Thrifty Halloween Teacher's Gift of Horror

I've never done this before, but I'm posting a tutorial on how to assemble a nifty Halloween gift for your teacher.  I was inspired by this post, that I found on Pinterest (embrace the obsession!).  Then when I was perusing The Dollar Tree, inspiration struck and this idea was born.

apple + skeleton + candy corn = great teacher's gift!

And each spooktacular (oh, I'm SO original) figurine comes out to $3.25.  Plus tax.  Not bad.

You will need:
DT* - A frame that is deep enough to contain the candy corn
DT - Candy Corn (1/2 bag)
DT - A fake apple
DT - Decorative Halloween skeleton (4 per set)
DT - Glass Candle holder (2 pack)
dark Fabric or paper
hot glue gun
black paint
And your standard scissors, paint brush
*DT = Dollar Tree

Let the Assembly BEGIN!

1. Remove the bits and pieces from the back of the picture frame.  And toss out the lovely family photo.

2. Trace the frame backing onto a piece of fabric or dark dark paper.  Cut out the tracing.

3. Keep fabric/paper in place with a few globs of hot glue.  Reinsert into the picture frame

4. Paint the bottom and inner sides of the glass votive candle holder black.

5. Squirt a generous blob of hot glue (about the size of a quarter) onto the right half of the picture frame and press the candle holder onto it.
since it's a smooth surface bonding to a smooth surface, it will separate if wiggled too much, so try to avoid picking it up by the candle holder.

6. Clip the tag off the apple (ripping it out will likely tear out a chunk- hey, they're from the Dollar Tree).  Position the apple on the candle holder.  I liked mine at an angle, but any position is fine.

7. Apply a generous amount of hot glue around the top inner lip of the candle holder and quickly gently press the apple in place.

8.  Dismember your skeleton.  You can get away with just removing the legs, but as you adjust the other limbs, they may break of or come really loose, so be ready to reinforce the joints with hot glue (can you tell I'm a big fan of the stuff??) 
At first I thought I would have to spray paint the skeletons white to conceal all the glue, but I think it pretty much looks like cartilage, so it stayed.

9. Below is a picture of how your skeleton might look.  The red circles indicate necessary gluing  and the orange circles show places that might need reinforcement.
This part is a bit tedious, but hold each piece in place for about a minute, before moving on to the next limb
Begin gluing at the hips,
then the knees,
then the hand on the hip
then the shoulders, if necessary

 You're almost done!!

10.  Now it's time to anchor your little guy. (see blue arrows below)
First glue his right foot flat onto the glass.
Then glue the elbow to the apple
Next attach the hip to the apple
Last cross that left left across and glue  it in place onto the glass, bending the toes downward.

There's no "right" way to do it.  Each of mine turned out a little different.

11.  Now pour in the candy and admire your handywork.

It's surprisingly sturdy.  But I'm still not letting Kai have his way with it.

I loved letting the creative juices flow!  Hopefully they make it to the school in one piece!