Halloween Porch Witch

What house is complete for Halloween without a witch? This year we decided to decorate our porch with a kitchen witch theme. So the first thing I had to do was come up with a witch. After looking at many props and reading how-to's, I decided to make my own witch.

Styrofoam wig head
White glue (lots of it)
Duct tape
Ping pong eyeballs
Spray paint
Acrylic paints
Liquid latex rubber
Chicken wire
Paper towels
Empty box
Latex gloves
Good stuff styrofoam
Witch fingers
Black material
Boots
Gray wig
Witches hat
Witches broom

Make a nose for the witch out of crumpled paper and then tape it to the head. Then tear the paper towels into strips and begin adding them to the head with the glue. Use a paint brush with a bit of water and glue to smooth out the head. You will want to add A LOT of layers this way.

Now the fun part begins. Start painting your latex over the dry head. I put aluminum foil under the head so it would be easier to pull the head off of my working area. Try to keep the first layer fairly thin so it will dray faster. You will need to paint about 6 to 8 layers of latex. Make sure to let each layer dry before adding the next layer.

After the first layer, I glued on one of the latex scars and added some cotton balls to make a wart and extend the chin and eyebrows a bit more. Just latex over the the cotton balls. I did not completely latex over the wound. But rather with each layer, tried to smooth it in with the layers.

Paint the base color. I used spray paint, but discovered after the paint dried that it will rub off the latex. It is recommended that when you paint a latex mask or head that you use latex paint or some sites recommend rubber cement mixed with pigment and naphtha. You can find information on mixing this type of paint at eHow, http://www.ehow.com/how_6319473_paint-foam-latex.html.

Once you have your base coat, begin painting to add shadows and color to your witch head.

Cut your eyeballs to fit in the eyes and glue them on. I used a hot glue gun for this step. You could also add teeth at this time. If you do, use teeth cut from cheap, plastic vampire fangs.

Add the wig and you have your witch's head!

Build the body, arms, and legs out of chicken wire. I made chicken wire "tubes" for the body, arms and legs. Then I wired the head to the body. You can full instructions for chicken wire dummies at HauntProject..

Once you have built the body, position the body however you would like. I placed mine in a wicker chair. A tip that I read about was that if you are going to have your witch stand, wire some PVC inside the wire dummy for stability.

My witch hands are made of latex gloves and witch fingers. Cut the ends out of the gloves, being careful not to cut too much. Turn the gloves inside out and push the witch fingers through the ends. You can find instructions for this type of hands on Halloween Alliance.

You could also purchase hands for this step.

Fill the gloves with Good Stuff (you can find this at the hardware store). Make sure to fill the hands all the way, but only fill the arm area about 1/2 way up. This leaves enough room to attach them to the wire arms.

Let the foam cure for about 24 hours and paint them the same color you used for your base coat on the head.

Wire the hands to the arms.

Use black cloth to dress your witch. I sewed a basic robe for her to wear, but you can also drape the cloth around your witch. I also used Halloween gauze around the neck and the hands to give her a "spookier" look. This also helped to conceal the chicken wire.

Bend the chicken wire into a pair of boots for her feet.

Now you can add any other props. We had a cool hat and broom that we gave her.

Your witch is done!