If you’re after a quirky and budget-friendly Halloween craft, you’ll love these Halloween Skull Decor Characters Made from Shot Glasses and Toilet Rolls. What started as a case of buying the wrong-sized skulls online turned into a fun upcycled DIY project using recycled materials I already had at home. These spooky little figures make perfect Halloween table centrepieces or decorations for around the house—and they’re sure to bring a smile (or a scare) to your guests!

Before we dive into this tutorial, be sure to subscribe to my bimonthly newsletter to be the first to see my latest projects.  You can also follow me on Pinterest and Facebook, where I also include my unique mixed-media art projects.

Halloween Skull Decor Characters Made from Shot Glasses and Toilet Rolls

**This post may contain affiliate links. This means I earn a small commission on links used at no extra cost to you. Please see my disclosure policy for more information.**

Materials Needed

• Mini plastic skulls
• Alcohol shot glasses (plastic or glass)
• Empty toilet rolls
• Black gesso or black acrylic paint
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Sequin tape, rhinestones, and craft embellishments
• Small charms, beads, or broken jewellery
• White gesso or paint for eyes
• Sharpie pens (black and red)
• Cardboard scraps
• Fabric off-cuts for scarves
• Peacock feathers or faux feathers
• X-acto knife and scissors
• Sellotape

Assembling the Skull Characters

Start by painting your plastic shot glasses black. I used black gesso because I had it on hand, but regular acrylic paint works just as well. If you want to decorate in a different style, this post will walk you through the basic techniques.

Glue the skulls on top of the shot glasses using hot glue. This keeps them secure and stops them from wobbling while decorating.

How to Make Mini Top Hats

These mini top hats are crafted from empty toilet rolls. I used a roll of Sellotape as a stencil to trace a circle for the brim.

1. Cut a piece of toilet roll to your desired hat height.
2. Trace and cut a circular brim and a matching top circle using cardboard.
3. Tape the toilet roll piece to the brim to hold it in place, then glue it securely with hot glue.
4. Add the top circle with glue on the inside.
5. Shape the hat sides around a pen or marker for a curved look.
6. Paint the hat black and let it dry.

To decorate:

• Add sequin tape around the brim.
• Glue on printed tarot cards, feathers, or other embellishments.

Decorating the Skull Characters

Now it’s time to bring your Halloween skulls to life with costumes and accessories:

• Use clear adhesive rhinestones for bling.
• Turn butterfly charms into cute bow ties.
• Cut up an old Santa hat for scarf material.
• Add cardboard pockets to create a jacket look.
• Highlight the black paint with bronze wax paste for easy detail work.

These little guys start to show personality once you layer on the quirky costume pieces!

Adding Eyeballs (Optional but Fun)

To give some of the skulls a freaky stare, I used beads from a broken necklace:

1. Paint the beads white with gesso.
2. Use a black Sharpie to draw the pupils.
3. Add red veins for a bloodshot look.

I only had enough beads for four eyes, so one skull was left blind and extra spooky.

Finished Halloween Skull Characters

Each skull took on its unique personality—some spooky, some silly, and one with a fabulous fashion sense! Whether you’re displaying them on your mantel, dining table, or windowsill, they’re guaranteed to get attention and spark a few laughs.

More Halloween projects

DIY Halloween glasses. You can use this technique to make temporary themed glasses for any occasion.

This is another Halloween table centrepiece idea made from a recycled bottle and a plastic skull.

If you’d like to find any of the items used in this project, we’d greatly appreciate it if you used our affiliate links. These links provide us with a small commission at no extra cost to you, allowing us to continue creating and sharing more inspiring projects. We’d also love to hear your thoughts—feel free to leave a comment or share this post!