Cute and Easy Ghosts!
Here’s a cute Halloween decorating idea!
These little cute and easy ghosts are the cutest things for a Halloween decorating idea. And these ghosts can be set out for the full Halloween season. They can sit around the house or on the table as a centerpiece lending an air of whimsy for a party. Or make some for the yard or front porch. Make them any size you want, though the larger ones may need some additional support. Cute and Easy ghosts! You will love them!
The cute little ghosts can be strung from a small piece of fishing line to blow in the wind outside, or even to hang from your ceiling inside, or perhaps in a doorway. Depending on the age of your kids, make them cute and wide-eyed or evil angry eyes if your kids are old enough.
These cloth ghosts have been around for a long time, but they are CLASSIC.
Simple and easy to make. Just be sure to get your cheesecloth early because the fabric stores run out of this particular fabric during the Halloween season.
Frugal tip: Buy [easyazon_link identifier=”B001685OEC” locale=”US” tag=”thehypegard0d-20″]cheesecloth[/easyazon_link] and [easyazon_link identifier=”B004BPT73G” locale=”US” tag=”thehypegard0d-20″]felt[/easyazon_link] by the yard from a bolt of fabric. Those pre-packaged bits of cheesecloth are so much more expensive. And these things will last for a long time.
Don’t judge now, but…pssst…let me whisper.
When Halloween is over, I just go ahead and wad the whole bunch of the ghosts together and put them in the gentle wash cycle. Then store the cheesecloth in a paper bag or box and you can “restarch” them for next year. Store them on a closet shelf. Next year, take them out and dip them in starch again and remake them. Perfect money saver!
Here is the best recipe:
- [easyazon_link identifier=”B0042SWOHI” locale=”US” tag=”thehypegard0d-20″]Liquid starch[/easyazon_link]
- [easyazon_link identifier=”B001685OEC” locale=”US” tag=”thehypegard0d-20″]Cheesecloth[/easyazon_link] of desired length
- Supporting stand to use for drying
- Balloon or round object for the head or top
- Felt if you would like the ghost to have eyes
I think liquid starch works the best since you can get the cheesecloth wet thoroughly. If you use the spray starch, it ends up all over the kitchen floor, walls, ceiling….well, you see where I am going. Do you have any liquid starch left over from the Easy Slime Project?
Just put some liquid starch in a large dishpan. You can add a slight amount of water to thin it down if you want.
They will need to dry overnight, so plan on making them early enough for when they will be needed.
Measure out some cheesecloth of a length for your finished ghost. The extra which hangs is the flow on the ground around the ghost so be sure to have enough. A short small ghost would use about 3-4 yards.
Plan something to use as your tower to dry the ghost. I used a plant stand and a stack of plastic cups weighed down with marbles. If you would like arms, bend a coat hanger or a cross stick of some kind.
Blow up a balloon to be the support form used as the head, then prop the hanger or whatever you are using to form arms, if you like. One of my plant stands was perfect for this.
Wet the cheesecloth in the dishpan with liquid starch, and wring out loosely. Then drape the spread-out cheesecloth over the stand/balloon/arms. Pull it around and arrange the folds of its “robe.” Let it dry. I dried mine overnight sitting on the kitchen bar.
Your Cute and Easy Ghosts are Ready
Thankfully, it was nice and hard next morning. Gently pull it off the support, popping the balloon if you want. It can stand alone on its own with this liquid starch method. Apply black felt eyes and/or mouth with a glue gun or school glue if you like.
Aren’t these the cutest things? It is a fun project to make with the kids and they will love giving each of the little ghosts their own touch!
Looking forward to Halloween!