Foam Skulls made with a Dragon Skin mold

I’ve made a few molds using Dragon Skin by Smooth-On. Dragon Skin is a soft, super stretchy silicone rubber. It stretches without tearing and always rebounds to its original shape without distortion. Smooth-On’s website has a great picture tutorial you can follow that explains how to use Dragon Skin, step by step. It’s worth a read. That being said, I didn’t follow it, I was shown how to make a mold using it while at FrightfestBC in 2004.

Making a Skull Mold:

Have your work area ready.
Have your supplies ready.
Allot yourself some time.

A trial sized pack of dragon skin is just the right amount for a skull. The pictures below show two different molds and skulls but hopefully give you an idea of what to do if you want to attempt this yourself.

You need:
Skull for the mold
A board to sit the skull on
Disposable cups
Popsicle sticks
Paper towels (its a messy process)
Plasticine
Dragon Skin Part A and B
Thi-Vex II
*Pigment (I didn’t use)

Get a board ready put some newsprint or plastic or something down under the board if you are concerned about you work area. I use a small square board of left over flooring. Inspect your skull to be molded. If it has any hollow areas or deep undercuts you will want to fill those areas with Plasticine or similar. (these pictures are from two different mold making sessions)

Take care to smooth it out really well and make it look good because once you mold it, every skull will look as this one does, right down to the small bumps and scratches. A release agent is recommended, but maybe not necessary as dragon skin will only stick to itself and to cloth. (Don’t wear anything you’ll be upset about ruining) I didn’t use a release agent for either of my two skulls with no problems what-so-ever. When the skull is ready to your liking place it on the board with it’s chin over hanging the board. This allows you to coat under the chin.

Another note… the temperature and humidity of the room you are in will affect your set up time. As I have both times made my molds in a cool environment (outside, and in a shop) the Dragon Skin took a long time to set up. Maybe that isn’t so bad, if you are just beginning with this stuff as it gives you a lot of time to apply it… well, maybe…

To begin – get two separate disposable cups or similar for measuring parts A and B.
LABEL THEM, PART A, PART B
Get a popsicle stick for each of these cups.
LABEL THEM PART A, PART B
The last thing you want is to get any of these mixed up, so label them to ensure they stay separate.
Have a third cup and popsicle stick ready for mixing the two parts together.

For your first application you will basically be covering the entire surface of the skull in the Dragon Skin without any thickener added. You are concentrating on covering all the detail areas, like the teeth. You are aiming for a thin but COMPLETE cover of Dragon Skin to pick up all the little details.

For my first layer I used approximately a 1/2 cup of Dragon Skin (approx 1/4 each of parts A & B) and it was JUST enough. You may want to use that amount, or a little more. Just adjust your measure cups to suit. If you want to be accurate you could fill a measuring cup with water and add it to your PART A cup and draw a fill-to line, HOWEVER make sure that you dry the cups very well before adding the Dragon Skin. Make sure to read all the bottle directions before you begin as well. Part B is to be mixed up before using with part A.

I did not use any pigment, but it’s recommended. Coloring will indicate when you have fully mixed the two parts together. Colored layers will aid you to get even coverage and will help you differentiate between coats. If you feel that you may not mix it completely or may miss an area while coating your skull, or are uncomfortable skipping this step by all means get some pigment to add.

When applying each coat keep in mind that the new layers must be added while the previous ones are still tacky. If they dry completely the new layer may not properly adhere. Silicone will stick to silicone even after it is fully cured, but it MUST be very clean. The best bond will be achieved when the previous layer is tacky, but if it happens to cure up fully, it will still stick.

Measure equal amounts of A and B into their separate cups. Check them to ensure they are equal. Pour them into your 3rd cup scraping the sides of the cups with their designated popsicle sticks to get ALL the Dragon Skin. MIX THOROUGHLY in your 3rd cup. For three or so minutes… until your hand feels like its about ready to fall off… well, ok that’s what mine felt like.

