Floating Skull Specter

(Simple Quick & Cheap) Well simple for sure, quick not to time consuming, cheap if you have friend who offers up the container.

Intro:
This idea came to after I had completed my strung Yard Pumpkin Lanterns (see my other intractable). A coworker saw what I was doing and brought me a couple of these all black Whey Protein containers. I immediately thought a skull face would look cool on it.

• Black Whey Protein container
• Sharpie
• Utility knife or box cutter
• Yellow or colored gel film
• Cheese cloth or similar drape
• Black shoe string or finishing line
• Cheap LED utility light (battery operated)
• Foil furnace tape or duct work tape Duct tape

WARNING: Be very careful when cutting the container as it tends to be slippery hold due to size.

Research the skull face you'd like to see on the container. Evil, sinister, whimsical etc. Draw with a dark sharpie on the surface as best you can. Perfection not important. Make sure you orient the container to where the lid is on the bottom. This will be important later.

The hardest part cutting the plastic(Hence the warning). Using your box cutter or utility knife start out with the smaller areas first. You want to do this because as you cut away portions the container will become a bit flimsy feeling when cutting and can cause you to have a hard time keeping your cuts to follow the lines you've drawn.

I used yellow film acetate to cover the opening of the skull face. You can see in the pictures that light is bright it is almost too bright. So the yellow acetate helps diffuse the light. I used some spare foil furnace tape and lined the back on the inside opposite of the cut opening.

This help reflect the bright light onto the yellow acetate.
Option: if you don't have access to yellow film acetate you can go to staples or any office supplies place and get colored binder dividers to get the color or effect your wanting.

Using my leather punch on my pocket knife I made a hole just big enough to let me put the shoe string through. I knotted one end with a stop knot to keep it from coming through the hole. Then tied a loop knot for the time being to hang the specter. I folded the cheesecloth drape I got to find the center and pushed the end of the shoestring through and opened the drape to let it fall naturally around the container.

Option: You can always use fishing line or what ever you feel will support the finished specter. I just happened to have an old black shoelace laying around. But its sturdy so it did the trick. I left the entire length and didn't shorten just yet as I'm not sure where I'll place outside.

Talk about easy, unscrew the lid. Set your LED utility light in the lid pointed up. Turn it on, Screw the lid back on to the container. Hang it up and enjoy scaring the kiddies in the neighborhood on Halloween.

I haven't decided where I'll be hanging this outside. I have a tall planter hook I may stick in the ground to hang it from, or hang from a low branch, or from the overhang. Happy Halloween everyone!!!