Audrey II

Not everyone has a Mushnik's around the corner, so we have to find a man-eating plant elsewhere. This is one I decided to make as a decoration to pull out for Halloween (though I admit it has stuck around a little longer than that).

I decided to make Audrey primarily out of foam. There are lots of tutorials out there to learn about working with foam. I suggest the books by Bill Doran (from Punished Props) and Evil Ted Smith's youtube channel.

• Craft foam (use 6mm for the head and 2mm for the leaves)
• Model Magic clay (or other similar foam clay)
• Insulation foam tubing (for the stem)
• Wire Hanger
• Can or pot
• Floral foam
• Plastic/fake foliage (vines, leaves, etc)
• Plastidip
• Spray paint
• Acrylic paint for details

The Audrey II I made is designed to be fairly bulbus shaped. So I cut out some shapes similar to the parts of a football. I flattened one end a little more and made the other end start to pucker out to create the lips. Work with paper or cardstock and experiment with shapes until you get the desired look.

Use the pattern to cut the head out of 6mm foam. Make sure to draw marks on matching areas to know where the pieces meet up. I glued the edges together using barges cement glue.

I came up with a couple sizes of leaf, then traced them out on 2mm craft foam. Carefully cut them out and then use a rotary tool to grind a leaf-like pattern on them. Use a heat gun to shape the leaf and make them look more natural.

To sculpt the lips, I used foam clay (Model Magic). I sculpted them right onto the main foam pieces for the head. Sculpt the main form, and wet your finger to smooth it out and blend the edges. I then used the dull side of a butter knife to score the wrinkles into the lips. Once they dried, I put some glue around the edges to ensure that they would stay on. I also used latex quick seal to fix any cracks and to get a smooth seam between the clay and foam.

To give the head a more plant-like appearance, I used a grinding bit on a dremel to lightly grind in some texture. Then I used a hot-glue gun to add the veins. They look pretty good once you paint over everything with a coat of plasti-dip.

I sculpted the teeth from foam clay as well. Make them a variety of sizes and shapes. Just be sure to make two of each if you would like some form of symmetry. I let those dry and then added some yellow for color. I later coated them with a few layers of clear nail polish. This adds some shine and makes them look a little wet.

Once again sculpted from foam clay. I admit that this ended up smaller than I would have liked on mine. Oh well. To make it, roll out the clay into a long rod. Then fold it in half this will give it the tongue look. I then added detail and shape to it. I even decided to add leaf-like veins to it, to give it feel more like a plant. I coated this with clear nail polish as well.

the stem is primarily made from and insulation foam tube and a wire coat hanger. I folded the coat hanger in half for extra strength. I then put it through the foam and gave it shape. Be sure to leave a good amount of extra wire sticking out. You'll use this to stick the stem into the pot. You can carefully heat the foam (at a lower temp) to help it hold it's shape. I then used a hot glue gun and knife to add details to the stem.

To start off, all of the parts were given a couple coats of white Plasti-dip. I then put on a natrual-green coat. The inside of the mouth was a purple color. I then hand painted, with acrylics, additional details. this included the lips, veins, shading, etc. On the green, I found that using purple to make slight highlights really helped things pop and have a slightly alien feel.

This is pretty straight forward. Just make sure to line up the teeth beforehand, so that you know exactly where you want them to go.

This may take a little more glue to make sure that it is secure. Don't worry about little messes, since the leaves will help cover those.

Arrange the leaves however you want around the head. I started by putting four large leave around first, then four smaller ones in the windows. I later used a hot glue gun to extend the stem of the leaf onto Audrey's stem. I then touched up with paint to make it look more natural.

I got a rusty looking flower pot to put Audrey in, though a coffee can or terracotta pot would work great as well. See what you like the most. Be sure to put something heavy in the bottom (like rocks), to make sure it can stay upright. then add floral foam on top of that. Then you'll be able to stick in the hanger wire. Add glue to help hold everything down and in place.

Once that is done, use different fake floral items to decorate around Audrey. We found a few that had a fun and interesting look. We also added moss on top of the foam as well. I also hide some lights under the foam, just to add an even more alien feel, especially at night.

Now enjoy your creation and have fun spooking the neighbors! And remember to feed it. It gets grouchy otherwise.