Realistic Cauldron for Halloween

 

Have you ever heard of the craft burnt brown bag? I saw it years ago on a craft show when craft shows were still on  TV. I tried it once when I saw it and liked it, but never tried it again. I made a rooster weather vane that I hung  up in my kitchen.  The weather vane turned out really nice with a coppery look. Recently I remembered that technique and thought it would work well on papier mache although I had only seen it done with brown paper bags. I  picked up a pumpkin at the craft store to try it on but then I found a cauldron which I needed for my Halloween witches table.

 

Here is a short tutorial on how to do burnt brown bag.

Needed: Glue (I used Aleene’s Tacky Glue but I have seen that any white school glue should work.), a foam brush, a candle or some source for a flame, and rub ‘n’ buff(whatever color you prefer, I had three different colors but I only used the silver on this project.) Please, when doing this craft be careful with fire and the open flame.

 

Before I began I painted the inside black.

I painted on the glue somewhat thick. I knew the glue wouldn’t dry but I did it in shifts because I thought it was easier that way.

Make sure all of the glue gets sooty. If the glue is thick and you flame it in one spot for too long it will bubble up and it adds some texture.

Try not to touch it too much in case there are spots that the glue isn’t completely dry.  If you touch it and pull some glue off you can go back and fire that spot again. I left mine to “harden” for about an hour before I started wiping off the soot.  Gloves would probably be a good thing to wear while wiping it down because you will get dirty when you start wiping off the cauldron.

It looks great just like it is but the rub n’ buff made it much more realistic looking, I think.

I lightly used the silver rub n’ buff on the outside of the cauldron. I applied it with a paper towel but a soft rag would work better. I didn’t have any handy so a paper towel was fine.

 

It works perfectly on my Halloween witches table or on a mantel. What do you think of this technique?  If you try it let me know and please be careful. Go here to see my retro painted cake plate seen above.

I am linking up to these parties.