Acto knife to cut out the face pieces. This time, we will discard the outside pieces and keep the inner pieces (eyes, brows, nose and mouth)
Discard the outer pieces.
Using a piece of transfer tape, or clear Mac-Tac, place it over the face pieces and burnish using a smoothing tool or small flat spatula (even an old credit card works)
All Users
Carefully remove the vinyl from its backer paper. A weeding tool or tweezers can help get smaller pieces to release from the backer paper, but use caution and go slow.
11. Cut slits around the edges of the transfer tape. This gives the transfer tape a little more flexibility when applying vinyl to a rounded surface.
kellington light
Using a smoothing tool or even a credit card, place the adhesive vinyl onto the globe and burnish until the vinyl sticks. Slowly remove the transfer tape. Press the vinyl again with your fingers, making sure it is evenly adhered.
Cutting Collar Pieces.
Instructions for Cutting Machine Users
- Continue in Cricut Design Space on the collar. When making it, choose the fleece setting. (I find this cuts better on felt, but you will need a Cricut Maker. If you do not have a Cricut Maker, you may need to apply a backer to the felt to keep it from ripping.)
2. Use a fabric Grip Mat or a standard grip mat that you dedicate to using fabric with (this is what I do) and secure the black Felt into place.
Note: You may need to use a 24-inch mat, depending on the length of the collar or cut it into 2 separate pieces.
3. Once the pieces are cut, carefully remove the felt from the mat, taking care not to rip or stretch the felt.
4. On a standard grip mat, secure the white (or colour of choice) HTV vinyl onto the mat according to package instructions (shiny side down)
5. Cut the design and weed the design by removing the mat from the vinyl (as shown when making face pieces)
Printable Pattern Users
Use the printed pattern as a template for cutting out the collar by laying the cut paper onto the felt. To increase the size of the collar, carefully trace around the outside edges, adding size as needed.
For the white design, cut the printed pattern as a template on a piece of HTV. You will need to cut the HTV upside down (shiny side up using your X-Acto knife.
Weed (remove) any vinyl from around the design. You should only be left with the piece that is to be applied to the collar.
Assemble the Collar
6. Place the HTV pieces in place on the collar and secure in place with heat-resistant tape (if desired)
7. Following your product instructions, apply the HTV using a heat press along with a pressing cloth or parchment paper.
8. Cool Peel or Warm peel accordingly.
Assemble the DIY Jack Skellington Light
Drape your Halloween fabric over the pedestal stand or bowl
Place the Jack Skellington Head over the light.
Center the collar under the head.
Using your remote control, turn on the light and enjoy!
A cool display idea is to place a rotating platform underneath your stand. You can place it in a window, turn on the light and have the head rotate in various directions. It is a very cool effect, especially when nestled in amongst other Halloween decor.
FAQs and Tips for Success
Alternatives to using Vinyl
No cutting machine? No problem! Create the face on the light, but using glass friendly pain. You can draw the face out onto the glass using a dry erase marker and then paint in the design., The dry erase markers allow you to create the facial features you want but allow you to wipe them off and start over if they aren’t turning out how you like.
You could also use paint pens that are easy to handle.
Storing Instructions
A light wrapping in bubble wrap or tissue and placing in a box is ideal for storing. Roll the collar instead of folding and place it inside the globe. Folding can cause wrinkles, but rolling will keep the felt smooth.
Where to Display Your Jack Skellington Light
This light is amazing just about anywhere; it is easy to add to an already designed Halloween display or decor, uch as:
- Halloween mantel
- Entryway
- Halloween party table
- Bookshelf
- Haunted house display
- Nightmare Before Christmas themed display
- Halloween porch
This website contains affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn a small commission from qualifying purchases (at no cost to you).
