How to Make a Skeleton for Halloween
Fall is a remarkable time of year, and the season's first official holiday---Halloween---is one that provides an opportunity for you to spend quality time with your kids. Halloween is a great holiday to take advantage of your craft skills to construct a cool-looking skeleton made from Styrofoam. Making this skeleton decoration is a great Halloween craft to share with your children. All of you can help assemble one, or you can each get your own sheet of Styrofoam to construct your own skeleton. You can construct your Styrofoam skeleton any size you'd like---it all depends on the size of your original piece of Styrofoam. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Sheet of Styrofoam
- Knife
- Poster board
- X-Acto knife
- Scissors
- Primer
- White and black paint
- Paintbrush
- Fishing line
- Wood dowel
- Wood glue
- Permanent marker
Instructions
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1
Draw the components of your skeleton on a piece of poster board. You can be as detailed as you'd like, depending on your patience and drawing skills. For example, if you want this to be a simple craft for you and your children, consider doing the rib cage as one large piece. If, however, you want the Styrofoam skeleton to be more detailed, you can draw each individual bone.
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2
Cut out your skeleton pieces using a pair of scissors. Once completed, lay them on the Styrofoam, trace them using a permanent marker and cut them out using an X-Acto knife.
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3
Paint each Styrofoam skeleton component with a layer of primer, letting it dry completely before moving on to the next step.
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4
Paint the skeleton pieces with white paint. Use the black paint to draw nostrils, eye sockets or any other spooky details.
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5
Glue the skeleton head and its rib cage to the back of a wood dowel.
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6
Carve small holes into the arms and legs of the skeleton using the X-Acto knife. Do the same to the areas on the torso where you want these pieces to hang.
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7
Using fishing line, attach the arms and legs of the skeleton to the torso by stringing the line through the holes and tying them in place.
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Tips & Warnings
If you want your skeleton to look more detailed but can't draw very well, take a drawing of a skeleton to a local Kinko's and have the workers blow up the drawing. You can cut out these pieces and use them as your template. Do not use scissors on the Styrofoam---the pressure will cause it to crumble rather than cut. The first step in cutting should be straight lines, just to get each piece separated. Once that's done, you can carve the pieces out with the X-Acto knife, enabling you to shave around the bone outlines. Different shades of white and light blue can be used to make the bones appear more realistic. Also, gently rubbing brown or black wood stain on the pieces will make the skeleton appear more sinister and aged.
Never let children use X-Acto knives, as they are extremely sharp instruments. If young children are participating, all cutting should be left to the adult in charge.