When you’ve mixed the 2 parts well, take the popsicle stick and smooth the Dragon Skin over your skull. I first coat the detail areas, then pour small amounts over the top of the skull and smooth it down. This layer will pretty much self level, and also run down your skull. I take my stick and pull some back up as it runs down the edges, but having some pool at the base is OK. Don’t forget under the chin.

This will need to set up for a while. Check it often, it could take 20 minutes but it could take up to an hour to set up if its cold where you are working. You want to add your next layer when the first has set up and is still tacky to the touch.

For your second layer measure more of A & B increasing the amount of each to up to a 1/2 cup of each. Mix them together as you did previously and then add a small amount of Thi-Vex II, approximatley a 1/2 cap or more depending on how thick you want it, to thicken your Dragon Skin. Mix this in just as thoroughly. It will be thick like peanut butter. Apply this layer to the entire skull, including the chin. Make sure you coat right to the base, even onto the base slightly. This coat may take a little longer to become tacky.

Repeat this process for a third and fourth coat. Try to get all areas even.

Once completed, leave the mold to cure overnight. Do not de-mold the skull, resist the urge to peel it back and peek.

Remove it from the board by peeling the Dragon Skin away from the board. It is going to take some work to get it started. Only remove the mold from the board – do not take the mold off of the skull. You’ll need to make a mother mold (or shell) first.

The mother mold is necessary to retain the shape of the mold while making copies. This is especially important when working with expanding polyurethane foam to cast with.

You can use a variety of techniques and products to make a mother mold. The lady who taught me about dragon skin now makes all her mother molds from fiberglass. I have also seen some nice looking products online I would like to try.

I used Plaster of Paris for this one, which works, but I would love to try something else next time.

To make one like I did you’ll need:
Plaster of Paris
Water
Gloves
Measure cups
Clean container for mixing
Popsicle stick or similar for mixing
Cheesecloth or an open weave material
Scissors
Plastic wrap or a thin plastic bag

To begin I inspected my skull mold and drew a line down the approximate center of it, from front to back

Next I got everything prepared:
- I applied the plastic wrap along the drawn center line so that it overlapped onto each side of the skull. This layer of plastic will keep the two halves of the mold separate.

- I cut up my strips of material. I kept the strips to about 10 inches long and about 1-1 inches wide. Some smaller.
- I mixed up a small batch of the plaster, following the box directions

I used the center line I had drawn as my guide and dipped the material strips into the plaster of paris before applying them to one half of the skull. I kept applying the strips until I felt I had a nice strong uniform layer. Next I took the plastic wrap which was laying on the unfinished side if the skull mold and folded it over top of the finished side to create a barrier. By folding the plastic wrap over, the mold is formed in two separate halves that will fit together well and come off easily when complete.

I repeated the same process for the second half of the skull.

I left the mold to dry overnight. Then removed both halves by pulling them in opposite directions. They came away from the mold very easily. I gave them each a coat of regular white house paint to help keep the plaster of paris from eroding along the edges during handling.

Dragon Skin mold with both halves of the new mother mold.

Bottom View

I then could finally remove the skull from inside my new dragon skin mold.

Related posts:

1. Skull
2. Flexwax
3. Halloween Tree

I made these shelves to replace the broken one

I picked up some old metal shelves from a lady who was throwing stuff out. These shelves desperately needed some help… they looked nothing like what I wanted.

I decided I would first cover them in cardboard. I am a cardboard pack-rat, so I had plenty to use. I fitted the shelves with it using masking tape to adhere each piece to the shelves.

Next I added cheap dollar store night-lites to the top of each shelf of each unit. As I had made a cardboard ‘lip’ on each shelf, these were completely covered from view. I am not electrician – and do not know enough about such things to trust tampering with cords, so I bought small dollar store extension cords and wired up all the lights, taping down the cords to the cardboard along the seams to hide them all.

Then I used a roll of black paper and basically wrapped the shelves in it. I used packing tape on one shelf unit, and then ran out. For the second shelf unit I used masking tape. It worked much better, as the paper had a bit of a waxy finish. I made sure to secure ALL seams with tape.

