The first competition I decided was a must for this Halloween Party was a Costume Contest! It wouldn't be complete without one!
I had scoured Pinterest in search of ideas for awards and came across this blog and great idea using Dollar Tree Skeletons to make trophies. So, I set out to the Dollar Tree to get my skeletons and while on the way was keeping in mind the items I already had on hand in my craft room that I could use to decorate so I wouldn't have to buy anything extra. We even had a piece of 2x4 lumber in the garage that I could use for the base as well as wooden skewers I could use for the rods to hold the skeletons up, so all I needed to buy were the skeletons themselves making my total cost for this project $1 plus tax!
When at the Dollar Tree there were different variations/colors of the Skeleton Garland to pick from so I decided I wanted minimal work and went with the black skeletons. Once I got back home, I removed the twine that had the four skeletons connected and set them down on the table and started to think of what I wanted to do to each one.
I decided to cut out my bases and spray paint them and the wooden skewers black using Krylon Black Glossy spray paint. I did this at the beginning of the week and gave them a full day to dry per side.
Wooden Bases and Rods to hold the skeletons in place
Supplies: 2x4*; Wooden Skewers*; Krylon Black Gloss Spray Paint*; Sand Paper; Saw; Drill; Eye Goggles (Safety First!)
*The number of these supplies depends on the number of trophies you are making
Instructions:
2. Drill a hole smaller than the dowel or wooden skewer you will use to hold the skeleton in place.
3. Sand edges and around the hole.
4. Spray paint and allow to dry before flipping and then repeat this step on the other side. Be sure to spray paint the edges as well.
Here is the paint I used:
Categories were as follows: Most Creative Costume (Superhero); Funniest Costume (Clown); Prettiest Costume (woman in a dress); Best Overall (Wanted him to wear a cape and top hat)
The first thing I did was printed out the categories on ribbon and set those off to the side.
The craft supplies I used for the costumes were as follows - break down by skeleton:
Most Creative Costume - Superhero
Supplies: Wooden Base (painted and dried); Wooden Skewer (painted and dried); Blue Satin Ribbon - thick; White Satin Ribbon - thin; Small Googly Eyes (2); Hot Glue Gun; Crystal Effects (or other adhesive); Lighter; Fire Extinguisher (Safety First!); Scissors
Instructions:
1. Manipulate the skeleton into the position you want it to end up in. Be very careful as these easily break and do not bend easily. After I separated some parts slightly, I took Crystal Effects (Stampin' Up! Brand) and using a toothpick added a glob of the glue to be sure the limbs would stay in place. I imagine the glue gun would work as well, but I love Crystal Effects and know it is sturdier than a glue gun would be. If using Crystal Effects or some other type of glue that is wet, please allow drying time as stated on the bottle.
2. Glue the skeleton onto the wooden skewer by placing it through the hip bones and up the rib cage area. I secured with a hot glue gun.
3. If using a wooden skewer it will be a lot longer than you want it to be. This next part is trial and error and depends solely on how you want to position the skeleton on top of the stand. Once you have the desired height planned, cut the wooden skewer to size. DO NOT GLUE into the hole you drilled on the base yet, you will do this after it is decorated (easier to handle because sometimes you have to lie it down flat). I did find it helpful, however, to put the skewer in the hole and let it stand on its own while decorating and was able to actually spin the skeleton which was helpful as well.
4. Glue on the googly eyes using a glue gun.
5. Cut the Blue Satin Ribbon for the cape to length (depends on where you want it to fall against the skeleton), cut a "V" on the end you want to tie around the neck of the skeleton and singe the ends using a lighter to reduce fraying. **SAFETY FIRST - please have a fire extinguisher on hand when doing this**; I also decided I wanted the other end to be a little pointy in spots so I singed the ends of the cape in different areas to give it the result of a wave. Tie around the neck of the skeleton. If needed, use a hot glue gun to secure in place.
6. Using the White Satin Ribbon as the mask, measure it around the skeletons head and mark where the eyes will be. *NOTE* this was tricky getting it to line up. The easiest way I found to do this (after three tries) was to cut the first eye out and then mark the second eye. When cutting, I cut the opening smaller than the eye and then singed the holes to reduce fraying which made them bigger and fit perfectly. Use hot glue gun to stick to head and tie in the back.
