Skeleton in a bloody bathtub Halloween party decoration
Published by Manning on June 23rd, 2015
This project is so easy and creates such an amazing effect! All you need is a bathtub, a skeleton, and some tempera paint! I like this one so much I do it almost every Halloween, even though my party has a different theme every year. Skeletons in bathtubs go with everything!
I keep an eye out for good-quality plastic skeletons like this in the off season; sometimes you can find an amazing deal, and I snag one whenever they’re super cheap. I’ve seen 5-foot skeletons like this go for $75-$100 around Halloween, but I’ve gotten them as cheap as $30 in the off season, on Amazon or whatever.
Important: you want to use tempera paint here, mixed with water. Not acrylic or any other kind of paint! You definitely want something that will clean up effortlessly and won’t stain your tub. Tempera paint is perfect for this, and it’s really cheap too. You might even wanna keep an eye out for any kind of paint for kids that says “easy clean-up!” on the bottle.
You’ll be mixing your tempera paint with lots of water; just fill the tub with water to the level you want, and start mixing in paint a little at a time ’til you get the look you want. The end result might not be quite as opaque as real blood, but in dim lighting it will absolutely do the trick.
Add a few bugs and battery powered tealight candles and you’ve created a nice relaxing bath for your skeleton!
My skeleton didn’t want to stay propped up the way I wanted in the tub; he kept sliding all the way down into the water/blood. So I put some fishing line around his neck and tied it up on the shower curtain rod; easy!
This whole effect creeps people out so bad that I’ve actually had people at my Halloween parties tell me they were afraid to be alone in the bathroom. Which is about the best compliment you can get as a Halloween party host.
Enjoy!
About Manning Krull
How to make a 4-foot paper maché alligator
My violin skull mask, Mardi Gras 2015
Three-headed paper maché dragon sculpture
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