I always joke that I love wine so much they don’t make a glass big enough for me, which is exactly why I created this Upcycled Halloween Skull Goblet into a Spooky Table Centrepiece for your next Halloween celebration. A few years back, my friends gifted me two of these jumbo 1-litre wine glasses as a joke—but they were too heavy to hold, so they ended up tucked away in a cupboard. With Halloween on the horizon, I decided to breathe new life into one of them by turning it into a skull-themed goblet that doubles as creepy table décor.

If you’re not a die-hard Halloween fan and only want decorations for a couple of parties, you’re in luck—all the products I used can be washed off or sealed for future use. I love the idea of temporary themed glassware that vanishes when the party’s over. No more cupboards full of novelty glasses that sit unused!

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Upcycled Halloween Skull Goblet: Transform a 1-Litre Wine Glass into a Spooky Table Centrepiece

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Materials Needed

• 1-litre wine glass goblet
• Black gesso primer
• Hot glue gun + glue sticks
• Silicone moulds (skulls, roses, bones)
• Metallic wax paste
• Cheap fabric roses or faux blooms
• Shimmer spray (optional)
• Cardboard circle (for skull platform)
• plastic skull
• Battery-operated tealight (optional)
• Small paintbrush
• Silicone border mould

1. Prep Your Goblet

Begin by cleaning the surface of your goblet so that paint adheres properly. Cover your workspace with a newspaper. Paint the entire goblet in one or two coats of black gesso—this primer gives a smoother finish than acrylic paint and makes embellishments stick better. Don’t worry about perfection; those little flaws will catch the metallic wax later and add to the eerie vibe.

2. Create and Attach Embellishments

Using your hot glue gun, fill silicone moulds with glue to form skulls, roses or bone shapes. While still hot, lightly wet your fingertip and smooth any ridges—water prevents burns.

Once cooled, press these glue shapes onto your goblet in a creepy arrangement, adding extra skeleton bits where you like.

For a drippy effect, hold the glue gun at a slight angle and let fresh glue run down the rim before it sets.

3. Highlight with Metallic Wax

Painting projects black, then waxing, enriches the texture. Dip your finger into the metallic wax paste and rub it over raised embellishments until they gleam.

For subtle highlights on flat areas, use a small paintbrush to apply a very light coat of wax—this catches the light without obscuring the black background. Leave some sections unwaxed to maintain depth and shadow.

4. Add Floral Accents

Transform budget-store fabric roses by painting them black with gesso first to mask any bright colours. After the gesso dries, take your shimmer spray outdoors (it stains!) and mist the blooms lightly.

Once I started using shimmer sprays and wax pastes, I realised I could make my own at home. If you’d like to try crafting your own waxes and shimmer sprays, check out this post on making homemade mixed media supplies – as a crafter, you may already have all the items needed in your stash!

Use hot glue to attach these flowers around the goblet’s stem or rim.

Finish by rubbing wax paste onto petal edges for a gilded look.

5. Build the Skull Platform.

To make a platform for the skull to sit on, I cut some cardboard and glued it to the rim.  The skull was then glued to the top of the cardboard. You could add some battery-operated lights to the inside if you wanted to, or just glue a candle to the skull’s head.

More Halloween projects for you

I love using this technique for Halloween decorations—here are a couple more ideas to inspire you. This skull bottle was crafted primarily from recycled materials you likely already have at home.

This Halloween table centre piece was also made from a recycled bottle and decorated using the same mixed media technique. You can find all my mixed media projects here.

Create spooky outdoor Halloween décor with a simple Grim Reaper made from cement and an old towel.