September 18, 2013
19 Comments

Skull Bookends DIY

I usually turn and run when the barrage of orange and black decorations hit the craft stores for Halloween (it’s just not my color palette, ok? I mean, where are the mint colored pumpkins?). However, this year I’ve made quite the Halloween decor turnaround for one reason alone- skulls! I’ve been snapping up skull ribbon, skull paper straws, and all the other cranial paraphernalia I can get my hands on so I can spread my love of skulls long after October is over.

The halloween aisle at Michael’s is where I found this little plaster skull gem. The moment I saw it I knew it was destined to reside in my house as a DIY project. Anyone wanna make some sweet bookends? Good.

I made a pencil mark down the center of my skull and used a simple handsaw to slowly saw the skull in half. It was actually a lot easier than I thought it would be; the plaster cut really well and the skull was thick enough that I wasn’t worried about it breaking. Once the skull was separated into two halves, I used a clear gloss sealer to seal the outside of the plaster and followed up with a white gloss spray paint to give it some shine. I bought a 3 1/2 inch wide poplar board (any wood will do) and cut the board into two pieces that were 9 1/2 inches long. I painted those boards white with an acrylic gloss paint and glued each skull half onto a board with E6000 glue. That particular glue takes a little longer to dry than most glues (but it’s really strong when dry), so I used painter’s tape and heavy items on either side of the bookends to hold them upright while drying.

I wasn’t exactly sure how these would turn out when I first thought of the idea, but I knew if they turned out well it would be so worth it. And you know what? I LOVE them (especially paired with my painted books)! If I saw these in a store, I would audibly squeal with delight and snatch them up immediately.

You can make yourself a pair for Halloween, but mine are going to be rocking out my bookshelf all through the year.

xo. Laura

19 thoughts on “Skull Bookends DIY

  1. Monica

    I saw this at Michaels yesterday! I’m going to buy one next time I stop in 🙂 i love this idea, although the sawing through the skull picture makes me cringe a little.

    Reply
    1. thebandwifeblog Post author

      There’s actually a link to a post the shows how I made the books near the end of this post. Glad you like them!

      Reply
  2. Angie Romano

    What is that moon print in the corner of the top picture? Did you make it/print it yourself or buy it from somewhere?

    Reply
  3. Asera

    I know this is an older post but I am so tired of the super expensive yet cute bookends. I have a Mexican themed living room, so I am going to paint the skull as a colorful Day of the Dead Mexican sugar skull then cut. Bonus it’s September so I should be able to find what I need. Thanks for the idea…. super excited!

    Reply

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