Of course, it isn't really severed, it's just an illusion! What you are going to make is a special glove that will make it look like you are holding a living, moving, human arm. In actuality, what people are seeing is your hand, passing straight through a "dummy" glove with an attached fake stump of an arm.
While the project takes a few hours to make (or more, depending on your attention to detail), it is silly-cheap and has a great effect!
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Signing UpStep 1: Material list
Main Components:
*a pair of heavy gloves (I opted for dollar store work gloves)
*shampoo bottle
*fabric (to be your "shirt" on the limb)
*pillow fill
*a sheet of white paper
*some nice squishy foam
*a wire coat hanger
*Velcro
*blood colored paint
Tools:
*some nice sharp scissors
*hot glue gun
*wire cutters
*packing tape
Optional
*"Sculpey" or other clay that you can bake in your oven
*super glue
The gloves that you pick are going to be the most important part of the project. Theoretically, you only need one glove- but the effect is best if you are wearing two matching gloves. You'll want to buy or find some that are thick, sturdy, and have longish cuffs. Having no extra gloves laying around, I bought mine for only a buck and they worked pretty well.
Every item besides the gloves I had around the house already, meaning a total cost of $1. If you already have some gloves that you could use, the project could be practically free!
Total time spent on this project was in excess of 10 hours, over the course of several days. This includes all the trial and error that you will be able to avoid, thanks to this Instructable, however! More than one day will be needed, to allow for the paint to dry. Time that you will require depends on how much attention to detail you take.












































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For the bone piece, I used a 1" rawhide bone dog chew. The coloring and texture was perfect, and i made it stick out about 2" from the fake arm. A little blood on the bone made it very realistic.
Thanks!
So all the credit goes to him for creating this wonderful illusion!
Greetings from Chile
Might I just add for anybody following this Instructable, that the hot glue gun makes a LOT of difference. I used PVA glue (applied liberally and secured tightly whilst drying), and I can't get my severed arm to sit at the right angle for the maximum illusion effect.
Might have something to do with using a too-short piece of plastic from a plastic severed arm thing...
I used black ribbon instead of velcro (like the back of a corset), it looks pretty good if the edges of your glove don't quite reach.
I was going to make my version an edible one, but ran out of time to do much with it. You could use almond (royal) icing and dye it for flesh if you're thinking about it, but most foods might be a bit too heavy for this costume and your arm.
It's definitely a project I will attempt again though, when I have access to the right tools and a semi-appropriate occasion :D
work gloves -$1
pillow for filling -$1
paints -$1
bones - free - used broken tree branches
cloth - had mine already, but not a lot more than $2 for small amount
carboard - free
foam - cant say. we already had ours
I'm thinking of making this, but with at least part of it edible for the shock factor of me having a little nibble. Even if just the bone tips are edible.
If I do manage to do this, I'll be sure to post my results :)
*Applauds*
(yes it does look like I'm groping myself in this photo...)
,,and grotesque,,