Skeleton animals fill shelves every Halloween and had yet to impress me much. There was a level of appeal but they were still to manufactured for me. Meanwhile, my birdcage collection had grown and what to place inside was still a mystery.
In the Halloween aisle at Michael's it hit me like a freight train - make it molt! I could hide the fabricated look of the skeleton under some strategically placed feathers. Grabbed a vulture skeleton on sale, 2 packs of black Maribu Feathers some Beacon glue and headed to the workshop.
Pretty straight forward process of picking out the right size, shape and placing them where they line up with the bones and body shape. I started off thinking I would just put a few but the more I added the better it got. Finding a good balance of bare spots and plumage is the key.
Initially I planned to keep the head bare but then remembered I had some red & black suede in my fabric stash that would look stellar as that leathery, pink vulture head that so recognizable. Lucky me I had 2 different reds that I laid next to each other to give more depth & character. I also frayed the edges to make it easier to wrap the pieces so they laid flat and looked more realistic. You could also use felt or even just paint it. Or leave it bare skull, it all works when it comes to zombies.
I dug 2 red beads out of my bead stash for the eyes. Was hoping for something black that would catch the light but no luck. Red does the job more than well enough. Checked my reference photos one more time and realized they had black toe nails so slapped some outdoor black paint.
I'm a little tempted now to dig out some faux fur to add to some skeleton rats. I love this is a 100% craft store DIY project. I can get discouraged each season with the new props - so much is either "been there, done that" or uninspiring. It can make me think I've plum thought of all there is to be conjured up. Moments like this Zombie Vulture get all the creative juices flowing again.
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| There's just something about an exposed spine that makes me flutter |
52 days till Halloween...
