Birthday Surprise

Last Updated on Saturday, 16 January 2010 10:08 Written by Dave Wednesday, 30 December 2009 15:11

Pirate Skull/Candle & Treasure Map

I have always loved the skull/candle props that Grim over at grimvisions.com makes. He made a Pirate type one and a Skull/Candle type one. I wanted to combine the 2 and have a Pirate Skull/Candle.

It's a simple paper mache skull that I created. I make mine all the same way, cover a foam skull with foil then several layers of mache. After a few days, I cut the skull in half, glue back together and add a few layers of mache over the cut area.

The candle was made just like the PVC candles I've done before except that it's a cardboard tube. I cut to length, added a layer of tissue mache and applied hot glue for the melted wax effect.

I didn't take pictures of the raw, unpainted piece since I really wasn't going to do a how-to on this project. The pictures were taken only because I was trying a different finishing technique and wanted to see what the different shades would do to the previous colors.

First, everything was painted with 2 coats of flat white latex paint. I took a dark wood stain and applied it to everything. I removed most of it from the candle area with a paper towel. I let that dry for almost 36 hours. Wood stain doesn't really dry in that time, it remains sticky so I tried for a sticky but not come off on my hands stage.

The next steps were what I wanted to change. I've done most of my props with a dry brush painting technique. This time I was going to try a paint "wash" and see how that goes. It's just a very thin wash of latex paint and water. I mix it up, slop it on with a brush and then wipe off with a damp rag.

I believe when it was completed, I had done 4 different paint washes and barely a dry brush touched this skull. I left the candle alone for most of the washes.

Here it was with all the painting done on the skull and candle except for the teeth. Those I went back over with a dry brush of white.

Then I got stuck, how do I make it look more like a Pirate? Either an eye patch or maybe a bandanna? Maybe I wouldn't like either and then I just messed up my nice skull. So, I decided to wrap the skull in plastic wrap and work with a monster mud type bandanna. If I didn't like how it turned out, I could remove the added piece and not owrry about the skull.

I cut a small section of cotton fabric, dipped it in my paper mache paste and tied it over the skull. I fussed with it until I was happy with the position and the folds. I sat it in front of a fan until the paste made the fabric stiff and I wouldn't have to worry about the folds coming undone.

After 24 hours, I went over it with two coats of a thin monster mud mix. It sat in front of the fan between coats for almost 36 hours. Then it was removed from the skull so I could do the inside with a coat and them paint.

I chose to make the bandanna red and apply the same paint wash like I did the skull. When I first added the red to the piece, the color was a really bright red ... too red. After the washes, the colors became more muted and everything was fine.

I slipped the bandanna back on and just let it sit for a few days. I couldn't decide if I liked it or not ... so I left it on but didn't glue it on. Trust me, this thing isn't going to fall off so not adding the glue wasn't an issue.

So ... here it is ... finished.

The map was much easier ... print out an image on a piece of heavy brown paper, scorch the paper with a heat gun and add a little dark stain to the paper.

The hard part was gluing the paper to a wooden place mat and still have it roll up. It did wrinkle a little but that adds to it's charm.

Hope you enjoyed seeing this project. I know my friend who received it LOVED it.