By Jeromina Juan
If you’ve been brainstorming Halloween DIY costume ideas, no need to bang your head on a brick wall. It’s time to put on your thinking cap. Literally! With just a ball cap, squiggles of caulking (the stuff made for sealing tubs, sinks, and windows), and dabs of paint, this bloody brain is yours to wear on fright night.
It’s best to study pictures of the human brain before tackling this project in order to best mimic the brain’s convolution patterns when caulking the cap.
Weighing a little less than a pound and a half, this costume is still lighter than most professional bicycle and motorcycle helmets. Use a cap without an adjuster to ensure a perfect fit.
For a PDF of this tutorial, visit the build page on Make: Projects.

Materials

Fitted cap, without adjuster
Craft knife or seam ripper
Newspaper
Acrylic paint, red and black
Paintbrush
Bowl, approximately same size as cap
Tall jar
Plastic bag
2 tubes of latex or acrylic caulking (not silicone)*, ivory or bone color
Caulking gun
Water
Gloves
*NOTE: Silicone caulking is not paintable.

Directions

Step 1: Remove the cap’s brim by carefully ripping the seams with a craft knife or seam ripper.

Step 2: Place the cap on newspaper. Paint the cap with dark red paint (a mixture of red paint and a little bit of black paint). Let dry.

Step 3: On newspaper, create a work stand for your cap by placing a bowl upside down over a tall jar. Place a plastic bag over the bowl, and the cap over the plastic bag.

Step 4: With a craft knife, cut the tip of the caulking tube to have an opening approximately 1/2″ in diameter. Load the tube into a caulking gun.

Step 5: Caulk convolutions on one half of the cap to create one hemisphere of the brain. Repeat on the second half of the cap.

Step 6: Let the caulking dry for approximately one to two hours until the surface loses tack. Wearing gloves, lightly press on the convolutions to slightly flatten the surface.

Step 7: Let the caulking cure for 24 hours.

Step 8: Once the caulking has cured, mix water with red paint and a little bit of black paint, to a thin, runny consistency. Use a brush to dab paint mixture onto the caulking, focusing on crevices. Apply a second coat if needed. Let dry.

Your bloody brain is ready to wear! You may wrap gauze to cover the seam between the brain and the forehead. Of course, the more fake blood, the better! Happy Halloween!
About the Author:

Jeromina Juan is the brains behind the blog Paper, Plate, and Plane, where she shares unique DIY ideas for all holidays throughout the year. She is partial to Halloween, being born on this special holiday.