How to Make Glowing Eyes in the Bushes for Halloween: Cardboard Tube DIY
Glowing eyes in the bushes are made by cutting eye shapes into cardboard tubes, putting a glow stick or battery tea light inside, taping the ends shut so no light leaks, and tucking the tubes into shrubs after dark. The whole project takes a few supplies and works best with several tubes at different heights.
This is one of the cheapest scares you can add to a yard. You need empty tubes, tape and a pack of glow sticks or flameless tea lights, and the result reads as a creature watching from the shrubs. Use it to extend a scene such as our haunted forest or the edge of a graveyard scene.
What do you need for glowing eyes?
| Item | Why | Source note |
|---|---|---|
| Cardboard tubes | The eye housing | Frugal Upstate uses toilet paper, paper towel or wrapping paper tubes; you can also roll your own from cardboard and tape |
| Scissors or craft knife | Cutting the eye shapes | Hip2Save mentions a craft knife |
| Black duct tape | Sealing the ends and blocking light leaks | Frugal Upstate says black would blend best; Hip2Save uses duct tape |
| Glow sticks or battery tea lights | The glow | Hip2Save lists both; Frugal Upstate used glow sticks from a Halloween aisle |
How do you make them?
- Cut the eyes. Cut shapes into the tubes, freehand or drawn first. Frugal Upstate used circles, ovals and vertical slits and suggests crescents too.
- Cover the ends. Tape both ends with opaque tape. This keeps the light source inside and stops light leaking from the ends.
- Light them. Crack and shake each glow stick, or switch on a battery tea light, and slide it into the tube.
- Seal up. Tape the ends closed.
- Place them. Tuck the tubes into bushes or trees at night.
How can you make the eyes look better?
- Measure first. Frugal Upstate’s glow sticks were too long for toilet paper tubes, which left bulging tape. Paper towel tubes can be cut to length for longer sticks.
- Add more light. Hip2Save’s tip for brighter eyes is to insert several glow sticks.
- Paint the tubes black. Frugal Upstate notes you can paint tubes black first so they disappear in the shrub.
- Wrap in wax paper. A reader comment on the Hip2Save post suggests wrapping the glow stick in wax paper so the paper glows and the stick is hidden. That is a reader idea, not the author’s.
- Use the dark. Frugal Upstate points out that darkness hides imperfect cuts and tape.
Both posts are older and neither lists a price or a time estimate. Frugal Upstate describes the project as very cheap and very quick, and its post says it was sponsored through the Walmart Moms Program, so treat that retailer mention as an ad. Use a motion sensor on a nearby prop if you want more than a steady stare.
Glow sticks or tea lights?
Glow sticks are bright and fast, and Frugal Upstate’s only worry is that one could get lost if someone brushes the bush, which sealed ends prevent. Battery tea lights are our pick if you want to reuse them, since they switch on and off. Both sources suggest either option works. Do not use real candles or open flame in cardboard or near dry shrubs.
Safety note: neither source gives safety guidance, so this is ours. Keep real flames away from cardboard and brush, supervise children cutting tubes, and keep used glow sticks away from pets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What tubes work best for glowing eyes? Toilet paper, paper towel and wrapping paper tubes all work. Paper towel tubes can be cut down for longer glow sticks.
How do you stop light leaking? Cover both ends with opaque tape, ideally black duct tape.
How do you make the eyes brighter? Hip2Save suggests inserting several glow sticks into each tube.
Should I use glow sticks or tea lights? Both sources list glow sticks, and Hip2Save also lists battery tea lights. Pick tea lights if you want to reuse them.
Where should I place them? Tuck them into bushes or trees at night where trick-or-treaters pass, at different heights.
Want more yard ideas? Plan your budget haunt next.
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