7. Attach the ribbon with the name of the award on the skeleton and secure with hot glue gun.
6. Glue the wooden skewer in the hole drilled in the wooden base to secure.
7. Glue the bottom of the foot (or feet) that are touching the wooden base to the base using hot glue gun.
8. Display at your party (I put a Styrofoam Cup behind it to collect the votes, you can use anything here you wish)
Most Creative Costume Final Product:
Funniest Costume - Clown
Supplies: Cotton Ball (1); Re-inkers (Stampin' Up! Brand) in three different coordinating colors; Purple and White Polka Dot Grossgrain Ribbon - thick; Teal and Purple Polka Dot Grossgrain Ribbon - very thick; Small Googly Eyes (2); Red Glass Bead (1); Lighter; Fire Extinguisher (Safety First!); Scissors; Hot Glue Gun; Crystal Effects (or other adhesive); Fimo Modelling Clay; Oven (to bake the clay); Clay tools (knife, roller, etc.); Acrylic Paint; Paintbrush; Paint Tray; Cup of Water; Paper Towel
Instructions:
1. Manipulate the skeleton into the position you want it to end up in. Be very careful as these easily break and do not bend easily. After I separated some parts slightly, I took Crystal Effects (Stampin' Up! Brand) and using a toothpick added a glob of the glue to be sure the limbs would stay in place. I imagine the glue gun would work as well, but I love Crystal Effects and know it is sturdier than a glue gun would be. If using Crystal Effects or some other type of glue that is wet, please allow drying time as stated on the bottle.
2. Glue the skeleton onto the wooden skewer by placing it through the hip bones and up the rib cage area. I secured with a hot glue gun.
3. If using a wooden skewer it will be a lot longer than you want it to be. This next part is trial and error and depends solely on how you want to position the skeleton on top of the stand. Once you have the desired height planned, cut the wooden skewer to size. DO NOT GLUE into the hole you drilled on the base yet, you will do this after it is decorated (easier to handle because sometimes you have to lie it down flat). I did find it helpful, however, to put the skewer in the hole and let it stand on its own while decorating and was able to actually spin the skeleton which was helpful as well.
4. Glue on the googly eyes using a glue gun.
5. Using the modelling clay, sculpt a pair of clown shoes that fit the skeletons feet. You can spend as little or as much time on this as you want, but be forewarned, it can be time consuming if looking for perfection. I spent a lot longer than anticipated on this resulting me to not be able to complete all four trophies in the time I allotted. Once you have the shoes sculpted, bake them in the oven according to the instructions on the package of the clay. Allow to cool before decorating.
This is the clay I used:
6. Decorate the clown shoes using acrylic paint and allow to dry.
7. Cut a piece of the thickest ribbon (teal with purple polka dots) to fit the shoes at the foot opening. Glue to the shoe using hot glue. Again just like in the first skeleton, singe the ends of your ribbon to reduce fraying and be sure to practice safety when doing so.
8. Add a glob of hot glue to the top of the clown head and put the cotton ball on top, rolling and pulling it around on the head to get the coverage you are looking for. This takes patience and practice.
9. Pull up on the cotton ball removing a little more than 1/2 of the cotton ball that is attached to the head, leaving just enough to use for the wig.
10. Prep Cotton Ball wig by using re-inkers in coordinating colors. Using the remaining of the cotton ball, I took color from the re-inker and dabbed it where I wanted it to on the cotton ball to make the clown hair. It stays wet for quite some time, so I ended up grabbing a paper towel and blotting it until there wasn't any more ink coming off on the paper towel to speed up the drying process.
11. Attach the googly eyes using hot glue.
12. Attach the red glass bead using hot glue.
13. Using the thick grossgrain ribbon (purple and white polka dots) attach around the neck of the skeleton using hot glue gun making ruffles as you glue. *note again, I singed the edges of the ribbon to reduce fraying
14. Attach the ribbon with the name of the award on the skeleton and secure with hot glue gun.
15. Attach the clown shoes. *NOTE* I had to cut the feet of the skeleton to get them to fit just right inside my shoes because when it baked, the sides came in a little bit. I cut off the outer toes and trimmed down the length as well. Glue the foot inside the shoe.
