Dracula 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. Because these projects became rather daunting, I elected to take a few days and create an entirely different wreath to give my muses a creative outlet that did not involve flowers and sugar skulls. Using one of the many wreaths purchased for the haunt and two items – the ram mask and sword – bought years ago for a costume that never developed, I crafted this Dracula wreath to hang on my office’s front door.

• One twelve-inch willow wreath
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat black
• One twenty-four-inch plastic sword
• Twenty small rubber bats
• One 0.7 oz. bottle of super glue
• One foam ram mask
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in cherry cobbler*

1. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the wreath two even coats of black spray paint. Depending on how loosely the twigs are clustered, you may need to apply extra coats to ensure their surfaces have been adequately covered.

2. Once the paint has fully dried, glue the plastic sword to the center of the wreath (for a sturdier hold, use superglue). How low you want the blade to hang is based entirely on your artistic preferences. For my version, the top of the wreath met with the base of the blade. Also, the sword’s level of age and distress can be altered to suit your specific needs: you could leave the metal with a shiny glint or weather it with brown and red paint to simulate rust (follow the steps outlined in the directions for the rusted sickles to accomplish this).

3. Cover the remaining portions of the wreath with the bats and glue them in place. For visual interest, I spiraled them outward, but you could attach them vertically. You may want to play with the pattern before finally adhering them. NOTE: The particular bats I used were made with a slick rubber which did not cling to craft glue or hot glue. As a result, I used superglue gel to affix them to the prop.

4. Center the mask on the wreath and glue it into place (for a sturdier hold, use superglue). Its location rests entirely on your chosen aesthetics for the final prop. I elected to position mine higher on the wreath near the juncture between the sword’s blade and handle.

5. Use cherry cobbler paint to write Dracula across the mask’s forehead. You want the wording to be haphazard. To achieve this, exaggerate curves, create sharp points, and elongate certain aspects. You could also write letters backwards and deliberately misspell the word. Keep in mind, though, that the word needs to be readable, so try not to overdo your artistic flairs.

6. You can create a hanging loop by repurposing the mask’s elastic band (or use steel wire for added support).

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