Glowing Skull How-To
1. To create a scary skull, inflate a large balloon a day ahead of time or inflate and deflate it several times to make it malleable. Wrap masking tape around the balloon one-third of the way from the bottom to form the jawline. Using wheat paste, attach two layers of white tissue paper roughly torn into 1- to 2-inch squares.
2. Pop and remove balloon when dry. Cut a hole from the base toward the rear of the form so that the skull tilts back slightly when displayed. Cut out the features, and use wheat paste to affix a sheet of tissue paper inside.
3. To light the skull, secure a battery-powered light to the display surface with a walnut-size piece of modeling clay, and lower the skull over the light.
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I just made one of these a few days ago, and just cut out the eyes, nose, and mouth. Its so cute! this was such a fun project to make, i am planning on making some more soon!
instead of using tissue paper i used white printer paper and ripped it up into small sections, i put some cinnamon into the mix ( i heard it cuts down on the smell) and when it dried the sections that had extra paste looked a little more antique looking, pretty cool.
My tissue paper disintegrated as soon as it touched the paste (1 pt white glue to 1 pt water because it is humid here). The "tissue paper" is the same type you would use to line a gift bag, right? I tried construction paper next, which seems to work better. Both skulls are drying now. Any advice?
you should have coated the balloon with vaseline first
I spent such a long time adhering the tissue to the balloon and when it came time to pop the balloon, it stuck to the tissue and turned into a huge disaster! I got the recipe for the wheat paste online (using flour)...I don't know what I could have done wrong. Does some one have a suggestion to fix this issue? Thanks!
I was a little worried after I put the tape on (which was blue) that it would stick to the papier-mache but luckily it does come apart from the finished skull pretty easily. A good tip is to make sure you have larger pieces that go over that area so there are less edges to peel off. Also I think you need at least three layers of tissue because with only two I found the contrast in the cut out pieces was not enough and the features weren't showing up as nicely as they do in the picture.
Paper Mache is fun, and kids love it, too. Pumpkins are another fun paper mache project: http://tinyurl.com/549zhg
I think a battery operated light might be enough, they come in different sizes.
I think a battery operated light might be enough, they come in different sizes.
I think a battery operated light might be enough, they come in different sizes.
I think a battery operated light might be enough, they come in different sizes.
I love it, but what is making it light up?
I love it, but what is making it light up?
I love it, but what is making it light up?
Wheat paste is just flour, water,etc. I googled it and found this great recipe for it.
Here's the link, hope this helps.
http://solarcooking.org/wheatpaste.htm
For more skull ideas, I would just google "skull crafts" or variations of that and see what comes up.
Good luck ;-)
What is "wheat paste"?
I purchased Mexican Sugar skulls mold. I've decided to have a skull theme this year! I love this paper mache idea, does anyone have more skull ideas I can you to decorate my porch and front yard?