Oracle Frame

$15 - $20 (based on 2024 prices)
Makes one frame

While perusing the Halloween merchandise at one of the big-box stores, I spotted a frame with a single eye in it. I was immediately inspired to craft my own version based on a fortuneteller theme. It also gave me the chance to experiment with air clay. I normally use modeling clay for these types of projects; however, I wanted to see if air clay would be better. Sadly, I was not impressed because the clay shrank more than I anticipated and I had to add extra clay to compensate for the reduction.

• One 7” x 10” oval picture frame
• One sheet of copy paper with vintage fortunetelling illustrations printed on it
• At least four tablespoons of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One pan large enough to soak the copy paper
• One 4 oz. bottle of decoupage medium
• Two small, white ping pong balls (1 3/8” in diameter)
• One 1 oz. package of red air clay
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat beige*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat gray*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat pink*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in glossy white*
• One 0.44 oz. bottle of clear nail polish*
• One package of false eyelash clusters
  

1. Coffee stain the copy paper by boiling about twelve cups of water and adding the coffee. The longer you allow the coffee to brew, the darker the stain will become. Likewise, greater amounts of coffee will yield a richer stain. Since I wanted uneven spots rather than a unified discoloration, I placed the paper on a baking sheet, splashed coffee and grounds onto the surface, allowed the liquid to sit for a few minutes, and then moved it to a space to dry.

2. Disassemble the frame, removing the backing and the glass. Then, tear apart the paper, isolating individual illustrations, and cover the entire surface of the frame with the pieces. This process works best if you move in stages: apply a layer of decoupage medium to one section, press the paper down until it sticks, and repeat the process. If you want to add an additional level of age once the paper has dried, you can water down brown acrylic paint and brush it over the frame.

3. Cut the two ping pong balls in half and glue them to the frame’s backing. Where you place them will determine the location for the oracle eyes, so you may want to play with their placement prior to adhering them. Due to the size of my frame, I was only able to incorporate three eyes; however, you can add more by either increasing the size of the frame, using smaller ping pong balls, or clustering the eyes closer together.

4. Use the air clay to build up flesh around the eyes and across the surface of the backing. Although you can go for a smooth appearance, lots of divots and wrinkles will give the prop more visual interest, especially after it is painted. Also, keep in mind that the air clay will shrink as it dries, so you will need to make the flesh larger than the frame to accommodate this.

5. Once the air clay has fully dried, give it two coats of beige paint and the eyes three coats of glossy white paint. For the time-pressed haunter, you might consider buying air clay in beige to skip part of this step and just paint the eyes with glossy white.

6. Smudge pink paint along the surface of the skin, focusing on the raised areas to make the clay look like flesh. Then, use a wash of gray to darken the eyes’ surfaces and give them a murky appearance. 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.

7. To give the eyes further shine and seal the wash, coat them in glossy nail polish. Following this, glue fake lashes to the eyelids and randomly in the skin. Try not to overthink your application. Rather, make the lashes sparse and sporadic for a creepier look.

8. Reattach the backing to the frame, gluing it in place for a sturdier hold. If you want to add further embellishments, like voodoo beads or talismans made of aged bones, you can cater the prop to your haunt’s theme.

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