16. Glue the wooden skewer in the hole drilled in the wooden base to secure.
17. Glue the bottom of the foot (or feet) that are touching the wooden base to the base using hot glue gun.
18. Display at your party (I put a Styrofoam Cup behind it to collect the votes, you can use anything here you wish)
Funniest Costume Final Product:
Prettiest Costume - Female in Dress
Supplies: Gold Satin or Wired Ribbon - thick; Gold Iradescent Ribbon - Medium sized; Silver Decorative Ribbon - thin; White Satin Ribbon - thin; White Fringe with silver beads - thin; Silver Glass Beads (2); Brown Yarn; Lighter; Fire Extinguisher (Safety First!); Scissors; Hot Glue Gun; Crystal Effects (or other adhesive); Fimo Modelling Clay; Oven (to bake the clay); Clay tools (knife, roller, etc.); Acrylic Paint; Paintbrush; Paint Tray; Cup of Water; Paper Towel; Green Wire; Wire Cutter; Pliers; white satin flower with jewel center
Instructions:
1. Manipulate the skeleton into the position you want it to end up in. Be very careful as these easily break and do not bend easily. After I separated some parts slightly, I took Crystal Effects (Stampin' Up! Brand) and using a toothpick added a glob of the glue to be sure the limbs would stay in place. I imagine the glue gun would work as well, but I love Crystal Effects and know it is sturdier than a glue gun would be. If using Crystal Effects or some other type of glue that is wet, please allow drying time as stated on the bottle.
2. Glue the skeleton onto the wooden skewer by placing it through the hip bones and up the rib cage area. I secured with a hot glue gun.
3. If using a wooden skewer it will be a lot longer than you want it to be. This next part is trial and error and depends solely on how you want to position the skeleton on top of the stand. Once you have the desired height planned, cut the wooden skewer to size. DO NOT GLUE into the hole you drilled on the base yet, you will do this after it is decorated (easier to handle because sometimes you have to lie it down flat). I did find it helpful, however, to put the skewer in the hole and let it stand on its own while decorating and was able to actually spin the skeleton which was helpful as well.
4. Glue on the silver beads as eyes using a glue gun.
5. Using the modelling clay, sculpt three tiny roses. You can spend as little or as much time on this as you want, but be forewarned, it can be time consuming if looking for perfection. I spent a lot longer than anticipated on this resulting me to not be able to complete all four trophies in the time I allotted. Once you have the roses sculpted, bake them in the oven according to the instructions on the package of the clay. Allow to cool before decorating.
6. Paint the roses the color you want using acrylic paint. I used pink.
7. Cut green wire DOUBLE the final length. Fold green wire in half and using pliers rotate to give it kind of a braided effect. Do this for all three roses.
8. Glue the wire into the roses using hot glue gun.
9. Attach the thin white satin ribbon around the roses forming a knot.
10. Cut Brown Yarn (or whatever color you wish) the length you want for the hair. I measured one piece by lining it up to the top of the skeleton head. Cut enough pieces to cover the whole top of the head and glue onto the head side by side. Trim the "bangs" how you want. For added measure, I took three strands of yarn the same length and made a small braid which runs on top of the bangs and attached with hot glue gun. I also decided I wanted my skeleton's hair to be in a pony tail so I took a small piece of yarn (same color) and tied the hair together to form a pony tail.
11. Optional: Make a headband for the skeleton using the thin white satin ribbon and glue around the head. I also added a jeweled white satin flower to this.
12. Using the thinner gold ribbon, wrap it around the skeleton starting at the top and working to the bottom. Glue as you go, however, do not glue the end, leaving enough to wrap around the skeleton front to back unglued.
13. Attach the trim with beads to the 2 inches of gold ribbon left unglued so that when you wrap it around the skeleton it's on the inside and only showing are the beads at the bottom. Glue the two inches to the skeleton to complete the under garment.
