Up Your Halloween Game With This Upcycled Floral Skull Wreath

Halloween decor comes in lots of different styles, from vintage and whimsical to creepy and scary — but your DIY creations don't all have to fit inside a neat little coffin, er, box. Watch as HGTV's Crafty Lumberjacks combine two common decor styles to make a floral skull wreath from upcycled materials.

Glue Boards Together

Using a low-temp hot glue gun, glue two large pieces of Styrofoam (or cardboard) together to make one large piece.

Trace Skull

Next, freehand draw a large skull onto the Styrofoam with a marker. Use clip art as a reference or print out large clip art to trace the outline of the skull.

Wear a Mask + Cut the Board

Be sure to work in a ventilated area and always wear a mask when cutting hot Styrofoam (Image 1). Refer to the instructions on your wood-burning tool for use. Carefully use the hot knife point on the wood-burning tool to cut out the outline of the skull (Image 2). Next, cut out the eyes, nose and jaw (Image 3).

Prep Second Piece + Cut

Lay the pre-cut skull on top of the second piece of Styrofoam and trace around the outside of the skull leaving a three-inch border to create dimension (Image 1). Trace around the inside of the eyes, too. Then, flip over the main skull piece. At the bottom of each eye, trace an outline of the candle (Image 2). Next, wearing a mask, use the wood-burning tool to cut out the skull backing, eyes and spots for candles (Image 3).

Glue + Sand

Using a low-temp hot glue gun, glue the skull pieces together. Then use 220-grit sandpaper to clean any rough edges.

Paint + Add Fabric

Use a bit of watered-down gray and black acrylic paint to add shadows to the inside of the eyes, mouth and around the outline of the skull (Image 1). Then, soak a large piece of sheer fabric that fits over the entire skull in a bowl of watered-down decoupage. Squeeze and ring out the fabric. Next, open the fabric and lay it over the entire skull. Smooth out the fabric around the skull using a paint brush (Image 2). Lastly, wrap the fabric around the back of the skull to dry.

Decorate Skull

Using a low-temp hot glue gun, add moss around the skull. Mix in faux flowers and branches on top of the mossy areas until you're happy with the results.

Add Candles + Fabric, Twine

Using heavy-duty tape, tape the candles to the pre-cut holes (Image 1). Now use a low-temp hot glue gun to affix dark fabric pieces behind the eyes like curtains (Image 2). Lastly, add twine to the top of the skull with a low-temp hot glue gun and cover with two small pieces of felt (Image 3).