Halloween DIY: Easy Creepy Spider Legs

Minions!  I have to say, I am so impressed with how talented so many of you are…and because talent like that should never be hidden, I’m going to start highlighting you guys via guest posts!

As some of you know, we kicked off guest posting with a dark Hells’ fury curry rolls twist on my friend the Crow over at The Corvid Review‘s famous chicken 65 rolls.  Then we had the incredibly talented Miranda from Spooky Little Halloween swing by and share her adorably creepy DIY bat terrariums with us.

This has all been so much fun and gone over so well, I figured I’d keep the streak going and introduce you to another amazingly talented friend!

So…without further ado, Ruben and the most incredibly terrifying DIY spider legs ever:

Oooh!  I can just feel them slowly tripping up and down my spine with those tiny pointed tips…

Hi, everyone!! My name is Ruben, the mind behind PixelGum Art and TheGloometery. I was asked by the deliciously demented Hellen Die to come on over to her blog and write up a guest post showing you guys how to create the creepy-crawly, arachnid insanity you see at the top of this page… That’s right, we’re making GIANT SPIDER LEGS to add to your cabinet of curiosities, to your collection of witch jars, or to just plain creep out your friends.

I’m not much for rambling, so let’s get started!

Materials needed:

• Black polymer clay (I recommend the Premo! variety, it remains flexible and won’t snap or break)
• Krazy glue or other instant glue
• Sculpey matte or gloss glaze (I do not recommend spray gloss, from my experience spray gloss never cures and remains tacky forever)
• Razor blade or X-acto knife
• Cheap brush
• Oven proof plate or baking tray ( you might want to label the plate or tray as non-food safe after baking polymer clay on it)

Begin by rolling out balls of clay in sizes ranging from a pea to a garbanzo bean. 3-4 of these clay balls will make one spider leg.

Once you’ve got a good amount of little clay balls, roll them out into tube shapes on a smooth surface applying more pressure in the middle of the tube. They should slightly resemble tibia bones, thinner in the center and thicker towards the ends. Each one of these tubes will form a joint in your spider leg. You’ll also need to create tiny, tear drop shapes that will form the tip of the spider leg. It’s called the tarsus according to the google image I just pulled up…

You’ll want to make sure that the joints you are creating graduate from large to small. Feel free to experiment with the length and shape of the tarsus.

As you roll out the leg joints set them on the plate or tray you’ll be placing in the oven. When you’re about done rolling out leg joints, preheat your oven to the temperature recommended on the packaging. Premo! lists it at 275 degrees, but it’s different for other brands or varieties.

Once your oven is preheated bake for 10-12 minutes and let them cool. Now, you can finally start assembling your sinister spider legs! Grab 3 or 4 joints of gradating size and arrange them to form one of the legs. When you’re happy with the positioning you can start gluing them together.

I arranged a 3 and a 4 joint leg so you can see the difference between them. And, beneath that, is an example of how dramatically you can change the appearance of these spider legs just by increasing or decreasing the length of the tarsus.

Gluing them together is easy, just add a tiny dab of glue to the end of the largest joint and hold the next piece in place. It takes about a second for the glue to dry and then you can glue the next piece in place.

If you’re having difficulty gluing the tarsus on, you can cut the fat part off at a 45-degree angle using your blade or X-acto knife.

Once you’ve finished gluing your spider legs together you can seal them with glaze. This adds a little more support to them and keeps them from separating at the joint. It’s not entirely necessary, but the gloss glaze gives them that creepy sheen you see on black widow spiders.

I brush the glaze on in phases starting with only the tip of the leg and place them in a small container to dry.

This is meant to hold scented paper stick things, but it’s also great for holding spider legs. 🙂

After the glaze dries (15-20 minutes) you can glaze the rest of the legs and stick them into the container upside down to finish drying.

Here’s an example of a matte and a glossy spider leg.

Well, there you go, guys! How to make nightmarish spider legs to gift to the most arachnophobic of your friends and family.

I’ll leave you with some more photos of how I like to use them around the house to “dead-en” up the place, and links to my social media. Feel free to contact me at either link if you have questions about anything related to this post and don’t forget to tag me in your photos if you end up making some of these. Most importantly, I’d like to thank Hellen Die for having me and for bringing us the Halloween feels all year long through The Necro Nom-nom-nomicon.

Instagram:

@pixelgumart @thegloometery

Tumblr:

pixelgum.tumblr.com

THANK YOU RUBEN!  I love how these look and think that a few of these might be a “must make” for a special arachnid themed cake I’ve been planning on making (but lacked inspiration for…well, now I’ve got PLENTY of inspiration!!!  This is brilliant!)

Lots more fun creepy recipes and DIYs to come.

And if you’re in the mood for another guest post, check out our Arsenic Float post from another incredibly talented Eat the Dead fan!

Bone appetite!