09/22/2026

Happy Tuesday, and welcome back to Tabletop Thoughts!

I love Halloween season. Store shelves fill up with cheap plastic decorations that, with a little imagination, can become something fun for the gaming table. Half the fun is spotting something and thinking, “What could I do with that?”

On a recent trip to Dollar General, some plastic skulls and fingers caught my eye and sparked an idea. The project is still a work in progress, but I couldn’t resist sharing what I have so far!

Using a plastic skull, a finger, and a wooden circle for the base, I’m making a skull pillar that looks like it was carved from natural, rough stone. The pieces are cheap and plentiful, so it would be easy to make a whole set. For now, though, I’ll stick with five pillars—one for each finger in the pack.

The plan is to glue the pieces together, then brush on a coat of PVA glue and sprinkle fine sand over the surface. That should give everything a rough, rocky texture and help the separate pieces look like one solid piece of carved stone.

I start by carefully removing the lower jaw from each skull with my X-Acto knife. Take your time with this step! Cheap plastic can be unpredictable—the blade might meet resistance in one spot, then slide through the next with very little effort. Always cut away from yourself, keep your fingers out of the blade’s path, and avoid forcing the cut. I wear a cut-resistant glove on the hand holding the skull for extra protection.

Next, I hot glue the skull onto the finger. This doesn’t have to be pretty—we’ll be covering it with glue and sand anyway. The goal is to attach the skull securely and fill any gaps where the pieces meet so they look like one continuous stone pillar once coated.

I use the same hot glue to attach the pillar to the wooden circle, adding enough around the bottom to create a sturdy connection. Just like before, a little visible glue is fine—it will blend into the rocky texture once everything is covered.

These were quick and easy to put together! Next crafting night, I’ll coat the pillars with PVA glue and fine sand, then leave them to dry overnight. Once they’re completely dry, they’ll be ready for a coat of black spray primer.

Keep on gaming!