The shelves then got a light coat of flat black spray paint to cover the masking and packing tape – again the masking tape worked better here as it takes the spray paint easier, and shows less after painted.

I now had a set of black shelves….. really plain black shelves. I decided they needed to look like old wood.

How to paint wood grain:

For this process I used a spoonful of white latex paint, and about 2 cups of water, mixed together. Then taking a 2″ paintbrush dipped into the watered down paint, I painted out the shape of my wood planks. Using the technique pictured below:

Brush dipped into paint mixed with water.

In some planks I added knots in the wood by twisting the paint brush in a circle over the still wet paint. Run paint brush along each side of knot lightly.

Next dip brush into the watered down paint, right to the bottom of the container where the paint has settled. Use shop rag to dab off excess water and paint. Starting at outer edges lightly brush inwards to create wood grain. Turn brush sideways to get more defined lines.

Let the paint dry

Using a sharpie or other black marker, outline and add some detail
this makes the board stand out.

Thats it. All done!

Related posts:

1. Witches Kitchen
2. Halloween Tree
3. Paper Mache

Visit my shop to see if there are any potions ready for purchase, or read on and learn to make your own.

MAKE SOME WITCH KITCHEN JARS

Making witch kitchen jars and ingredients is easy and inexpensive. Any jar or bottle of any size will do. I collect jars from my own kitchen, from friend’s houses, from garage sales, and from one of the thrift shops in town that always carries a vast and bizarre selection for very cheap.

Prepping Bottles
They should be thoroughly washed and dried. I like all my stuff to sort of ‘flow’ in the the same color palette. My labels are all the same paper, processed the same way. I use flat black paint, sometimes painting the jars black too. I use a small amount of silver, and some times dress up the jars using aged looking binder twine.

Almost all my jars get flat black spray-painted lids. I place all the lids on newspaper outside or in the garage, and spray paint them with light even coats, allowing the paint to dry before each application. One of my favorite spray paints for this is Excel because it covers nicely and dries fast.

BBQ Sauce bottle ready to use

Ingredients
Fill the jars using your desired ingredients. Anything goes. Let your imagination go wild. If that doesn’t work – find someone under 10 and ask them for some ideas, you’ll be amazed. Or, look online. Harry Potter websites can give you plenty of inspiration.
Check your cupboards. You can use all sorts of dried foods, baking ingredients and spices as witch ingredients. Use polymer clay and make your own ingredients. Take a trek through a park or wooded area to collect natural ingredients like leaves, moss, seed pods.

I try not to use anything that can break down, rot or mold in the jars. I do not want to have to refill them each year.

Glowing products and toys can also be used in your jars if you are using blacklights. To make a glowing liquid you can use RIT fabric whitener, laundry detergent containing phosphorous (Tide works very well)or regular highlighter felts. Take the felts apart and soak the foam tube from inside them in water to extract all the color.

This bottle is filled Tide Laundry Detergent and it glows nicely under a blacklight

Ingredients – hot glue strands, next add water and color if desired

Labels
Sometimes I fill the jars first and do the labels afterwards because I know what ingredient I want to use but don’t know what to call it. Other times I begin with the label and find something suiting to put in it.

Put some thought into what you’re doing. Don’t just call your rice from the pantry ‘Maggots’ Call it something like “Freeze Dried Sarcophaga Carnaria Larva” or “Dried Flesh Eating Blow Fly Larva” and in smaller text below “hand selected from the finest corpses” or something different like that.

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I have a huge antique Pyrex apothecary style jar that I filled with expanding brain toys, and instead of ‘Brains‘ I labelled it “Hob Goblin Brains” and below in fine print “Collected from the Darke Forests of England, after extensive I.Q. testing for Quality Assurance“.

So once I’ve decided on a name, I measure the area I want to make a label for and create it on my Printshop program, using regular white printer paper. The font I use is called Blackadder ITC.

Once the labels are printed I crumple them all up.

Then I brew up some very strong tea or coffee and pour it into a 9 x 13 pan.

