Glass block holiday crafts are a beautiful way to add a unique touch of creativity to your holiday traditions. Decorations are an important part of any holiday, helping to set the mood and, in long-standing traditions, often becoming part of the rituals that bring people together and establish a sense of continuity. Making your own decorations will get you into the holiday spirit for sure, and who knows — maybe the glass block holiday crafts you make this season will be passed down, becoming part of your family’s tradition for generations to come. In this article we suggest a few ideas to bring some creativity back into your Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday decorations.
Glass Block Halloween Craft Ideas
In the not-too-distant past, Halloween decorations and costumes were completely home-made. That, and the spooky traditional underpinnings of Halloween made for a wonderful opportunity for letting creativity go wild. Carving the pumpkin with the most blood-curdling face possible or creating a costume from material found around the house was an integral part of the thrill of Halloween. The trick or treat part was additional fun, but the lead-up was just as important.
Many of today’s Halloween traditions still amazingly, though dimly, harken back to ancient pagan and Christian rituals to honor and connect with the dead, but like many of our traditionally ancient holidays they have evolved to represent something quite different. The Celts dressed up in costumes and lit jack-o-lanterns, but they did it to hide from ghosts and ward off evil spirits. Trick or treating is thought to have come from the early Christian tradition of “Souling,” which was the practice of going door to door asking for “soul cakes,” in exchange for prayers for the dead.
Halloween today is mainly a fun, community-based activity for children — and it is a big, commercial event, second only to Christmas. Decorations and costumes are generally bought ready-made, and much of the original meaning of 2,000 years ago and the creative fun of 50 years ago has faded away like a ghost.
How about bringing some of the creative impulse back into the fun and festivities? Here’s a few ideas to get you started, using craft glass block:
- Stick a vinyl silhouette of a haunted house, cemetery, scary face features, leafless twisted trees, hunched cats, spider webs or whatever strikes your fancy onto a craft glass block, and fill it with a string of orange or purple mini LED lights that are safe for indoor/outdoor use. To make the silhouettes, you can buy dark-colored adhesive-backed vinyl sheets at craft stores and cut your design out with a good craft knife, pair of scissors or a cutting machine such as cricut.
- Alternatively, you can paint your design onto the surface of the craft glass block using a paint that is designed for use on glass. Paint it by hand or use a stencil if you prefer.
- You could also buy a ready-made stick-on decal or our ready-made Halloween trick-or-treat or haunted house glass block.
- Fill a craft glass block with candy, fake eyeballs, spiders, skeletons or other scary stuff and add dramatic lighting.
Any of these ideas would work great in a window, or on the outside porch, walkway or stairs as part of a spooky welcome for trick or treaters. They could also provide an effectively ghoulish atmosphere for an Halloween party.
Glass Block Thanksgiving Craft Ideas
Creating a warm, cozy atmosphere for the Thanksgiving meal is almost as important as the meal itself. Thanksgiving is an opportunity to express gratitude for the abundance of life, and show appreciation for all that sustains us and offers safety — family, friends, community, the bounty of the harvest, and a wonderful meal that brings it all together.
Colors for Thanksgiving decorations are fall colors: dark oranges, reds, yellows , greens and browns. Natural materials evoke feelings of warmth, safety and comfort, and thus accentuate the basic sentiments of Thanksgiving.
- Gathered material such as colorful fall leaves, acorns, mini squashes and so on can be artistically placed in a craft glass block and gently lit to add a warm glow to a room.
- Craft glass block could also be used as a table centerpiece(s). Using the glass block as a vase, fill the glass block with small unshelled nuts, or other small material to hold in place the various dried flowers, berries, branches, evergreen, sheaths of wheat or any other fall material that stick up through the opening. Place the glass block vase in a nest of evergreens if you wish. If it is being used as a table centerpiece, just make sure it is low enough so guests can see across the table.
Glass Block Christmas Craft Ideas
Decorating for Christmas has become a cherished ritual in itself, never mind the deeper, faith-based symbolism of traditional decorations. Every year, North American families drag out boxes of Christmas decorations with excitement, continuing family traditions that can span generations. Decorating for Christmas brings joy and magic to the darkest time of the year.
Some of the most prized decorations in the box are those that are hand-made. They often come with a story or a memory of times past; we might marvel at their creativity, their complexity or simplicity. Whatever they evoke, they speak to the wish of the person who created them to contribute beauty to the holiday season and bring happiness to others.
Craft Glass Block is a natural starting point for home-made Christmas decorations — the possibilities are endless. Here’s just a few:
- Create your own nativity scene.
- Create a winter diorama or painted-on winter scene.
- Highlight your children’s Christmas art in a lighted glass block.
- Fill the glass block with fake snow, mini decorations, Christmas candy or whatever you like.
- Make lighted glass block ‘presents’ for under the tree.
Of course, if time is short, you can still incorporate the beauty of glass block into your Christmas decorations with our Christmas collection of pre-made designs.
Craft Glass Block at Quality Glass Block
We sell just the craft glass block you need for your holiday crafts: hollowed inside, with an insert, a cap and a hole for the light cord. But if hard-core crafting isn’t your thing, we also carry a Holiday Craft Block Line; all you need to do is add lights for your unique glass block holiday decoration.
Give us a follow!