Mummified Fairy

$20 - $25 (based on 2024 prices)

Makes one fairy

Like the monster teeth, this mummified fairy was a project I had intended to make for the oddity display in 2019’s creepy carnival but I ran out of time. So, to kickstart 2024’s building season, I decided to finally check this prop off my to-do list. While I decided to make the prop more colorful with butterflies and flowers, you can go darker with aged bones or strings of voodoo beads.

• One seven-inch plastic skeleton
• One 7” x 10” oval picture frame
• One 4 oz. bottle of all-purpose tacky glue
• One sheet of white tissue paper (20” x 20” per sheet)
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat brown*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in metallic gold*
• One 8 oz. can of oil-based interior wood stain in Jacobean*
• Three antique metal keys
• One set of small wings
• One heart pendant
• One quilting pin
• One sheet of copy paper with von Goethe’s poem “Der Erlkonig” printed on it
• At least four tablespoons of dark roasted coffee grounds
• One pan large enough to soak the copy paper
• An assortment of artificial flowers (e.g. hydrangeas and pansies)
• Two fake butterflies

1. Remove any accessories from the skeleton and cut its joints. Then, position it into your chosen pose and glue the limbs in place, saving the right hand for step five.

2. Make the papier mache paste by mixing ½ cup of glue and ½ cup of water in a bowl. Once the paste is made, tear the tissue paper into small sections, soak them in the paste, and cover the skeleton, creating wrinkles to make the flesh appear dried. The number of layers you apply depends on how mummified 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 withered appearance.

3. After the layers have dried, color the skin with three washes of brown paint and a wash of black. You may want to test 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.

4. To give the skin fuller depth and make it appear mummified, paint it with the wood stain, applying a small amount to a paper towel or sponge and patting it onto the skeleton.

5. Glue the wings to the back of the skeleton and then accent the fairy with a variety of items, like a heart pendant with a pin sticking out of it. You can also nestle one of the keys against its body and position the right hand saved from step one to make it appear the fairy is holding the object.

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

7. Apply a light layer of glue to the frame’s backing and adhere the copy paper to it. Although I pressed it as smooth as possible, you can create folds and wrinkles for further distress. Then, trim the excess paper to conform it to the backing’s shape.

8. Center the fairy on the backing and glue it in place. It may be beneficial to temporarily reattached the frame to the backing to ensure the figure is actually centered before permanently adhering it.

9. Beginning with a base coat of black, gently dry brush gold paint onto the frame’s surface, focusing on the raised areas. How heavy you apply the paint depends on how aged you want the frame to appear.

10. Reattach the frame to the backing and then decorate it with the butterflies, flowers, and two remaining keys. As always, these items can be modified to cater the proper to your haunt’s theme.

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