I love Halloween and if you have been a reader of my blogs you know this.
I always say.....I love Jesus and a like creepy Halloween decor too!
Today's blog will show how I took this ordinary mass produced skull from Michaels (which always has great Halloween items) and made it anything but mundane with just a tiny bit of paint!
See how this whimsical Halloween checkered skull came to be...
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Before
But FIRST...the before!
Supplies Used
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Whimsical Halloween Checkered Skull
I didn't really like the yellow undertone of the skull....so I gave it a brighter finish with Fluff white.
Adding the Whimsical Checkered Pattern
I then drew out my checkered pattern which can be a challenge on curved and unusually shaped items.
So for this I chose to start with a cross hair (like a plus sign) on the very top of the skull and continued my vertical lines downward.
I then just drew horizontal rings around the skull. You can see this view here and it should make more sense.
PRO TIP: The most important thing is to make sure you divide your sections into even numbers so your black and white pattern will be complete.
Once the design was drawn out I simply painted every other check with a small craft brush and Caviar.
He already looks so good....but I really wanted to take him up a notch!
So why not GOLD!
I used the Stick With Me foil adhesive just inside the eye sockets.
You just apply it with a brush and allow it to "set to tack...aka get sticky" for about 10 minutes.
Once the creamy color of the adhesive goes clear....you know it is ready for the Dixie Shine foil!
You just press the foil (pretty side up) onto the sticky area and rub.
The eye sockets were tight quarters so I used a small paintbrush and even my finger nail to rub the foil sheet and release the shimmer into the socket.
So stick, rub, lift....and done!
I finished it off by applying a satin top coat to the entire thing!
Just a Tad Bit of Grunge
Once completed.....I decided I wanted to add a tad bit of grunge....so I applied Best Dang Wax Brown all over the entire skull and wiped it back with a baby wipe.
This allowed a very small amount of the brown to settle into any crevices...especially around the teeth which I was really wanting!
It just sort of darkened it....yet still kept a white tone vs. the yellow tone of the original.
And this is the Final Look!
I absolutely love him and look forward to adding him to my very personalized Halloween home decor every year!
Don't you just love the view from the top??
More Inspiration:
I pulled a few blogs from past projects that came to mind when working on this piece! I hope you can use them to draw inspiration for your upcoming project. Here are the additional designs for your inspiration:
Painted Halloween Coffin - a fun DIY Halloween show stopper!
Thrifted Halloween Painting - converting old portraits into Halloween decor
Whimsical Urn with Halloween Decor - convertible for every season
And of course, visit my Whimsical Home Decor Ideas blog for many more fun home decor ideas!
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