The Phantom Crafter III

Ever wanted to dress up in a Phantom fashion without spending a lot of money? Tired of scouring garden centers for the perfect Phantom accessory? Then look no further. Your inspiration starts here.

Red Death Phantom Gourd Doll
You’ll need:
acrylic paint
red felt
red feathers
air-dry clay red/yellow
field dried gourd
steel wool
coffee stirrer
brushes
tape
stapler
red glitter glue
liquid nails
popsicle stick
can
plastic bag
paper hole punch
raffia
scissors
pen
filter mask gloves
glue gun
glue sticks
red beaded trim
jingle bells
hair scrunchie

The gourd used here was left out over winter. Using steel wool I removed the mold and outer skin left on the gourd. Please do this step outside and wear a mask to protect yourself from the gourd and mold dust. Also, please wear your gloves. Mold is toxic.

Get your tools ready. Cover the can or other item that will hold the gourd while the paint dries with the plastic bag. This keeps the can clean and helps to keep the paint from gluing the items together.

Then you can either paint or add the clay elements. Here I painted a simple red base first. If you want a good covering here’s when to tap paint into all the nooks and crannies. Remember that dried gourds are fragile, so be careful You’ll need to set the gourd on the can to let the paint dry before turning it to paint the bottom.

When all surfaces of the gourd have been painted and are dry, you can add the clay features. Here I used a simple pen to give detail to the face and hands. The feet were just shaped freehand. You may want to let these dry before adding them, though you can mold fresh items to the gourd easier.

Don’t forget the staff. Mold yellow clay to form the skull and attach to the coffee stirrer. This can be tucked under his hand when it is attached.

Either way, use liquid nails to attach the body parts to the gourd. You can use the glitter glue around the face and hands to hide the joints and to embellish. Here the back was detailed, as were the feet hands, and face.

When dry, it is time to add your accessories. Here simple red felt clothes the Red Death. The hat was cut out then stapled together. A cut piece of felt was added to the stem first to serve as the hat’s brim. Red feathers were taped together at the ends and tucked into the hat. Generous application of the red glitter glue was used to mask the staples, fuse hat parts, and shape the hat.

The cape was made in two steps. First a hole punch was used to create a line of holes at the top of the material. Then raffia was threaded through the holes. The cape was then gently gathered and tied to the gourd with the raffia.

I added the beaded trim last, just to make the project ‘pop’. Carefully cut out the needed lengths of beaded ribbon and use the hot glue to affix them to cape and hat as desired. Go slow and glue small sections at a time for the best effect.

Jingle bells were added to the shoes with hot glue. Then a hair scrunchie (elastic with fabric for tying back hair) was added around the neck.

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