Floral Skull: Spooky Halloween Table Setting

October 24, 2018

Floral and skull don’t seem to go together, do they? This Halloween I wanted to created a spooky table setting on a budget. The Salvation Army Thrift Store has a Thrift’n’Treat section full of Halloween costumes and décor. I found this plastic skull for 99 cents! I had seen a photo from Martha Stewart featuring a skull with florals and thought that was a wonderful way to set a spooky table without going over board. This DIY only took about 10 minutes and four steps to complete. Let’s get started.

get your tools

A plastic skull, flowers, forages leaves and branches, floral foam and scissors.

Cut a hole in the top of the skull.

Since the plastic is so thin the scissors worked easily to cut the skull. I first measured the size of the floral foam and marked it out on the top of the skull so I had a guide to follow.

Place your skull in a bowl.

Use whatever you have on hand to place your skull in so it won’t move around when you are adding the flowers. I had a glass bowl that worked perfectly. This saved a huge amount of frustration as I didn’t have to worry about the skull moving.

Start with the leaves and branches.

Ok I am not a floral expert, but I started with the leaves and branches to create a base for the flowers. This really helped to create the shape I wanted as the branches were in place first.

Add in the smaller flowers.

Since I was on a budget, I only had two large flowers for this centrepiece. After the branches I added in the smaller flowers to fill in the spaces. This allowed me to see where the larger flowers would fill the gaps.

diy floral skull for a spooky table setting.

Plastic skull: $0.99 (Salvation Army Thrift Store), Silver pieces: $12.00 (Salvation Army Thrift Store), Flowers: $10, Branches and Leaves: Foraged, Candles: Leftover from our wedding.

I already owned the silver pieces but wanted to include the price to show how affordable this table setting would be to buy for Halloween. In total this cost me $10.99! Foraging for leaves and branches was a huge savings plus really added to the texture of the piece.

This spooky table setting is a great alternative to pumpkins on your table. It really makes a statement on the table and is definitely a conversation starter. If you don’t feel up to designing your own floral arrangement but want to create a similar look I would suggest buying a couple plastic skulls and small plants, like orange mums, and simply cutting the hole in the top of the skull to fit the plant pot. It would be an easy alternative.

I am in love with this colour palette. It’s so rich. I used to shy away from the yellows and oranges as I found them too bright, but I think it’s all about finding the right one. All of these work so beautifully together.

The best part about placing the skull in the silver vessel, is two things, first it won’t move on the table and second when I water the flowers the water won’t spill onto the table. You don’t always have to buy new items. Thrifting items from the Salvation Army Thrift Store is a great alternative when looking for Halloween finds!