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Are you looking for something cute to hold Halloween candy? If so, you might like to make a DIY Halloween spider dome candy holder! This fun project is super-easy and the result is perfect for Halloween. Even if you don’t do much crafting, you’ll find this a very straightforward thing to make and you don’t need any complicated equipment or materials either. These adorable spider candy domes are just too cute to spook!
Halloween is a fun time for everyone, especially the kids, and they’re going to love this creative crafting project.
If you enjoy DIY and crafting, you might also like making a Halloween party invitation, a cozy hand-knit blanket, or some soup mixes in jars.
Why You’ll Love It
Super-easy to make: This is a simple project and you don’t need complicated supplies like vector editing software, cutting machine software or cutting machines.
So cute: Just look at this adorable spider candy holder – it’s ideal for Halloween but it’s spooky-cute rather than spooky-terrifying, making it ideal for younger kids too.
Multi-purpose: You can make these as Halloween gifts, party tables, spooky decor, or for trick-or-treaters.
A kid-friendly project: Work on these with the kids. Smaller kids will need adult supervision (especially since scissors and hot glue are used) while older ones can make them unsupervised or with minimal supervision.
3D Spider Candy Dome Holder Materials
A complete list of supplies and materials can be found in the digital file and printable card below.
Printable pattern: You don’t need a cutting machine, just this pattern you can print out.
Cardstock: You need an 11 x 8.5-inch cardstock sheet for the candy-dispensing body mechanism. I used Michaels Recollections 65-pound cardstock paper in purple and Michaels Recollections 12-inch square black beaded glitter scrapbook paper, which is a textured cardstock. It doesn’t have beads on it, just a looped plastic texture. I also used a 1-inch square of red cardstock to make the spider’s mouth.
Half-dome split ornament: Use a 60mm dome size. I used these ones here.
Wide ribbon or a bow: You will need either 4 inches of 3/8-inch wide ribbon or a readymade bow.
Wiggle eyes: Use a pair of 3/4-inch eyes and a pair of 1/4-inch ones.
Paper fasteners: I used these ones.
Scissors
Pencil
Hole punch
White gel pen: This is optional.
Tape: Also optional.
Hot glue gun with glue sticks
Candy: To fill the spiders.
How to Make a Halloween Dome Candy Holder
For more detailed instructions with weights and measurements, jump to the printable recipe card.
Print the pattern: Print the pattern onto cardstock and cut the pieces out using scissors, then make a hole using a hole punch in each piece.
Make the body pieces: Trace the upper body pattern piece and leg pattern piece on the back of the cardstock and cut them out.
Assemble the mechanism: Stack pieces #3, #4, #5, and #6 and fasten together, adding a little tape so they don’t spin. Glue on piece #7 over the paper fastener with hot glue.
Add more pieces: Add the spider leg piece and the half dome and the upper body piece, bending the legs so the spider can stand. Glue on the wiggle eyes.
The finishing touches: Cut the mouth using red cardstock and draw on teeth with a white gel pen. Attach this to the spider face. Add a bow or other decorations, fill it with candy and close the dispenser.
Free Printable Pattern For Candy Dome
Substitutions and Variations
No hot glue: Use Elmer’s school glue instead for the mechanism. You’ll need hot glue or a stronger glue to affix the dome though.
Novelty cardstock: Use any kind of cardstock in any color.
Wiggle eyes: You can use buttons or beans instead or even draw the eyes on with a sharpie.
Ribbon: Use a readymade bow, make your own with ribbon or choose different embellishments for your DIY Halloween spider dome candy holder.
Halloween Treats to Munch While Making These
Savory snacks: Enjoy mummy hot dogs or Halloween skull potatoes.
Sweet treats: Halloween Rice Krispie treats and bat Oreos are always popular.
Spooky sips: Halloween eyeball punch is a fun cocktail for the grownups (and you can omit the alcohol for the little ones).
Top Tips
Choosing the candy: Fill it with any candy that fits in the hole (or enlarge it slightly). If you’re using unwrapped candies, ensure your candy dome is food-safe.
Supervise the little ones: Small kids can help make these but keep an eye on them because of the scissors and hot glue.
Have fun with the supplies: Choose different colors and types of cardstock to make the spider candy holders unique.
