Are you buying Halloween decorations this year or have you decided to make most of them yourself? Do you have a nice supply of black and orange construction paper, white sheets and white tissue, pumpkins, and pipe cleaners? With those things you can make everything from spiders, to bats, to ghosts, as Halloween decorations. Of course, there’s still one thing you’ll need besides the supplies you already have: some plaster tape. You can turn that and some newspaper into realistic-looking bones – large or small. Purchase plaster tape called Rigid Wrap, or a similar product.
Fireplace bones look especially spooky but you can make bones and place them in a bowl on a table, or make even make giant ones and stand them on your porch. The bones aren’t at all difficult to make but you will need lots of newspaper.
You’ll have to mold the bones yourself but you don’t need to be an impressive artist. Just roll newspaper tightly into a cylinder shape and use masking tape to secure it. Roll up two balls of newspaper for each end of the cylinder. Loosely tape the balls to the ends of the cylinder for now. It can be extremely helpful to look at leg bone images online to get an idea of the shape.
After the bone is shaped just the way you want it you’ll use the plaster tape to secure the newspaper and to give the bone its color. Cut the tape into sections to make it easier to wrap it around the bone. Dip each piece in water, and wrap the tape around the bone, from one end to the other, taking care to keep the bone shaped as it is. It will take about two layers of the plaster tape; allow the finished bone to dry completely. If you want to give the bones an older look dip the gauze in tea or coffee instead of regular water.
Although the finished bone looks very realistic you can make it look even more creepy by using a red candle. Stand the bone up on one end, and slightly tilt it, then let the burning candle drip red wax down the side. If you want, smear the “blood” quickly with a disposable knife. Do this in places all over the bone and you’ll give it an eerier look.
Stack the bones in your fireplace as you would with a bundle of wood. If you have no fireplace the bones can be displayed nearly anywhere. Use them to make a border around a fireplace mantle or a table, stand giant ones in a corner, litter them out in the yard, put them on plates or in bowls, and even hang some from the ceiling with nearly-invisible fishing twine.
Bones make fabulous Halloween decorations, inside or out, and since they’re so cheap and easy to make, you’ll want to make many of them. Store them away with the other decorations, when the season is over, and use them again next year.
Fireplace Bones