Butterfly Wreath

$15 - $20 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes one wreath

The Dia de Los Muertos portion of 2017’s haunted house required dozens of wreaths and flowers for an intricate funeral scene. For this version, I incorporated the butterflies and skulls common in the holiday’s themes. What I like most about this particular prop is its versatility. The colors of everything from the leaves to the skulls can be modified for a unique look. You could go for tradition with monarch butterflies and sugar skulls or a polychromatic showcase with multicolored leaves.

• Three small, plastic skulls (about three inches wide)
• One 10 oz. cans of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in summer squash*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in hot cocoa*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in hunter green*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in olive*
• One twelve-inch grapevine wreath
• Five or six four-foot garlands of artificial leaves (roughly thirty-six leaves per garland)
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Six decorative butterflies
• One to two feet of steel wire
  

1. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the skulls three even coats of summer squash spray paint. Depending on your desired coverage, you may want more or less. I elected to remove the mandibles from my skulls for aesthetic purposes; however, you are free to leave the items intact. Likewise, you can use a different hue of paint to cater the props to your haunt’s needs.

2. Water down the olive paint and brush it over the skulls, ensuring the liquid settles into all the fissures (you can also use a spray bottle for the application). Allow the mixture to sit for a few minutes and then wipe it clean. Repeat the process with the hunter green paint. You may want to experiment with the consistency prior to doing this: the more water you add, the fainter/lighter the wash; the less water you add, the deeper/ darker the wash. Once you achieve the level of green tint you desire, detail the eyes, noses, and any cracks with hot cocoa paint. Akin to step one, you can use alternate colors to complement your chosen theme.

3. Cut openings into the centers of the skulls large enough to accommodate the wreath. To make this process easier, purchase skulls made from thin plastic. If it helps, trace the outlines of your cuts with a marker first. If you are worried the process will damage the paint job, perform this step first and then move on to steps one and two.

4. Slide the skulls onto the wreath, position them so they are evenly spaced, and glue them in place. Don’t worry too much if the edges of the openings do not sit flush against the wreath. As you apply the leaves, this factor can be masked.

5. Separate the leaves from their garland. Although you could do this while you glue them to the wreath, I found that performing this step beforehand made the following process much easier. Plus, it gives you a clear idea of exactly how many of each item you have. Next, use hot glue to adhere the leaves to the wreath. For visual interest, build up layers and vary the color patterns so that leaves with the same hues and shapes are not clustered in one area.

6. Add further embellishments to the wreath by gluing decorative butterflies to the foliage. You can use an evenly spaced pattern to create balance or a random placement for extra irregularity. Akin to the skulls, the hues of the butterflies can be modified for you specific scheme.

7. If the wreath did not come with hanging loops, you can fashion one with steel wire or utilize a wreath hanger. You can also add ribbon or colorful sprigs of onion grass for further embellishments.

 *You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.