I often use this situation as an example of what is possible even on a next-to-nothing budget. The script called for a bullet wound at very close range. Since the weapon was a sawed-off shotgun, I suggested to the director that we blast her jaw off instead. (With the way her body is positioned in the film, all you see is the unhinged jaw and the tongue.) So I cobbled together a prosthetic using an old Halloween skull decoration and sculpted out a tongue for just a few dollars more than casting a silicone bullet hole appliance would have cost.
It took a bit longer to do this makeup than it would have if I'd just slapped on the quick bullet hole that he initially asked for, but I think that everyone agreed that this had much more of an impact.
Last year RnD held an event showing all of their short films, and this one was voted "Best use of Shiva")