Halloween- Day of the Dead Skullzzzzz!

I know it's the beginning of August, but I want to get this blog up and running so I'm going to post it now and probably again in October.

I've always liked the look of Day of the Dead skulls and I thought a fun activity would be to make some of my own.  It is a long and tedious process, but with one of the best results!  Here are pictures and steps for making your own Day of the Dead Skull.  You will need:

-1 skull.  I found a styrofoam skull at a craft store for around $5.
 -foil scraps of cloth or an old tshirt
- papier mache paste (recipe follows)
- strips of news paper
- paints or fine tipped paint pens/markers.
- laquer of some kind.

Papier Mache paste recipe:
1/2 cup of glue
2 or 3 TBL cornstarch

Add cornstarch until you get the consistency that you want, you can also add a tiny bit of water if it gets too thick.  It should be thick enough to coat your strips really well.

Start by wrapping the skull in foil. DO NOT USE GLUE.  This is step 1 in creating a mold of a skull that you will paint.   By using foil, you can include details by pressing the foil into the teeth or eyes.   You may choose to include the eye caverns or to just run foil across them at a more shallow depth.   I did both.

Using scraps of cotton or other rags and glue cover the skull completely.  This will allow the papier mache to take the shape of the skull since it will not stick to foil.  The foil keeps the papier mache from sticking to the skull.  Allow the glue to dry completely before continuing to the next step

Papier Mache Madness!  Dip your strips of newspaper into the paste mixture making sure they are well coated.   Stick them on the skull, overlapping each strip with the next until the skull is completely covered.  Make sure to leave a hole in the bottom that is big enough to put your hand in.  Also be sure to include details that you wish to paint- teeth, eyes.  As you can see, this can get really messy, put a paper plate under your skull to catch any paste that drips off of your skull.  I also used a half-full (OPTIMIST!!) water bottle to prop it up.

After covering the skull completely, brush with more paste and press out any bubbles to smooth out the appearance as much as possible.  I used one of those $.50 foam brushes because this stuff will ruin your good brushes.  Let this dry over night or more!  If you layered it on thick, it may take a day and a half or so.

A VERY IMPORTANT STEP BEFORE MOVING ON:  
After the papir mache is dry, use an exacto blade and cut a slit in the back of the skull that runs down the middle to the base of the skull.  This allows you to remove the styrofoam skull that you used as a base shape.  Close the slit by mending with fresh papier mache strips and allow to dry over night if necessary.

Get painting!

Half way through- this is a pained smile.  "I'M SO TIRED OF THIS SKULL!"

I thought a black & white one would be interesting, and it is.

The detail on the back.  I allowed them to dry over night and then covered them with a gloss or a laquer for that extra sheen.  I love this project and even though it took 3 days total, I'd do it again!

Happy Halloween!

Wall Art- Hand Painted Silhouettes

In August of 09, my husband, Indiana, my good friend Justin (future bro-in-law) moved into the house that I grew up in.  My parents bought it brand new when I was 4 (1986- quit doing the math!!!) and have kept it ever since.  It has cathedral ceilings and weird angles making it difficult to decorate.  I wanted to put something on the longest wall of the house because it just looked too naked!  It was difficult of course, to find something that I liked and that was big enough for the space so I decided to make something.  I've always loved the look of old timey silhouettes, so I decided to do those, but a bit updated.  Here was my process.

We received an old 16mm movie projector during a White Elephant gift exchange one year for Christmas, this provided strong enough lighting to make a really good shadow.  Here it is propped up on a few of my husband's books (Jules Verne and Miguel Cervantes work the best)  If you don't have a projector, I'm sure an overhead projector would work just fine, if you don't have an overhead projector...I think you may be out of luck.

We taped a bit of old cardboard (from a moving box, no doubt) to the wall.  This was my 1st mistake.  If you are going to do this, I suggest using a 22x24 canvas and painting the background color first.  You'll see in the finished product that it's much better looking than cardboard! Also,  make sure it is level and if you are doing multiple silhouettes, mark the wall with a pencil and keep your chair stationary so that all the silhouettes turn out the same size.

First subject- Justin (our housemate and my future bro-in-law) we tried to wear clothes that had a lot of texture or bumps so they would show up in the shadow.  I also had them chose an action to do in their Silhouette- reading, writing, thinking etc.

First, I hand traced with a pencil.  If you are using cardboard, it's really bumpy and difficult to be accurate on.  This is another reason I'd suggest canvas.  If you are doing a background color, which I did on my 2nd run, make sure to let it dry overnight before taking a pencil to it.

I hand painted the silhouettes using a small detail brush over the pencil tracing first, then filled in with thicker strokes.

Finished product!

I had to redo the entire project because my original idea of using scrap cardboard from our recent move looked terrible.  We ended up buying 22x24" canvas and using leftover paint that I used for the kitchen as the background color.  They are very detailed up close, with hairs, eye lashes and whiskers all in tact. It would also be fun to do your favorite house hold items, maybe a lamp, a vase of flowers, a bird cage would all be great.