A skeleton Halloween decoration transformed into a clicker from The Last of Us. (Photo by Gwen Sour) A Cordyceps fungus sculpture that turns a Halloween skeleton into a clicker from The Last of Us. (Photo by Gwen Sower)
A skeleton Halloween decoration transformed into a clicker from The Last of Us. (Photo by Gwen Sower)
As the season approaches, so do Halloween decorations, costumes, and treats.
Creating decorations and costumes can cut down on costs, especially as Halloween approaches. The advantage of DIY projects is that they are also environmentally friendly.
There are many options for DIY decoration. While using existing decorations from another season, you can add a spooky twist and repurpose common household items like sheets and candles as perfect Halloween decorations.
One easy project is to put white sheets over the couch, chairs, and table to give it the ghostly feel of an attic. The spooky atmosphere doesn’t have to end in the living room. To keep the excitement going at your Halloween gathering, get some fake plastic bugs and place them in a clear soap dispenser in your bathroom. If there are bugs left in the package, use double-sided tape or regular tape to fold over and stick the bugs to various surfaces around your home.
A big project you can tackle is repairing broken Halloween decorations instead of throwing them in the trash. An example of this is broken plastic skeleton decorations. This can be repurposed into “Clicker,” one of the zombies from the video game/TV show “The Last of Us.”
A Cordyceps fungus sculpture that turns a Halloween skeleton into a clicker from The Last of Us. (Photo by Gwen Sower)
Supplies needed for this project:
air-dried clay
Paints (I used green, orange, off-white, and yellow)
old clothes
old pillow
Paintbrush, brand/quality/quantity doesn’t matter
A bowl of water.
First, fill in the skeleton’s skull with air-dry clay purchased from the Dollar Store to create a smooth surface to paint on. Be sure to cover not only your eyes but also the front half of your head, leaving the area around your mouth and nose intact. Water can be used to smooth out textures and glue pieces of clay together. From there, let it dry for 24 hours, following the instructions on the package. The mistake I made was sculpting the mushroom part of the zombie separately, which made it more difficult to attach to the skull.
Once the clay is dry, sculpt the mushroom buds on top of the skull and let it dry for another 24 hours. Mushroom parts can be dense, so dry them for additional time if necessary.
Once everything is dry, paint the skull using the photo as a reference. Color is up to interpretation and can be diluted using water to create lighter shades.
Once the painting is complete, it’s time to dress up the skeleton. Wear old, unused clothing and stuff the inside of the clothing to fill the frame of the skeleton. From there, the skeleton should be completed!
For a more hassle-free project, consider painting an existing holiday box and reusing it for Halloween. I repainted a Christmas gift box to look like a coffin and even put a skeleton inside. These boxes can hold candy, toy jewelry, or even serve as fun spooky keepsake boxes.
