Halloween props | The Fright Owl

For my last DIY Wednesday post, I gave you a list of materials you needed to gather for your Halloween projects. Materials, however, are nothing without skills. What skills? I thought you’d never ask.

1. Making a budget

I know. It’s not fun to think about (unless you like math – like me), but budget plays a big part in your Halloween DIY process. Why make a prop if you can buy it cheaper? My main impetus for prop-making instead of prop-buying is saving money.

Also, I’m a little vain, so compliments about my work are a big factor, too.

When I’m about to start my seasonal prop-making process, I like to sit down and write a list of a) the props I want to make, b) the materials I need to make those props, c) the approximate cost, and d) where I can buy materials for the cheapest amount. You don’t want to just start buying a bunch of supplies that you may or may not need. That’s just wasteful.

2. Knowing what will come in handy

I’m not recommending for anyone to become a hoarder, but if it’s close to Halloween, keep an eye on your garbage. Many of the things we call trash can be very useful for a prop. Milk jugs can be cut up to become fingernails, newspaper can be used for papier mache, paper towel/toilet paper rolls can become prop arms, etc… The list goes on and on.

For example, we use plastic grocery bags for trash bags in our house. I felt like we were suddenly getting covered up in them, so I almost threw them out. I stopped myself, though, because plastic grocery bags are pretty great for filling out prop bodies. Now, I have a small bunch of them being stored for the Halloween season.

3. Having basic hardware knowledge

This might seem a little elementary, but props need tools. That’s just a fact. Know when to use a hammer, a power drill, nails vs. screws, etc… Watch some tutorials online. For real. YouTube is a valuable resource for just about anything, and that goes for prop-making, too.

4. Knowing how to use electronics, motors, etc…

This is more for advanced prop-makers, but who doesn’t love a moving prop. Or even an immobile prop that lights up. There’s just a certain oomph that electronics give to props, so don’t be scared. Dive in. The YouTube comment from the last section goes for this, too. There are also schematics online to help with wiring.

It doesn’t have to be that complicated. You can use oscillating fans for moving heads. You just have to know how to rig everything up and not blow out the motor (I learned my lesson on that one). Or you can just start small with lights and batteries from Radio Shack.

Don’t. Be. Scared.

5. Painting

Painting can make or break your prop. It’s the final step (usually), so you don’t want to screw up your prop at the very end. It’s just as easy to make a prop look terrible with paint as it is to make it look awesome. You don’t want to get to the end of making a severed head or gravestone out of styrofoam and screw up by using spray paint. Your prop will be eaten, and you will be sad.

That’s the first step: know what type of paint to use.

The second is knowing how to use paint. If you have a large prop, it’s best (in many cases) to give it a base coat of one dark color and then dry-brush on your accent color to give your prop depth and character. If you need to use spray paint, MOVE YOUR ARM CONSTANTLY. And use light coats. Some props might benefit from the gloppy, drippy look, but many will not. Just go one step at a time, and when you’re happy with the look, stop.

6. Sewing

I wish I could say I saved the best for last. I wish I could say I’m an expert sewer. I wish I could say sewing is fun.

I wish for a lot of things.

But I suck at sewing. I hate it. The fact is, though, that sewing is pretty useful. And the great thing about making Halloween props is that the sewing doesn’t necessarily have to be perfect. You can do it by hand or use a sewing machine. Some props might benefit from a nicely-tailored outfit, but some might benefit just as well from burlap and a chunky twine stitch. Use whatever you need to make it look good. No one’s going to be inspecting them too closely, so don’t freak out too much about it.

I could go on and on, but these are the main skills I think any good prop-maker needs. You don’t have to start off as an expert. Learning is a process, and there’s always a bit of trial and error with this DIY stuff. Just keep your cool, and don’t get discouraged. You’ll do fine.

And if not, you can always buy something.

I love severed heads. Not real ones, of course. I love the fake kind, and I experience quite the thrill when I finally get to check out the selection at Spirit Halloween and Halloween Express each year. I usually buy one myself, and then my mother-in-law gets me one for Christmas. It’s a tradition that I’m pretty fond of and one that makes my MIL one of the best in history. Does your mother-in-law get you severed heads for Christmas? I didn’t think so.

