How to Make a Cauldron Fire With Wreath Vines & Lights for Halloween

Create a realistic fake fire in a cauldron.

Many Halloween celebrants take a lot of time and care preparing their homes for haunted houses and trick or treaters. Some may spend a week or two stringing fake spider webs and hanging plastic skeletons on their porches. Others go all out and spend their Halloween budget on motion-sensitive cackling witches and the like.
One decoration that almost every homeowner can afford is a flaming cauldron. With a few simple supplies, anyone can create realistic flames shooting from a vine-covered cauldron.

Things You'll Need

• Plastic cauldron
• Cardboard
• Chalk
• Scissors
• Ruler
• White silky fabric
• Stapler
• Grapevines
• Plastic tub
• Water
• Fake spider webs
• Plastic spiders and insects
• Battery-powered Christmas lights
• Battery-powered fan

Instructions

1. Place your cauldron upside down in the center of your cardboard piece. Trace around the lip of the cauldron with chalk and cut out the cardboard circle. Trim about an inch from the outside of the circle so it fits inside the mouth of the cauldron. Finally, cut a hole in the center of your cardboard circle so you are left with a ring of cardboard 3 inches wide.

2. Cut many ragged triangle shapes from your silky fabric. Staple them to the inside edge of the cardboard ring so that the points of the triangles lay in the center opening. Satin, silk and georgette all work well.

3. Soak the grapevines a tub of lukewarm water for about an hour. Carefully form and weave them around the outside of the cauldron and let dry overnight. Once dry, string fake spider webs over the vines and decorate with plastic spiders and insects.

4. Set the battery-powered fan into the bottom of the cauldron so it blows air upward. Coil Christmas lights around the inside of the cauldron, making sure to switch out the bulbs so all of the bulbs are red, orange, yellow and white.

5. Turn on the lights and fan. Place the cardboard circle into the mouth of the cauldron so the fan blows the fabric up out of the mouth. The lights should glow against the fabric with the fabric's movement giving the illusion of fire.

References

• Theme Builders: How to Build a Fake Fire
• CAdvisor: Campfire Effects
• The Gardener Snake: Make Your Own Grapevine Crafts