DIY Foam Animal Heads

Real mounted heads can be a bit gruesome.

Decorate your home with stylish do-it-yourself foam animal heads. Many well-decorated rooms feature a stag's head or another animal head from a hunting trip. Create your own mock taxidermy horse head by first forming an armature, or internal structure, with foam or polystyrene. Fabricate the details with papier mache, which uses paper and a flour-and-water mixture. Once you are finished, show off your animal head and brag that no animals were harmed in the production of this head.

Things You'll Need

• 10-inch-long polystyrene foam block
• Plastic water bottle
• Masking tape
• Newspaper
• Flour
• Bucket
• Brown and black acrylic paint
• Craft paintbrushes

Instructions

1. 

   Polystyrene serves as the internal skeleton of your project.

   Press one end of your 10-inch long polystyrene foam block onto the top of your empty water bottle. The water bottle should be inserted about 2 to 3 inches into the foam block to form the animal head. The foam is the head part, while the water bottle is the neck.

2. Tape the two pieces together with masking tape. Wrap the water bottle with newspaper to thicken the neck and secure with tape. Crumble up two small pieces of newspaper to form horse ears. Tape them onto the top of the head above where the water bottle is inserted.

3. Tear up 10 full sheets of newspaper into 2-inch-by-6-inch strips for the papier mache. Mix together 1 cup flour and 1 cup water in a bucket to make the papier mache paste. It should be a porridge-like consistency. Add more flour or water if necessary.

4. Saturate a strip of newspaper into the paste and remove excess paste by pressing your index finger and thumb onto the strips. Lay one layer of newspaper dipped into paste over the entire foam armature. Allow it to dry for 24 hours.

5. Dip more newspaper strips into papier mache paste. Build up the area around the tip of the foam block to form the horse's nose and mouth area. Build up the horse's ears and thicken the bottom of the neck so it looks realistic. Allow it to dry for 24 hours. Add one more layer of papier mache and let it dry for 24 hours.

6. Paint the entire horse head with brown acrylic paint using a craft paintbrush. Paint the horse's eyes on the top sides of the craft with black acrylic paint using a finer paintbrush. Add a line for the horse's mouth and place two small dots for the nostril holes at the tip of the horse's head.

Tips & Warnings

• Craft smaller animal heads by using foam spheres or by carving one out of a larger foam block.

• Use real animal heads as your guide for this type of project.

• If you want to construct a deer, use tree branches for horns.

• Papier mache paste can be saved in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Stir it well before using.

References

• Ultimate Paper Mache: Paper Mache Horse
• Kristen F. Davis Designs: Mr. Zebra