How To: Caulk a Bloody Brain Cap

Make and wear your own bloody brain cap using a couple of tubes of latex caulking and a fitted ball cap!

I wrote this project originally for Craft: http://blog.craftzine.com/archive/2011/10/project_gory_brain_cap.html
The project has also appeared in Make: http://makeprojects.com/Project/Gory-Brain-Cap/1465/1

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

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.