How to Make a Paper Skull
There is a fascination with the human skull that goes deep into the psych of society. Holidays such as Halloween and Cinco de Mayo revel in depicting skulls in both stylized form as well as their real shape. Making a paper mache skull furthers this attention to skulls and can be done by anyone without the need of artistic ability. The paper skull will not come to life or cause harm in any way, so there's nothing to worry about.
Things You'll Need
- Newspaper
- Instant paper mache mix
- Two plastic garbage bags
- Measuring cup
- Cardboard
- X-acto knife
- Wire
- Masking tape
- Hole punch
- Aluminum foil
- Scissors
- Popsicle sticks
- Wire snipper
- Bottle caps
- Paint
- Paint brush
Instructions
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Making the Jaw Bone
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1
Put the newspaper down on a work surface. Open the paper mache bag and pour the contents into a plastic garbage bag that has been put inside of another plastic garbage bag.
Add two cups of warm water to the paper mache mix.
Close the end of the plastic garbage bag. Start the kneading process until all the dry mix is gone and it is mixed well.
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2
Cut the cardboard into the shape of a jaw bone with the X-acto knife. Punch a hole in each side of the jaw bone with the hole punch.
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3
Attach the wire to the cardboard so that it follows the shape of the jaw bone from one end to the other.
Tape the wire to the cardboard with the masking tape. -
4
Put the cardboard down on a piece of aluminum foil that has been put down on the newspaper. Crumble the foil up and around to cover the cardboard. Cut a few slits in the foil with the scissors and continue folding the foil over the cardboard until it has fully covered the cardboard's shape.
Punch a hole in each end and bend the cardboard so that it looks like a jaw bone.
Cover the jaw bone with the paper mache mix. Do not cover up the holes on each end of the jaw bone.
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5
Cut the ends off of some popsicle sticks with the wire snipper. Place the pieces of the popsicle sticks into the "mouth" area of the jaw bone so that they become the "teeth".
Making the Top of the Skull
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6
Take a rectangular piece of cardboard and wrap it in aluminum foil. Mold the cardboard inside of the foil until it is round like the front of a face. Fit it inside of the jaw bone to make sure it will fit. Decompress the center for a cavity for the nose. Put the cardboard down on the newspaper and fill it in with paper mache. Make a paper mache blob for the nose. Add some popsicle stick teeth to the front.
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7
Cover two bottle caps with aluminum foil and press then into the sides of the skull's front. Fill in the bottle caps with paper mache for the eyes.
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8
Make a ball of paper the size of the brain and insert it into the hole at the top of the cardboard and cover with paper mache. Fill around the holes and whole area of the brain portion.
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9
Make a long piece of aluminum foil and wrap around the eye sockets and cover with paper mache.
Put the paper mache nose part onto the cavity on the front. Works around the entire skull portion and cover It all with paper mache. -
10
Attach the jaw bone to the bottom of the skull. Cement it into place with paper mache. Let the skull dry.
Paint the eyeballs of the skull using the paint brush. Paint around the "mouth" of the skull using the paint brush. Let the paint dry. Stand back and admire your paper skull.
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Tips & Warnings
Disposable surgical gloves will protect the hands from the paper mache while still allowing for fine control when kneading the mix.
Paper mache will stick to clothes and ruin them. Do not wear good clothes when mixing or using paper mache.