I take each page and lay it into the pan to soak for a minute.

When the tea/coffee begins to seep into the paper fibers I carefully remove it and set it out on the counter to dry on wax or parchment paper. If you are in a hurry you can speed the drying process using a blow dryer or fan. Then if the color is not dark enough I re-soak them, or I use a paint brush to add extra color just along the edges or areas I want it to look more aged or water damaged.

Once thoroughly dry, I seal the labels using a matte varnish for acrylic paint. This can be purchased at art supply stores. I never skip this step as it makes the labels look less ‘home made’. Don’t worry if your paper seems very wrinkled, it will smooth out later.

Next I cut out each label. Using a regular white glue stick, I adhere each label to its jar being sure to get glue on the entire surface. Pay special attention to the edges of the label, it must be completely coated. Smooth label onto jar.

Sometimes I add binder twine to the top, using a hot glue gun to adhere to the top and base of the neck. Then I trim off the excess fibers. Using a drop of brown or grey acrylic paint and some water, I paint over the binder twine to age it.

…that’s it. The jar is done!

Display you work!
Make sure your area is adequately lit so people can appreciate you work! I made my own shelves with lights on each level. I also use LED spotlights to highlight certain jars as well. Lighting a shelf from the back or underneath can create some great effects, illuminating your jars and making them appear to glow.

Need a cauldron?
I made mine with paper mache back in 2004. I was inspired to make my own after seeing Bob Andrews cauldron It’s awesome, and the perfect shape! I followed his picture tutorial, and then added paper mache layers. When it was really thick and sturdy, I removed the bucketand finished the inside as well.

Off Season…
When Halloween is over and you are packing everything up take special care and wrap your jars and bottles in packing paper. Store them in sturdy containers or boxes. If you used any organic materials that can break down, best to empty them out before storing them. A jar can get pretty toxic over the year, and some could even burst. Carefully packed, you’ll be able to enjoy these for years.

Related posts:

1. Faux Wood Shelves
2. Teeny Tiny Witch Jar
3. Paper Mache

This tree is mainly constructed of chicken wire and paper mache.

How it was made:

I began by forming a stump with a light chicken wire. Chicken wire requires gloves and nice sharp tin snips – without them, it’s a very frustrating process. I also keep pliers handy for bending and securing loose wires.

After I had a stump and roots shaped out I covered them in paper mache. I also covered the underside of all the roots. Chicken wire will not easily take the first coat of mache and the honey comb texture of the wire will show thru. This can be partially avoided by adding tape over the chicken wire, or even taping newspaper to the wire first. For this project I used newspaper and recycled packing paper. I added probably 4 layers of mache to the stump before continuing.

I then added more wire to form a tree trunk, and mache’d it to add strength before adding more chicken wire to form tree limbs. The chicken wire was cut into smaller pieces as I worked up each limb, wrapping it around itself to form long thin cone shapes for the smaller branches.
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I added some 2 part polyurethane expanding foam to the roots and trunk to increase density and strength even further. (I don’t have a picture of this process as you need to work fast or you end up with foam everywhere)

I also ran an extension cord up thru the trunk in case I eventually decided I would need it. (so far all it’s used for is lights)

After I had a basic tree formed, I began to add detail. I added veining using binder twine, rope segments and some Great Stuff expanding foam. I added small bones into the tree limbs and bark. I added pieces of foam skull faces which I made in a skull mold.

I added layers of paper mache over the faces, veins and bones. A layer of mache, more detail, a layer of mache etc etc. with a little bit of light sanding here and there. This process took a while, and looking back I should have stuck with it a little longer to get the look I wanted – but I grew impatient.

The tree needed leaves. I had some old grape vine swags in storage so I took them apart and added some to the branches. At the end of each limb I poked the wire end of the grape vine swag, adhering it with masking tape and adding more mache on top.