Anyway, I love getting a “commercial” creepy head, but there’s a certain charm in the homemade stuff. A few years ago, we moved from an apartment to our house, and with the added space came a new-found love of making props. So even though I already had a pretty decent head collection at that time, I thought I’d try my hand at making one myself.

This is how I made my very first DIY severed head Halloween prop.

Materials

Foam Head (any size you prefer)
Craft Knife and/or Metal Carving Tools
Prop Teeth
Hot Glue Sticks & Glue Gun
Assorted Paints (blood-colored + any other colors you need to create your vision)
Plastic Eyes (optional)
Twine/Thick String (optional for hanging heads)
Ice Pick/Long Screw Driver/Thick-Gauge Wire (optional for hanging heads)

Step 1

I started by purchasing a foam head from Hobby Lobby that using one of their 40% off coupons. (Aside from being a horror fan, I’m also a big proponent of getting the best deal, so I try to buy as many of my supplies on sale or clearance as possible.)

Hobby Lobby has a few varieties of heads to choose from – female, male, and faceless – so you can choose whichever fits your project best. Although the faceless ones are creepy on their own, I wanted mine to be pretty big, so I went with a male head.

Step 2

As you can see from the pic above, my next step was to draw out the features I wanted for my severed head. I wanted it to be gross, and keeping both eyes just wasn’t an option.

Step 3

I used a craft knife and some metal sculpting tools to pick and carve out where I drew my guidelines: one of the eyes, part of the scalp, and the base of the head to make it look actually severed. I recommend roughing up the base of the head for any head you create. We want realism wherever possible, people, and a clean-cut head just won’t – well – cut it. (I’m sorry. I hate myself).

Step 4

To give him a more realistic-looking mouth, I also carved out some of the area around the side of the mouth and jaw and used some fake zombie teeth that I bought at Spirit Halloween. The teeth were rubber and very easy to cut. They were also ridged on the back to make them easy to wear, so I sliced off the back to make them lay flat as possible to fit the head. I then used a hot glue gun to secure them in place. You can see in the pic below that my guy was already looking pretty handsome at this stage.

Optional Step (not pictured)

If you want to add eyes to your severed head instead of painting them on, there are many options for plastic fake eyes to find in your local Halloween stores. I recommend finding the hollow plastic versions that are easier to cut for this project.

Cut the eye in half with a craft knife and hold to your foam head in the position you want it. Trace the outline of the eye, and use your craft knife to cut straight into your foam in the approximate depth of your eye. Test the depth of your cuts with the eye before adhering to the head. When you’re satisfied, add glue to the inside of the eye, an then stick the eye edges down into your cut foam.

Tip: You could also use yarn, twine, wire, or something similar to stick to your head and eye if you want to go for that “just-popped-out-eye” look.

Step 5

After the glue dried, it was time to make it PRETTY!!! Pretty to me, at least. I already had a lot of paint on hand so I mixed some random colors together to get a sickly, partially-decomposed skin color. Like I said – pretty. I also mixed some red, black, and brown to get a realistic bloody color. I slapped my paint mixtures on until I got the look I wanted and – VOILA! – severed head!

You have a lot of options at this stage. It really depends on the look you’re going for. Be creative!

Isn’t he beautiful?

My zombie head has served me quite well these past few Halloweens. Another benefit from these foam heads is that they already have a hole in the base, perfect for sticking them on pvc pipe or dowel rods to make a full-body prop, a head-on-a-stake, or something else equally cool. I turned my severed head into full-body prop the first year. (See the tutorial here.) You can see by the sweet flannel shirt in the pic above that he was quite stylish.

If you want a great creepy project, I recommend you try making yourself a severed head of your own. It’s a cheap and easy way to up the scare factor in your home for Halloween. Plus you get the sense of accomplishment you feel when you make something with your own hands.

If Halloween isn’t your thing, it could be especially therapeutic if you make one to look like an enemy. No judgment. We’ve all been there.

You do you, man.

The Fright Owl

Tag Archives: Halloween props

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