DIY Projects: Expert Guides for Home Improvement, Woodworking, Crafts & More

At a Glance: Pool Noodle Halloween Candles Six steps, about 30 minutes of hands-on time. Cut, glue, drip, paint, then dress it up with cobwebs and lights. Light coats of paint, not heavy ones. Pool noodle foam handles spray paint fine. Soaking it is what eats the surface, so keep the can back and build up in thin passes. Costs...

At a Glance: Tomato Cage Witch Four steps, about 20 minutes. Flip the cage, zip-tie a neck, wrap the lights, then add the head and drape the cheesecloth. Light it before you dress it. Wrap the fairy lights first and check the glow before the cheesecloth ever goes on. Battery LED lights only. No plug-in bulbs, and neve...

At a Glance: Dried Orange Garland The twine hides on the back. You punch two holes near the top of each slice and run the string through them, across the back, so the front looks clean. Slow and thin wins. Cut your slices thin, dry them low, then let them sit in a jar for a week before you thread anything. Three ways to build ...

At a Glance: Floating Witch Hat Lights About 10 minutes a hat. Run fishing line out each hat tip with a battery light centered under it, then hang it from a hook set in solid wood. Built for the porch. Use lights rated for outdoor use, and make sure that rating covers the battery box too. Three ways to build it. Start ...

At a Glance: DIY Glowing Glass Pumpkin A round glass bowl, jute twine, and a strand of battery fairy lights becomes a lit pumpkin in about 45 minutes. Two small moves make it look store-bought: even rib spacing, and shaping the light wire before it goes in. Build it three ways, from about $12 with a thrifted bowl up to about $58 for one you’ll pull out every year. ...