| MATERIALS: |
a large straw wreath
black Paper Twist (spool) & spider webbing
hot glue
9" balloon
scissors
large bowl
water, salt, & flour
2 paper towel tubes
masking tape & thin wire or fishing line
a dozen sheets of plain white paper & one sheet of black paper
|
|
| DIRECTIONS: |
| 1. Connect the two paper towel tubes together in a crossbones fashion. In oder to do this, cut a notch in the middle of both tubes resembling a saddle. The tubes should now join together. | |
| 2. Using white paper, make 8 balls roughly 1 1/2" in diameter. Connect 2 of the balls to each end of each tube with hot glue. | |
| 3. To make the skull, blow up the balloon and tie it off. To create the jaw, pack two or three wads of paper into a potato shape and attach it to the bottom front of the balloon. | |
| 4. In a large bowl, mix 1 cup of flour, a teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 cup water to make a papier-mache paste. Add more warm water as necessary if the paste is too thick to pour easily. | |
| 5. Tear 8 pieces of paper into strips. Tear one strip about 3" wide and starting from the middle, twist it rather tightly but leave the ends flat. On the top back of the balloon tape one flat end, and then the other so that you have created a loop to hang the skull with. Twist a few smaller strips to form eye sockets, nose bridge and cheekbones, and tape them to the balloon | |
| 6. (optional) Create 6 extra bones to place around the wreath by loosely twisting a piece of paper to make each bone. Make 24 balls roughly 1 1/2" in diameter. Connect 2 of the balls to each bone with hot glue. | |
| 7. Now you are ready to cover the balloon the crossbones and six extra bones in papier-mache. Dip one strip in at a time into paste mixture, squeegee excess between your fingers. Evenly cover each everything with two layers of papier-mache, then using longer strips, connect crossbones to the balloon behind the jawbone. Gently smooth edges, bumps and wrinkles with your fingers as needed. Set on bowls or plastic cups and let dry overnight (12 hours). | |
| 8. With a needle or razor knife, poke the skull in order to pop the balloon inside. Cut eye sockets, nasal cavities, and gaps between teeth out of black paper, and glue them in place. | |
| 9. (optional) With a razor knife cut opening in back of skull big enough to put a few glow-sticks or small flashlight. Poke small holes in the now black eye sockets so that a little of the light shows though. Alternately, cut larger holes and glue black tissue paper over the holes. It just depends on if you want a piercing or smoky look from your skull. | |
| 10. Wrap the wreath in black untwisted Paper Twist, hot gluing ends in the back. (to make it more manageable to work with, un-spool and cut the paper into 3' or 4' strips). Attach the skull and crossbones by stringing wire or fishing line through back loop of skull and tie it to the bottom of the wreath. Hot glue the other bones around the wreath and spread some cobwebs around. | |
|
