Two-Headed Baby

$30 - $40 (based on 2019 prices) 

Makes one two-headed baby with one cloche 

Part of 2019’s twisted carnival theme involved Dr. Victor’s Oddity Museum, a collection of bizarre artifacts meant to resemble the curiosity exhibits customary in turn-of-the-century travelling shows. To achieve this, I crafted a bevy of familiar oddities, from mummified mermaids to shrunken heads. For this particular prop, I elected to use a plastic cloche rather than a glass version to reduce the risk of injury.

• One twelve-inch two-headed skeleton
• One plastic cloche with detachable base and handle (roughly fifteen inches tall)
• One 4 oz. bottle of wood glue
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue
• One roll of one-ply, white paper towels
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat black*
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in flat brown*
• One 10 oz. can of interior/exterior, fast-drying spray paint in hammered bronze*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in au natural*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in grasshopper*
• 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 flat gray*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat olive*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in orange spice*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in spice brown*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in surf blue*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat red*
• One 8 oz. can of oil-based interior wood stain in Jacobean*
• Two pieces of 8” x 11.5” copy paper (one with specimen labels printed on it and one blank)
• At least four tablespoons of black tea (e.g. Darjeeling, Earl Gary, English Breakfast, etc.)
• One pan large enough to soak the copy paper
  

1. Position the skeleton into your chosen pose and glue its limbs in place. If you plan to display the item under a cloche (as I did), you will want to ensure that the final arrangement fits easily within the container. To do this, it is best to temporarily position the body, place it under the cloche, and make any necessary adjustments prior to gluing.

2. Make the papier mache paste by mixing ½ cup of glue and ½ cup of water in a bowl. Try to use a sealable container. This gives you the ability to store the mixture for a day or two between applications. Also, to give the paste added support, use a combination of all-purpose glue and wood glue (stray away from school glue because it is washable and will dissolve in the water).

3. Tear the paper towels into strips and, after soaking them in paste, cover the skeleton with one or two layers, creating wrinkles to make the flesh appear rotten. If you cannot find one-ply paper towels, simply separate the plies of multi-ply sheets. To make the process more manageable, keep the strips at a reasonable size (mine were roughly two inches long and half an inch wide). Similarly, only apply a few layers at a time and allow each layer to completely dry before adding more (I did two layers during each application and let them dry for twenty-four hours). The number of layers you apply depends on how rotted you want the corpse to appear: you can apply one or two layers to just a few spots for a highly decrepit look or several thick coverings for a more mummified appearance. 

4. Once the layers have fully dried, give the skeleton a base coat of brown spray paint followed by a light dusting of black. Since you will build up detail with other colors, you want your brown to be a neutral tone that is not too light and not exceedingly dark.

5. Accent the skin with light brushings of browns, grays, greens, and reds to provide depth to the base coat. I found that working from dark to light produced the best results; however, it might prove beneficial to practice your technique on a scrap of cardboard first before applying it to the prop.

6. Complete the painting process by darkening the eyes, mouth, and any other openings with black paint. You can also mute portions of the body by lightly brushing black along their surfaces. 

7. Disassemble the cloche and, on a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, apply an even coat of hammered bronze spray paint to the base and handle. Although I only used one coat, you may want more depending on your desired coverage. Keep in mind, though, that this is the base coat and much of the bronze will be covered by the other paints.

8. Begin the aged patina by building up layers of green paint: grasshopper, hunter green, and olive. You want the metal to appear oxidized, so focus your application on the areas that would be exposed to the elements and work from dark to light. Complete the aged patina by applying a light speckling of orange spice and surf blue to the surface. You want the colors to accent the oxidization and not be too overpowering. Also, give the base and handle a flecking of black paint. You can do this by either quickly flicking a paintbrush or using an old toothbrush and strumming your finger across the bristles. Since this process flings paint everywhere, it’s best to perform it outside. 

9. Boil enough water to completely submerge the copy paper and pour it into the pan. Add the tea. The longer you allow the tea to brew, the darker the stain will become. Likewise, greater amounts of tea will produce a richer stain. I found that a combination of English and Irish Breakfast brewed for over ten minutes produces a nice, deep brown. Submerge the paper into the tea mixture and soak it until it reaches the color you desire. I soaked mine for eight hours and scattered the loose-leaf tea over the top of the paper to add spots. Remove the paper from the water and allow it to dry. Although it can be time consuming, this process works best if you stain each sheet of paper individually. 

10. Once the paper has dried, trace the outline of the base onto the blank sheet, cut it out, and glue it in place. To make the paper appear even more decrepit, crinkle it and create holes before adhering it to the base. 

11. Center the skeleton on the base and glue it in place. For a sturdier hold, consider using superglue. 

12. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, paint the cloche with the wood stain. I discovered that applying a thin coat and patting it with paper towels produces a hazed appearance. Likewise, brushing the rim with a swift downward motion creates the illusion of grime buildup.

13. Reattach the handle to the cloche and then reattach the cloche to its base. If you plan for a more permanent display, you can glue the item down.

14. Cut out the specimen label, leave a small border, and give the specimen a name. To roughen the label’s appearance, use sandpaper to fray its sides and create holes. You can also use olive or vegetable oil to add further stains to the label. Once you have achieved your desired level of distress, glue the label to the cloche.

15. The prop can be enhanced further with additional details, such as an assortment of baby paraphernalia (a pacifier or rattle) included in the cloche. I accidentally dropped the cloche while staining it, which resulted in two long cracks down the sides. Although I was initially disappointed, they provided the prop with extra character once completely assembled.

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