Making a Halloween Cauldron Candy Dispenser
For the last couple of years, a few houses in our neighborhood have handed out candy bagged ahead of time instead of the traditional big bowl of candy. We like this idea, but don’t want to hand it out at a table because that’s……..boring. Since we’re Makers, we’re going to be taking a cheap cauldron from a party store and add some theming and effects.
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Tools Used
Cordless Drill
Cordless Impact Driver (optional)
Oscillating Multi-Tool
Miter Saw
Jigsaw
Hot Glue Gun
Angle Grinder
Cutoff Wheel
Flap Disk
Materials
Large Party Cauldron
2-3 Expanding Foam Insulation Cans
3/4” and 1/2” Plywood Offcuts
2x4 Offcuts
Oats
Mod Podge
Matte Black Spray Paint
Neon Green Spray Paint
Black Acrylic Paint
Brown Acrylic Paint
Gold or Copper Metallic Paint
Orange Spray Paint
3/8” Threaded Rod
Swivel Ball Casters
Motor or Wired Drill
Orange String Lights
1 1/2” Exterior Screws
3” Exterior Screws
LED Strip Lights
1” Clear Hose
Fog Machine
Small, Cheap Cooler
Steps for Build
Theme & Distress Cauldron
Create Foam Skull
Paint Skull
Build Base Platform
Create Base Embers
Install Fog Hose & Lights
Test Fog
Build Candy Platform Mechanism
Touchup Paint
1 - Theme & Distress Cauldron
Theming and distressing a project so it actually LOOKS like a functional prop is pretty far outside my comfort zone. My friends Wicked Makers made a video a couple of years ago that I used heavily to make the cauldron look good. I’ll briefly talk about the steps I took, but check out their video here for details.
The short version is to start by removing the shine the cauldron has from the store by giving it a coat of matte black paint. Mix up some oatmeal and mod podge to add grit and grime (plus another layer of mod podge only to ensure the oatmeal is sealed). Use the same brush to blotch black and brown acrylic paint over everything to simulate rust.
2 - Create Foam Skull
Add the outline of the skull to the front of the cauldron, making sure to add some big drips around the edges. Add some large details for eyes, nose, and some teeth slits.
Use the spray foam insulation to add the skull. I found that having the foam be more vertical then horizontal made it look like poison was flowing over the rim. Add the foam everywhere within the outline. For the detail gaps on the inside, try to creep up on the line so you don’t have to make too many adjustments.
Don’t panic if you do need to make some adjustments. For the openings, the foam can be moved a little with scraps while it’s wet. Try to move it as soon as possible though while it’s still sticky and hasn’t cured.
You can also always use a saw and files to remove material. My first pass, the “forehead” was too large and I had applied it horizontally, which looked terrible. I removed the foam with a saw below where I wanted the foam to end up, then cleaned up the edges with files. I removed enough so I could add another layer and it wouldn’t be too thick.
I also used a utility knife to widen out some of the teeth gaps. Since these were already so small, I didn’t add any additional foam.
3 - Paint Skull
Tape off the cauldron as much as you can. We’re going to clean up the paint, so don’t worry about making it too precise, we’re just trying to lighten the clean up burden later. Use brown paper or newspaper to mask off large areas.
Spray the skull with a neon green paint. Definitely test the spray paint on some spare foam before spraying the skull. My paint didn’t eat away at the foam too much if I kept the can a little further away than normal and did light coats. I was able to use this to add some texture by varying the distance.
Spray a couple of light coats to cover the skull. After your last coat, immediately take the tape and masking off. Go back with some of the brown and black paint and careful touchup the paint around the foam. Don’t skip this step and try to blend the paint as much as you can. The dark cauldron and bright skull really contrast well.
I also took this time to add some metallic paint to the cauldron “handles”. This made them stand out a bit and is just another detail to help break the cauldron up a bit.
4 - Build Base Platform
To add some weight to the cauldron, we need to build a base. I used some large plywood and 2x4 offcuts for this. Cut a large circle slightly wider than the widest part of the cauldron, then another as wide as the bottom of the cauldron. Cut some 2x4s as spacers between the two to add a little height.
Install the spacers and small circle roughly centered on the large circle with exterior screws. We won’t see any of this, so it doesn’t have to be perfect. I made it easier on myself by picking screws that would go through all pieces at once.
5 - Create Base Embers
Loosely wrap the lights around the center of the base. You’ll want the lights close to the top of the foam, so don’t tighten the lights.
Add some plastic wrap to the bottom of the cauldron to protect it from the foam, then place the cauldron on the small circle. Add more expanding foam, again in vertical paths, so it covers the lights and entire base. You’ll also want to let the foam expand up onto the cauldron.
Once everything looks good, but while the foam is still sticky, remove the cauldron. This should let the foam stay formed to the cauldron, but not stick to the cauldron so we don’t have to do further touchups around the foam.
Once the foam is dry, lightly spray it with a single coat of orange paint. You’ll want everything covered, but not too thick so the lights can still show through.
Once the orange is dry lightly go over everything with black spray paint as well. You’re trying to make the high parts black, but the cracks and gaps will stay orange. This should look how embers do when you’re done. Keep a light touch on the black. You can always add more, but it will be difficult to layer more orange and more black, while keeping the lights coming through the paint.
6 - Install Fog Hose & Lights
Drill an angled hole in the back of the cauldron just under the rim. I used a power carving burr to widen it until the hose fit at an angle.
