Creating a fairy skeleton display in a bell jar has been on my list of Halloween projects for quite some time. Don’t you love these little worlds displayed in a glass cloche? As I entered Target last week, this bell jar sat on an end display right inside the door just beyond the shopping carts. For 5 bucks, I couldn’t resist. It’s not glass. It’s plastic, but it’s pretty sturdy.
(We are an Amazon affiliate and may receive a small percentage of any sales through the links in this post at no cost to you. Thanks for supporting this website!)
So, this is going to sound lame, but instead of going down and sorting through bins of Halloween decorations, I went to the dollar store. Fortunately, they have the mini skeletons in stock right now. Then, I see bat and skull rings. My idea was to cut out bats with the Cricut, but these are more 3-dimensional. Look at the little bottles! The little set of lights seemed like a perfect idea, too. The set takes two AA batteries. Then, I found a pack of butterfly wings! My plan was to make the wings from lace, but these are too much of a temptation!
DIY Miniature Halloween Tree for a Fairy Skeleton
For this little fairy skeleton display, I need to make a spooky twisted tree.
Supplies for the Spooky Miniature Halloween Tree
- 24-gauge craft wire
- wire cutters
- newspaper
- Tacky glue
- Black Satin Spray Paint
- Plastic Black bat rings
Directions:
First, determine how long the longest wire needs to be. You’ll need to decide how tall you want the tree to be to fit inside the dome and allow some extra length for the roots at the base. Cut the wire. Then, cut some more wires in a variety of lengths. I used 5 wires for the main trunk. Remember, you can trim off the ends if you need to reshape or shorten the tree before you paint it.
Wrapping the Wires with Paper
You’ll want to cover your work surface. This may get a little messy.
Tear the paper into strips about 1/2 – inch wide or smaller. Pour some of the Tacky glue into a small bowl.
Dip a fingertip into the glue and apply it to the end of one of the strips. Begin to wrap the paper around the wire. Continue gluing and wrapping the paper until the wire is covered. Make sure the ends have less paper, to mimic the smaller branches at the top of a tree and the outer sections of the roots.
Once you have the tree roots, trunk, and branches armature or metal wire frame, begin wrapping the trunk.
Add some smaller branches by gluing and wrapping paper around an inch or so. Then, lay the bare wire along the branch and glue and wrap it to connect it. Trim the excess wire off once you’ve secured it to the branch.
Begin wrapping the branches from the trunk of the tree outward. Remember the branch of a tree is thicker the closer to the trunk it gets and smaller toward the tips. So, start wrapping from where the branch attaches to the tree and gradually wrap less as you near the outer ends.
To wrap the roots, first glue and wrap around the trunk of the tree and angle the paper strip downward around the root. This will help secure and strengthen the base where the roots are connected.
When the tree is finished, spray paint it black. The great thing about this little tree is that it is bendable. Placing it in a tight space like the little dome will be easier since the tree is so pliable.
Attaching the Bats
I found little black plastic bat wings at The Dollar Tree. It’s easy to cut the ring from the bat with flush cutters, but you can also do this with sharp scissors.
Although you can use hot glue for attaching the bats, I used Tacky Glue to attach them to the tree. You’ll just have to hold the bat onto the limb for a couple of minutes. It takes hold pretty quickly.
Preparing The Fairy Skeleton
Supplies Needed
- Mini Skeletons
- Needle nose pliers
- Heat gun (Mine is from Michael’s)
- Krylon Sterling Silver Spray Paint
- Small soft flat brush
Take Your Fairy Skeleton from Stiff to More Interesting
First, remove one of the skeletons from the twine. Then, use your heat gun to soften and bend the skeleton at the shoulders, elbows, knees, ankles, elbows, and wrists, and shape the hands. The glue gun softens the plastic up in seconds, not minutes. You’ll want to leave it on for a little longer on the thicker sections and a very few seconds for the fingers.
To make the hand appear to be holding a glass, just grasp the finger ends with needle nose pliers as you apply the heat gun. Then, twist slightly to curve the fingers. I have a little Lego wine glass to place in his hand.
I found that holding the plastic bones with a flat needle nose plier just above or just below the joints you want to bend makes bending easier. Position the pliers and use the heat gun. The weight of the skeleton will help to start bending the joints. Just press gently to bend further.
Painting the Mini Skeleton Fairy
You can see in the picture above that I removed the little hook on the top of the skull. Just try to cut it off as close to the skull as possible. The flush cut wire pliers are good for this. Place the flat side of the blade at the base of the hook against the skull.
Paint the skeleton with silver or gold paint. You can use whatever color goes with your Halloween decorations. Remember to spray several thin coats of paint instead of a heavy spray that might drip. This paint dries relatively quickly. Then you can spray another coat. After covering one side, turn the skeleton over and spray the other side. To get to the inside of the shoulders and the rib cage, I sat the skeleton upright.
Antique the Mini Skeleton for Definition
With a small soft flat brush, apply the antiquing medium to the skeleton in small sections. Paint the antiquing onto one leg and foot or one arm and hand. Then, wipe off the excess with a soft cloth or paper towel. Continue applying the antiquing to the rest of the skeleton in sections.
At this point, I realized this is going to be a long post, not that it should take too long to create, but explaining all of the steps will! So, this is the first part. You won’t want to miss the finished project.
Be sure to come back for Part 2 Decorating the skeleton and assembling the bell jar display for Halloween.
Glamorous Halloween
Chic Halloween Ideas
How To Create A Chic Spooky Halloween Mantel
How To Create A Chic Spooky Skeleton Wreath
Elegant Halloween Tablescape You’ll Love This Year
Shop this post! 
Be Social!
I cant wait for Halloween. My favorite time of the year!
Thanks for visiting! It’s my favorite fall holiday, too.