DIY Potions Book Candy Bowl
Something's brewing — luckily it's something sweet. Make this spellbinding Halloween candy bowl from a stack of book boxes.
![Magic, Spells and Potions Book Candy Bowl Stack of Crafted Magic Books Made Into a Halloween Candy Bowl](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/7/2/Original_Karen-Kavett_potions_book_final.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.616.85.suffix/1570476745167.webp)
Karen Kavett
![](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2017/3/15/0/HGTV-Handmade-2017_Karen-Kavett-horizontal.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.91.91.85.suffix/1612368738514.webp)
Materials + Supplies
- 3 large book boxes
- masking tape
- pencil
- craft knife
- black paint
- silver paint
- paintbrush
- black craft foam
- letter stickers
- tacky glue
- hot glue
- dowels (optional)
Stack and Mark
![Begin this project by stacking three large book boxes on top of each other, using masking tape to temporarily hold them in place.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_1-1-stacking-books.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643356967.webp)
Karen Kavett
![After stacking the decorative book boxes in your chosen design, mark where the books overlap. Flip the entire stack and mark where they overlap on the bottom of the books.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_1-2-tracing-book.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357042.webp)
Karen Kavett
Stack three large book boxes on top of each other, using masking tape to temporarily hold them in place. Mark where they overlap. Flip the stack over and mark where they overlap on the bottom of the books.
Cut
![After marking off where the book boxes overlap, disassemble the stack and connect the lines, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge of the book boxes so you can glue the stack back together later.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_2-1-drawing-shape.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357045.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Using an Exacto knife or box cutter, follow the lines you marked to cut out a hole in the middle of the book.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_2-2-cutting.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643356953.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Use an Exacto knife to cut out the top of the bottom book, the bottom and top of the middle book, and the bottom of the top book.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_2-3-all-books-cut-out.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357049.webp)
Karen Kavett
![After cutting the book boxes, restack them. They should form one large container for filling with candy later. Make any necessary adjustments here before painting the book boxes.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_2-4-stacked-cut-out.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357040.webp)
Karen Kavett
Use the lines you marked as a guide to draw, and then cut out a hole in the middle of the book, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge of the book boxes so you can glue the stack back together later. Cut out the top of the bottom book, the bottom and top of the middle book, and the bottom of the top book. When you stack them on top of each other, they should form one large container.
Paint
![Paint the hollowed out book boxes black, or any color of your choosing.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/10/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_3-1-painting.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570740950134.webp)
Karen Kavett
![To more visual interest, you can paint one of the hollowed out book boxes silver. We'll use black paint to give it more depth and an aged look in a later step.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_3-2-silver-book.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357095.webp)
Karen Kavett
Paint the books black or any color of your choice. We painted two of ours black and one silver.
Embellish
![Trace letter stickers onto black craft foam. You'll cut the letters out to embellish the spines of the book boxes.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/10/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_4-1-tracing-letter.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570740950155.webp)
Karen Kavett
![After tracing, cut out the craft foam letters and any additional embellishments.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_4-2-letter-cut-out.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357145.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Position the craft foam letters and embellishments on the spine of the books and on the front of the top book.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_4-3-letters-on-books.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357549.webp)
Karen Kavett
Trace letter stickers and other shapes onto craft foam. Cut them out to create decorations for the book spines and the front of the top book.
Glue
![Use a small paintbrush to paint tacky glue onto the foam letters to adhere them to the spines of the book boxes.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_5-1-gluing.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357459.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Use tacky glue to decorate the spines of the painted book boxes. For our silver book box, we added the word "Spells" and stars.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_5-2-gluing-spells.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357485.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Use tacky glue to adhere letters and embellishments to the front of the top book box.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/10/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_5-3-gluing-book-front.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570740950196.webp)
Karen Kavett
Glue the embellishments onto the books with tacky glue.
Paint
![If you painted one of your book boxes silver, paint the craft foam letters silver as well.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/10/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_6-1-painting-letter-silver.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570740950221.webp)
Karen Kavett
![If you painted one of the books silver, paint the black foam letters silver as well.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_6-2-painting-letters-silver.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357475.webp)
Karen Kavett
When the glue is dry, paint the letters silver on the silver book.
Age
![Use black paint and a stiff, dry paintbrush to gently sweep black paint onto the spine of the silver book to create depth and give it an aged look.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_7-1-painting-spells-spine.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357473.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Use black paint and a stiff brush to sweep paint over the spine of the book, giving it depth and an aged look.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/10/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_7-2-spells-painted.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570740950221.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Next, sweep silver paint onto the spines of the black book boxes with a stiff brush to give them depth and an aged look.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_7-3-magic-spine-painting.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357502.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Use a stiff paintbrush to gently sweep silver paint onto the front of the book box to create depth and an aged look.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/10/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_7-4-magic-front-painting.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570740950431.webp)
Karen Kavett
Lightly brush on black paint to give the letters an aged effect. Repeat with silver paint on the black books.
Reassemble, Glue and Fill
![Once the paint dries, use a hot glue gun to begin assembling your stack of book boxes.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_8-1-gluing-stack.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357826.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Use hot glue to assemble the decorated book boxes back into a stack.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_8-2-stacked.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357884.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Once the glue is dry, open up the top book and touch up any bare spots with black paint. Let dry completely.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_8-3-painting-inside-book.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357870.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Once the paint is dry, your candy bowl is complete and ready to fill with your favorite Halloween treats.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/10/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_8-4-candy.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570740950214.webp)
Karen Kavett
Use hot glue to glue the stack of books together. Touch up with more paint if needed. Fill with Halloween candy.
Add Dowels
![Optionally, paint two small dowels black to prop open the candy bowl](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_9-2-skewers.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357875.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Optionally, position two painted dowels to prop open the candy bowl.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/9/0/Original_Karen-Kavett_Potion-Book-Candy-Bowl_9-3-skewers-putting-in-place.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.411.85.suffix/1570643357874.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Karen Kavett hollowed out and glued together three book boxes to make this candy bowl for Halloween. She painted dowels black to prop it open.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/7/2/Original_Karen-Kavett_potions_book_final_candy.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.822.85.suffix/1570476745127.webp)
Karen Kavett
![This craft project uses decorative book boxes from the craft store and transforms them into a witchy candy bowl for Halloween.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/7/2/Original_Karen-Kavett_potions_book_final.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.616.85.suffix/1570476745167.webp)
Karen Kavett
![Karen Kavett used a decorative book box from the craft store to create this spells book candy bowl.](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/fullset/2019/10/7/2/Original_Karen-Kavett_spells_book.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.616.616.85.suffix/1570476745227.webp)
Karen Kavett
Optionally, paint two dowels black and use them to prop the candy bowl open.
![DIY Potions Book Candy Bowl](http://hgtvhome.sndimg.com/content/dam/images/hgtv/video/5/55/552/5521/5521865.jpg.rend.hgtvcom.1280.720.85.suffix/1660746651125.webp)