Use some hot glue to close the end of the hose. Route the hose through the hole and hide it under the rim. Once it’s in place, use hot glue to keep it there. I started at the stopped end and worked my way back around to the hole. Once everything was in place, I added a thick bead all the way around to ensure it can’t move.
Add the LED light strip through the same hole. Mine had an adhesive backing that was terrible, so I used hot glue for the LEDs as well. I made 3 passes all the way around the cauldron rim both under the fog hose and over it, but not directly over it. This will let the fog come out of the hose and (hopefully) illuminate it nicely. My LEDs can be dimmed, so I wanted to have as much light as possible in the cauldron.
7 - Test Fog
Before finalizing the fog hose and lights, test the fog. Drill a few small holes in the fog hose to direct the fog into the center of the cauldron. I drilled about 8 small holes, then widened them out a good bit and added more holes so I had about 32 or so.
There are a ton of videos on YouTube about different types of fog, so I’ll leave the details of the differences to more well-versed haunters. It seems like fog comes down to 3 general categories with a few variations of each: haze, fog, dense fog.
Haze is generally used more to add an even, light atmosphere. This is used at many concerts so that you don’t really notice it’s there, but you’ll be able to see the paths of light.
Fog is what comes out of most fog machines widely available for holidays and parties. This is more thick and intentional than haze, but is generally still pretty light, wispy, and fast-moving. Fog is also usually a little warm. The fog machine I purchased produces this kind of fog.
Dense fog is a chilled version of the fog above. It is pretty dense and heavy, which causes it to cascade over things and move slowly over the ground. You can get dense fog by running “regular” fog through a chiller and routing it from there.
I drilled a couple of large holes in a small cooler and built a platform to hold the ice. I tested the fog with and without ice. Personally, I liked how the dense fog looked, but wasn’t able to get it to come out the hose the way I wanted. If I had more time, I would try to figure out to route the dense fog specifically. However, the regular fog routed correctly and still looked pretty good, so we used that.
8 - Build Candy Platform Mechanism
The last effect we want to add is a moving platform inside the cauldron for the candy to sit. The platform needs to spin so the bags look like they are floating around a poison potion.
I measured the cauldron opening to to see how wide a diameter I had to work with, then cut 2 plywood circles out of some offcuts. We’re also going to use some roller casters to keep the moving platform supported. Place one circle in the cauldron, then the casters, then the other circle. This will let you measure how tall some supports need to be so the platform is the exact height you want.
We need to cut an access hole in the back of the cauldron so we have access to the motor. A multitool with semi-circle drywall attachment makes quick and accurate work of the plastic. Cut the panel so you can fully fit your motor, hand, and some of your arm in the hole comfortably. My motor is a really cheap corded drill, so I estimated with that.
Grab the circles out of the cauldron and cut your hole in the middle through both at the same time. This will help keep them aligned. The hole should be small enough so your threaded rod will screw into the hole. Grab the base circle and drill a larger hole so the rod fits a little loosely.
Since I’m using a drill as my motor, I need to secure it to once of my 2x4 legs. I used some zip ties and zip tie mounts so the drill will stay in place, but be removable without too much effort. Cut the threaded rod so that it will screw into the top platform and have enough length to go past the casters, through the bottom platform, and have an inch or so extra for the drill. I used an angle grinder with a cutoff wheel, then cleaned up the cut with a flap disk. Screw the rod piece into the top circle, make sure it’s perfectly vertical, then make it permanent with some CA glue.
Grab each leg a partially drive a screw at a steep angle. You can use a pocket holes if you want, but since this will never be seen, it’s not completely necessary.
Install 2 of the legs on either side of the panel opening toward the back using at least 2 screws in each leg. Zip the drill to the third leg and place the assembly in the cauldron add the bottom circle and center it. insert part of the threaded rod offcut through the hole and into the drill. Mark where the leg needs to go so that everything is aligned. Remove the rod and bottom circle, then install the final leg with several screws.
Add a layer of green spray paint to the surface of the top circle. Add the bottom circle back on top and re-insert the rod offcut to align the circle. Drive a couple of screws through the bottom circle into the 2x4 legs to make the connections semi-permanent. Install the casters on the bottom circle, then slide the top circle in place. I found I needed to add a small trough so the rod could slide in as needed around the skull foam.
9 - Touchup Paint
Doing all of the breakdown and construction around the cauldron caused some paint to chip off. Some areas also just started separating and peeling off. For the peeling sections, I used some CA glue to re-secure it, then added paint to the edges to re-blend it to the other paint. For the chipped sections, I added some paint and tried to blend it as much as possible.
I also decided that the metallic paint on the handles was a little too bright. To tone it down, I need to add some grime to them again with a black wash, which is just very watered down black acrylic paint. Put as much wash as you can on the handle, then immediately wipe it off, then repeat several times. The water will let the paint flow into recessed areas that dirt would normally get into.
I was extremely happy with how the cauldron came out! I learned several new techniques and played with some new materials that I hope to use in future projects. I really enjoy projects that hit several goal boxes I’m working on for future projects.
We solved a problem
We used a unique and creative solution
We used a new technique or material (in this case both)
All material and tools are commonly available
I’m still working on this list, but that’s a preview of where I think things are going more formally. The cauldron was also a HUGE hit with our neighborhood’s trick-or-treaters!