Spider Candy Dome Holder FAQs
This pattern is sized to work with a 60mm half-dome ornament. Using a different-sized ornament will require you to resize the pattern when printing. If you have candy domes that are a different size, I have found the following print scaling options work well:
70mm ornament – print scaled to 117%
60mm ornament (used in this project) – print at 100%
50mm ornament – print scaled to 83%
You could try making this project much simpler by making a tear-off back, rather than a candy-dispensing mechanism. To do this, I would suggest creating a full spider body from pattern pieces #1 and #2 combined, then using pattern piece #3 (without cutting the hole) to create a tear-able backing. Bear in mind this option has not been tested, and will destroy the spider and not be refillable!
They’re pretty versatile and you can use the spider candy holders as Halloween decor, for trick-or-treaters or for gifting.
Spider Candy Dome Party Favor Instructions
DIY Halloween Spider Dome Candy Holder
Supplies
- 1 printable pattern
- 1 Sheet cardstock, 8.5 x 11-inch
- 1 Sheet textured cardstock, 12-inch square, black
- 1 Piece cardstock, 1-inch square, red
- 1 plastic half-dome split ornament, 60mm
- 1 ⅜-inch wide ribbon or 4 pre-made bows, 4 inches
- 4 wiggle eyes, 2 x 3/8 inch and 2 x 1/4 inch
- paper fasteners
- 1 Pair scissors
- 1 pencil
- 1 white gel pen, optional
- PVA school glue like Elmer's, optional
- hot glue gun and glue sticks
- tape, optional
- candy, to fill spiders
Instructions
- Print the pattern onto cardstock and cut out all the pieces. Use a hole punch to make a hole in the center of each piece as shown.
- Trace the spider upper body pattern piece (#1) and leg pattern piece (#2) onto the back of the novelty cardstock and cut it out.
- Assemble the candy dispenser mechanism by stacking pieces #3 to 6 in numerical order and fastening them together using a paper fastener. Insert the paper fastener and bend the arms so they lay flat against piece #6. Use a small piece of tape to secure the arms of the paper fastener to prevent them from spinning. Glue piece #7 on top to hide the paper fastener arms. You can use Elmer’s school glue for this step if you prefer it to hot glue. Make sure to line up the dispenser hole so the mechanism can work!
- Turn over the mechanism and glue the single black spider leg piece (#2) onto the ‘leg’ of the dispenser mechanism.
- Use hot glue to stick the plastic half dome to the candy dispensing mechanism. If your ornament has a plastic hanging loop, align it so that the loop is opposite the triangular opening and will be hidden at the back of your finished spider.
- Hot glue the black spider upper-body piece in place, taking care not to glue or obstruct the moving spider leg!
- Gently curve the spider’s legs, by bending them around your fingers or a pencil, so that the spider can stand.
- Hot glue the wiggle eyes onto the spider’s face.
- Cut out a mouth from red cardstock, use a white gel pen to draw on teeth, and attach it to the face of the spider using hot glue.
- Decorate the spider with a bow, bow tie, or other embellishments.
- Fill the spider with candy and close the dispenser. Your Halloween spider candy holder is now complete!
Notes
Supervise the little ones: Small kids can help make these but keep an eye on them because of the scissors and hot glue.
Have fun with the supplies: Choose different colors and types of cardstock to make the spider candy holders unique.
You’ll have lots of fun making your own DIY Halloween spider dome candy holder. A cricut design space, cutting machine’s software and other equipment isn’t required, as you can make them using basic supplies like cardstock, glue, scissors, and a plastic dome. The kids will love how cute these are and they can also make their own (with or without supervision depending on age).
Other Crafting Projects to Try
Bella Bucchiotti
Bella Bucchiotti is a Canadian-based syndicated food, travel, and lifestyle writer, photographer, and creator at xoxoBella. She founded xoxoBella in 2015, where she shares her love for food, dogs, sustainability, fitness, crafts, outdoor adventures, travel, and philanthropy to encourage others to run the extra mile, try new recipes, visit unfamiliar places, and stand for a cause. Bella creates stress-free and family-friendly recipes for weeknight dinners and festive feasts.
These are so adorable! The pattern works great and they turn out so cute! Perfect for Halloween!
So glad you like them!