14. Measure and cut the thicker gold ribbon to form a cover up, do not attach.
15. Using the silver decorative ribbon, tie it in the center of the gold ribbon to form the shoulder.
16. Attach the cover up to the skeleton using hot glue gun.
17. Attach the ribbon with the name of the award on the skeleton and secure with hot glue gun.
18. Attach the flowers to the hand of the skeleton using hot glue.
19. Attach the clown shoes. *NOTE* I had to cut the feet of the skeleton to get them to fit just right inside my shoes because when it baked, the sides came in a little bit. I cut off the outer toes and trimmed down the length as well. Glue the foot inside the shoe.
20. Glue the wooden skewer in the hole drilled in the wooden base to secure.
21. Glue the bottom of the foot (or feet) that are touching the wooden base to the base using hot glue gun.
22. Display at your party (I put a Styrofoam Cup behind it to collect the votes, you can use anything here you wish)
*OPTIONAL STEP: if desired, using the pink acrylic paint, paint around the mouth of the skeleton for lipstick. Not sure I 100% liked the outcome of this so I may omit it in future awards, but it was a funny factor. Also, you can barely see it but I did add a bead to her ring finger as well. For instructions on how to do that see the Best Overall Costume Award Instructions below.
Supplies: Gold Satin or Wired Ribbon - thick; Gold Iradescent Ribbon - Medium sized; Silver Decorative Ribbon - thin; White Satin Ribbon - thin; White Fringe with silver beads - thin; Silver Glass Beads (2); Brown Yarn; Lighter; Fire Extinguisher (Safety First!); Scissors; Hot Glue Gun; Crystal Effects (or other adhesive); Fimo Modelling Clay; Oven (to bake the clay); Clay tools (knife, roller, etc.); Acrylic Paint; Paintbrush; Paint Tray; Cup of Water; Paper Towel; Green Wire; Wire Cutter; Pliers; white satin flower with jewel center
Instructions:
1. Manipulate the skeleton into the position you want it to end up in. Be very careful as these easily break and do not bend easily. After I separated some parts slightly, I took Crystal Effects (Stampin' Up! Brand) and using a toothpick added a glob of the glue to be sure the limbs would stay in place. I imagine the glue gun would work as well, but I love Crystal Effects and know it is sturdier than a glue gun would be. If using Crystal Effects or some other type of glue that is wet, please allow drying time as stated on the bottle.
2. Glue the skeleton onto the wooden skewer by placing it through the hip bones and up the rib cage area. I secured with a hot glue gun.
3. If using a wooden skewer it will be a lot longer than you want it to be. This next part is trial and error and depends solely on how you want to position the skeleton on top of the stand. Once you have the desired height planned, cut the wooden skewer to size. DO NOT GLUE into the hole you drilled on the base yet, you will do this after it is decorated (easier to handle because sometimes you have to lie it down flat). I did find it helpful, however, to put the skewer in the hole and let it stand on its own while decorating and was able to actually spin the skeleton which was helpful as well.
4. Glue on the silver beads as eyes using a glue gun.
5. Using the modelling clay, sculpt three tiny roses. You can spend as little or as much time on this as you want, but be forewarned, it can be time consuming if looking for perfection. I spent a lot longer than anticipated on this resulting me to not be able to complete all four trophies in the time I allotted. Once you have the roses sculpted, bake them in the oven according to the instructions on the package of the clay. Allow to cool before decorating.
6. Paint the roses the color you want using acrylic paint. I used pink.
7. Cut green wire DOUBLE the final length. Fold green wire in half and using pliers rotate to give it kind of a braided effect. Do this for all three roses.
8. Glue the wire into the roses using hot glue gun.
9. Attach the thin white satin ribbon around the roses forming a knot.
10. Cut Brown Yarn (or whatever color you wish) the length you want for the hair. I measured one piece by lining it up to the top of the skeleton head. Cut enough pieces to cover the whole top of the head and glue onto the head side by side. Trim the "bangs" how you want. For added measure, I took three strands of yarn the same length and made a small braid which runs on top of the bangs and attached with hot glue gun. I also decided I wanted my skeleton's hair to be in a pony tail so I took a small piece of yarn (same color) and tied the hair together to form a pony tail.
