First 2020 Halloween Project

I have begun work on my first Halloween project.  As I blogged last week, I am working on completing a life -size figure.  The figure is complete, but it needs the accessories.  I decided the figure would be holding up some shrunken heads.  I have been working on the heads this week in spite of one hand being in a cast and the other injured in a fall. 

During the Halloween season last year, I picked up some plastic skulls.  They look like skulls, but... they did not seem quite right.  They looked cheap and cheesy and I just could not bring myself to use them in a project.  I decided that I would use them, but modify their shape as I worked towards making the shrunken heads.   

To begin, I covered the plastic skulls with a layer of Press and Seal.  This layer helps prevent the pâpier mâché from sticking to the original object.  After the Press and Seal was in place, I covered the object with three layers of strip pâpier mâché.  The piece will need more layers, but at this point it is rigid enough to remove it from the plastic skull. 

I marked the skull in four places.  Since I was taking photos for the blog I marked them in magic marker.  Otherwise, I might have used a pencil.  After that, I VERY CAREFULLY cut along the lines with a craft knife.  In other circumstances, I might have used a cutting wheel with a Dremel tool, but at this point after hand surgery, I am not supposed to hold anything heavier than a bottle of water.  I will have to experiment with the cutting wheel on some other project.  With a little effort, it worked well, and I did not cut through the plastic.  As I was cutting, I could feel the difference when I reached the plastic.

Once a section was cut free, I was able to pull it off.  Please note that I had to finesse it off.  If you pull to hard, it could rip.  If you have a little patience, the pieces will come off for you.  The Press and Seal actually remained stuck to the skull in most cases.  It will peel off the pâpier mâché with a slight tug. 

After the skull was in pieces, it was time to put it back together, with some modifications.  I wanted the face of the skull to be more upright and the back of the brain to be larger.   I added pieces of cardboard from a cereal box to the sides and bottom of the skull.  I also added some small supports along the top ridge of the skull to help it stay in place.  I used a hot glue gun to glue this project..  Pâpier mâché will fold in towards its center a little bit when it comes off the mold.  The pieces of cardboard help hold its shape while you are putting it back together.  It is better to glue it on the plain cardboard side of the box rather than the shiny side.  The glue will hold better. I also added a couple of extra layers of cardboard in the modified portions in order to build up the area so that there would not be a large divot in the project at those sites.

After the cardboard was glued in place and the skull shape was as I wanted it, I taped over the area with masking tape.  I use a heavy duty masking tape.  It is usually called contractor grade or professional grade.  It is sticky and has a much better hold than some of the tapes made for easy removal.

My next step is to add a nose.  These will be shrunken heads rather than skulls.  At least some of them may be shrunken heads.  I plan to try a different finish on each skull.  I don't want them to all look the same. 

Once the noses are in place, I will give the figures three more layers of pâpier mâché.  I will also build in loops at the top of the heads so I can hang the heads from some type of string or chain.  The life-size figure will be holding a bunch of them hanging from something (as yet to be determined).

That is about as far as I was able to get this week.  I will keep blogging about this project as I go along.  I am trying to start blogging more regularly again.  It is just a matter of finding the time.  Check back next Monday.