Wearing gloves, I started working my way around the base and sprayed the foam to cover all the string lights, the dryer ducting, and the bottom portion of the logs. You want the lights completely covered.  I sprayed too much to start with and didn’t have enough to fully cover the front, so I decided to add a plastic skull and some bones to fill in the gaps. There is about a 10-minute window where you can add items that will stick into the foam.  Use a stick (NOT your fingers) to move the foam where you want it to go, but work quickly, it gets thick and sticky fast! (with a texture like marshmallow fluff)

DO NOT get this stuff on your hands!  Anything it touches, will stay there forever.  So use with caution! Wear gloves and protective eyewear.  Spray close to the area you’re working in, you don’t want foam flying anywhere you don’t want it to go.

It fully dries and hardens in 2 hours, but after an hour it’s hard enough to paint.  Using a light touch, from about 6-8″ away, spray with the black and red spray paint.  I added dots of red where I wanted a “hot burning ember” look and the black where I wanted it to look burnt.

Because I knew I was going to use chain to hang the caudron (some cauldrons have a handle, mine didn’t) I need to drill the holes prior to the following steps. Also, drill a few in the bottom, for drainage.  And if you plan on using any lights or mist makers, drill a larger hole to fit the cords through the bottom, so they can be hidden.

For extra texture, I went with some green Creepy Cloth and Mod Podge. I cut what I wanted and draped it over the edge to where I wanted it and left the rest inside for effect.  The Mod Podge is a little messy, but will easily wash off your hands. It goes on white but dries clear.

Once the Mod Podge had mostly dried, I could get out the glue gun and go to town! I placed the cauldron on a tarp to catch any glue that may drip.  (you can see the spraypaint image of the chain that I also painted for this project) I have a very large cauldron (17″ high and 22 inches in diameter) So there was a lot of glue involved.  I used about a dozen 8″ glue sticks.  It took a while, but I think the effect was so worth it! I used it on the top edge only, and let some drip down, for a “boiling over” look.  I’ve also seen people use the same expansion foam that I used for the fire on the edges for a super cool effect.  But since I use this for storage of other miscellaneous Halloween things the other 11 months of the year, I wanted something more bulletproof that won’t get damaged.

I chose neon green acrylic paint, (purple or orange would also be a fantastic choice) because I wanted the cauldron to have a great daytime visual.  After 3 coats of neon green, I topped it with one coat of green glitter paint.

So what about when the sun goes down?  There is the option of adding a waterproof tray and an electric mister.  Or adding colored lights inside the cauldron.  Or adding a colored solar uplights nearby to accent your work.  For now, I’m leaving the creepy cloth inside and may add some green string lights later.

I watched a ton of YouTube videos to learn how to tie the tripod support.  Turns out that when you Google “how to make a teepee tripod thing for a cauldron”, stuff comes up!  The official name is TRIPOD LASHING.  For those of us who were never Boyscouts, here is a link to watch and learn some important knot tying skills that you never knew you needed.  But seriously, I’m going to learn some more knots and when the Zombie Apocalypse happens, I’ll be ready! New survival skills, check!

I added rocks around the fire and pulled the witches down from the attic to complete the scene.  The witches have seen better days, and after 5 years of weather and the heat of the attic, the fabric has all but disintegrated.  Plus one of their heads fell off.  I think I can figure out a way to salvage the main body and buy some new fabric.  I already have a glue gun and plenty of glue sticks, so there is hope for the decapitated one.  Another blog…for another day…