11. Optional: Make a headband for the skeleton using the thin white satin ribbon and glue around the head. I also added a jeweled white satin flower to this.
12. Using the thinner gold ribbon, wrap it around the skeleton starting at the top and working to the bottom. Glue as you go, however, do not glue the end, leaving enough to wrap around the skeleton front to back unglued.
13. Attach the trim with beads to the 2 inches of gold ribbon left unglued so that when you wrap it around the skeleton it's on the inside and only showing are the beads at the bottom. Glue the two inches to the skeleton to complete the under garment.
14. Measure and cut the thicker gold ribbon to form a cover up, do not attach.
15. Using the silver decorative ribbon, tie it in the center of the gold ribbon to form the shoulder.
16. Attach the cover up to the skeleton using hot glue gun.
17. Attach the ribbon with the name of the award on the skeleton and secure with hot glue gun.
18. Attach the flowers to the hand of the skeleton using hot glue.
19. Attach the clown shoes. *NOTE* I had to cut the feet of the skeleton to get them to fit just right inside my shoes because when it baked, the sides came in a little bit. I cut off the outer toes and trimmed down the length as well. Glue the foot inside the shoe.
20. Glue the wooden skewer in the hole drilled in the wooden base to secure.
21. Glue the bottom of the foot (or feet) that are touching the wooden base to the base using hot glue gun.
22. Display at your party (I put a Styrofoam Cup behind it to collect the votes, you can use anything here you wish)
*OPTIONAL STEP: if desired, using the pink acrylic paint, paint around the mouth of the skeleton for lipstick. Not sure I 100% liked the outcome of this so I may omit it in future awards, but it was a funny factor. Also, you can barely see it but I did add a bead to her ring finger as well. For instructions on how to do that see the Best Overall Costume Award Instructions below.
Prettiest Costume Final Product:
Best Overall Costume - Cape and Top Hat
Supplies: Black Satin Ribbon - very thick; Black and white polka dot ribbon - medium; Clear Glass Beads (2); Silver Glass Bead (1); Lighter; Fire Extinguisher (Safety First!); Scissors; Hot Glue Gun; Crystal Effects (or other adhesive); Black Card Stock
Instructions:
1. Manipulate the skeleton into the position you want it to end up in. Be very careful as these easily break and do not bend easily. After I separated some parts slightly, I took Crystal Effects (Stampin' Up! Brand) and using a toothpick added a glob of the glue to be sure the limbs would stay in place. I imagine the glue gun would work as well, but I love Crystal Effects and know it is sturdier than a glue gun would be. If using Crystal Effects or some other type of glue that is wet, please allow drying time as stated on the bottle.
2. Glue the skeleton onto the wooden skewer by placing it through the hip bones and up the rib cage area. I secured with a hot glue gun.
3. If using a wooden skewer it will be a lot longer than you want it to be. This next part is trial and error and depends solely on how you want to position the skeleton on top of the stand. Once you have the desired height planned, cut the wooden skewer to size. DO NOT GLUE into the hole you drilled on the base yet, you will do this after it is decorated (easier to handle because sometimes you have to lie it down flat). I did find it helpful, however, to put the skewer in the hole and let it stand on its own while decorating and was able to actually spin the skeleton which was helpful as well.
4. Glue on the clear beads as eyes using a glue gun.
5. Using black card stock and your creativity fold and cut to piece together a top hat of your choice. This was a little difficult but fun. Can be time consuming so watch your time.
6. Attach part of the black and white polka dot ribbon to the bottom of the hat. Glue the hat onto the head of the skeleton using hot glue gun.
7. Cut and attach black and white polka dot ribbon around the skeletons hips. Attach using hot glue gun.
8. Attach the ribbon with the name of the award on the skeleton and secure with hot glue gun.
9. Cut the Black Satin Ribbon for the cape to length (depends on where you want it to fall against the skeleton), cut a "V" on the end you want to tie around the neck of the skeleton and singe the ends using a lighter to reduce fraying. **SAFETY FIRST - please have a fire extinguisher on hand when doing this** Tie around the neck of the skeleton. If needed, use a hot glue gun to secure in place.
