Bleeding Eyeball Badge

You don't always get a chance to dress up for Halloween, say, if you're stuck at work that day, but you'll still want to get into the spirit of the day.  You need something, not a costume, but something to show that you are still celebrating this important Maker holiday.

Last year, I made my son a popped eyeball prop, and a handful of spare eyeballs have spent the year sitting in my shed.

Coming across the spare eyeballs, the Hallowe'en Pin Badge was born.

The eyeball that forms the core of this prop is a cheap plastic item.  I bought a bag of ten for about a quid last year.  I saw similar eyeballs in a local supermarket this year, a bag of four for a pound.

You'll also need:

• A pin-back (I used an old charity-badge, but they can be bought from jewellery-parts stores and your favourite online auction site).
• Scrap dowel.
• Sugru or two-part epoxy

You can also use:

• Red card
• Red aerosol paint.

I used part of a sachet of Sugru to fix this together, but you could easily use most strong glues, especially two-part epoxy.  Just remember, once you mix the parts or open the Sugru, you have a limited time to stick things together, so it's best to do all your preparation in advance:

• Crack the eyeball in half.  If the eyeball you use is like mine, you should be able to squeeze the sides to crack the seam, then gently prise it in half with a small knife blade.
• Trim the scrap dowel to a length fractionally shorter than the radius of the eyeball.  You should be able to stand it on your workbench, lay the half eyeball over it, and have the eyeball touch the bench all round.

Now move on to step 3...

If you are using them:

• Cut your card to make an oozing splat - slightly wider than the eyeball, with drips below.
• Spray the red card with glossy red paint.

If you prop the card at an angle, and over-spray, you can get an oozing-blood feel to the card.

I rolled a small piece of Sugru into a sausage, and pressed it into place around the dowel (I used the blunt end of a small drill-bit).

A piece of Sugru went onto Pudsey's belly, and got pressed into place.

Two small pieces went on the back of Pudsey to hold the card in place,

It was all pressed firmly into place, and left aside to cure.

This prop badge is perfect for wearing to the office, especially if you are doomed to spending your working days in a suit, or your school days in a blazer.

Pin it to your lapel, and off you go.

_{(Yes, I did put my Sugru shirt on especially for the photo...)}