At this point I still had the tree in my work area – the basement. I wanted to take it upstairs or outside to paint, where the lighting was better. I realized I had made the tree too big to get out of the basement… Yes, make fun of me now…. The tree had to be stored in the basement, so it obviously had to fit through the door. – I should have designed the tree in two pieces. I ended up cutting a few roots and branches down to size using snips, and a saw.

I coated the tree in black paint. I can’t remember exactly what paint I used, outdoor latex I think. Then I dry brushed some brown and red over the surface to pick up detail. The leaves got a similar treatment. Then the whole thing was sealed again with sealer.

This tree has survived a many Halloweens. It has received its share of abuse, and has had its roots stomped on, it’s been knocked over…. but it’s still in good shape.

For the past few years I have been meaning to give the thing a make-over. If I ever get it done I will post about it….

Related posts:

1. Paper Mache
2. Mr. Hemlock Dench
3. Zombie Crawler

Basic Mache

This is my basic recipe for Halloween Prop building. It can be used very thin with paper towels or tissue for texture. It can be kept very thick and used with newspaper to make an extremely hard durable finish. It can be brushed onto a surface when its thick to smooth out seams.

Basic Mache Recipe
1 c. Flour
1 c. Corn Starch
1 tbsp Salt (to deter mold)
1 1/2 c. Water
1 c. White Glue
In a bowl (that you don’t care too much for) combine flour and corn starch and salt. Add water and mix thoroughly. The batter will be thick. Add glue stirring to combine. Depending on the project I will sometimes water this down further.

Prepare your workspace

I sometimes use those cheap plastic party table coverings to cover my work area, or a plastic bag cut open.

Prepare your newspaper
Never cut the newspaper into strips. It leaves a hard edge which will not blend and will remain visible unless you sand down your project. Tearing paper leaves more fibers intact and makes for a smoother finish.

Prepare your prop or form
If using chicken wire, apply newsprint or masking tape, or both to the wire to give the mache something to hold onto. Whatever you use, make sure it is stable to ensure your mache does not warp as it dries.

How to apply mache
Take the newsprint from one end, and dip it into the mache mix. As you pull the mache back out, put it between the index and middle finger of your other hand. This will sort of squeegee off the excess mache mix, and you will have both sides of the mache coated.

Apply the strips in as much of a cross hatch pattern as possible to add strength to the shape. Only apply 2 to 3 coats at a time. If you do not allow sufficient drying time between applications your project will take a very long time to dry out and could mold.

After I have coated my project a few times, I leave it to dry. I set up fans to increase air flow, and when necessary I also add extra heat with a portable heater or a heat lamp, depending on the size of the project. *** Only add heat to the room, not directly to your project.

For finer detail use smaller pieces or use mache pulp. (see below)
For extra strength do many layers.
For smooth textures sand the final layer, or paint on a layer or two of thick Basic Mache.
For a textured finish apply different paper to the top layer or layers of the project. Try tissue or paper towel. Use a thinner consistency mache or use glue mache(see below), and paint it onto the surface, apply the thinner paper and paint over with more mache. You can gently push the paper or tissue to create a wrinkled effect.

Glue Mache

This mix is very effective when used with thin mediums such as tissue, paper towel or toilet paper. I have also used it on small projects using small pieces of newsprint. The ratio of glue to water will vary depending on your purpose. When combined with thin paper products this mix creates great texture. In general, I use this mix over top of Basic Mache, after I have achieved my form and strength.

Glue Mache Recipe
White Glue
Water
Water down the glue to the consistency desired. Apply mache with a brush to surface, apply paper, and brush over with more mache. Repeat. I usually only use this method on the surface of the prop when I need a desired texture.

Mache Pulp

This mix is more of a clay. It can be molded and shaped like clay. There may be better recipes out there then this one, again this is just the stuff I use, and one of my favorites. I use this recipe often.

Mache Pulp Recipe
Extra small paper shreds
Ground White Chalk
Glue and water

Mix together to the consistency you want. It keeps in a sealed container for a long time. The finer the paper shreds the finer the mix will be.

Related posts:

1. Zombie Crawler
2. Paper Skull
3. Halloween Tree