11. Slide the silver ring on the ring finger of the skeleton. You may have to trim the width of the finger using the wire cutters. This is tricky so be careful or you will cut off his finger! I didn't have to glue this bead because it was a tight fit!
12. Glue the wooden skewer in the hole drilled in the wooden base to secure.
13. Glue the bottom of the foot (or feet) that are touching the wooden base to the base using hot glue gun.
14. Display at your party (I put a Styrofoam Cup behind it to collect the votes, you can use anything here you wish)
After the dinner, we allowed enough time for people to vote during the games and then after the last game, we crowned the winners! See the post of winners in a later blog about how the party went!
Sorry for the lengthy blog post, but because there were not any step by step instructions out there (that I could find) on how exactly to decorate the skeleton, I wanted to post my steps so that you could follow them if you don't want to come up with a different idea. All colors, accessories and award names can be adapted to fit your party.
Happy Halloween!
Shonda
Supplies: Black Satin Ribbon - very thick; Black and white polka dot ribbon - medium; Clear Glass Beads (2); Silver Glass Bead (1); Lighter; Fire Extinguisher (Safety First!); Scissors; Hot Glue Gun; Crystal Effects (or other adhesive); Black Card Stock
Instructions:
1. Manipulate the skeleton into the position you want it to end up in. Be very careful as these easily break and do not bend easily. After I separated some parts slightly, I took Crystal Effects (Stampin' Up! Brand) and using a toothpick added a glob of the glue to be sure the limbs would stay in place. I imagine the glue gun would work as well, but I love Crystal Effects and know it is sturdier than a glue gun would be. If using Crystal Effects or some other type of glue that is wet, please allow drying time as stated on the bottle.
2. Glue the skeleton onto the wooden skewer by placing it through the hip bones and up the rib cage area. I secured with a hot glue gun.
3. If using a wooden skewer it will be a lot longer than you want it to be. This next part is trial and error and depends solely on how you want to position the skeleton on top of the stand. Once you have the desired height planned, cut the wooden skewer to size. DO NOT GLUE into the hole you drilled on the base yet, you will do this after it is decorated (easier to handle because sometimes you have to lie it down flat). I did find it helpful, however, to put the skewer in the hole and let it stand on its own while decorating and was able to actually spin the skeleton which was helpful as well.
4. Glue on the clear beads as eyes using a glue gun.
5. Using black card stock and your creativity fold and cut to piece together a top hat of your choice. This was a little difficult but fun. Can be time consuming so watch your time.
6. Attach part of the black and white polka dot ribbon to the bottom of the hat. Glue the hat onto the head of the skeleton using hot glue gun.
7. Cut and attach black and white polka dot ribbon around the skeletons hips. Attach using hot glue gun.
8. Attach the ribbon with the name of the award on the skeleton and secure with hot glue gun.
9. Cut the Black Satin Ribbon for the cape to length (depends on where you want it to fall against the skeleton), cut a "V" on the end you want to tie around the neck of the skeleton and singe the ends using a lighter to reduce fraying. **SAFETY FIRST - please have a fire extinguisher on hand when doing this** Tie around the neck of the skeleton. If needed, use a hot glue gun to secure in place.
11. Slide the silver ring on the ring finger of the skeleton. You may have to trim the width of the finger using the wire cutters. This is tricky so be careful or you will cut off his finger! I didn't have to glue this bead because it was a tight fit!
12. Glue the wooden skewer in the hole drilled in the wooden base to secure.
13. Glue the bottom of the foot (or feet) that are touching the wooden base to the base using hot glue gun.
14. Display at your party (I put a Styrofoam Cup behind it to collect the votes, you can use anything here you wish)
Best Overall Final Product:
After the dinner, we allowed enough time for people to vote during the games and then after the last game, we crowned the winners! See the post of winners in a later blog about how the party went!
Sorry for the lengthy blog post, but because there were not any step by step instructions out there (that I could find) on how exactly to decorate the skeleton, I wanted to post my steps so that you could follow them if you don't want to come up with a different idea. All colors, accessories and award names can be adapted to fit your party.
Happy Halloween!
Shonda
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