I love decorating for Halloween, especially now that I have a little one to get in on the action. This year, I thought it would be fun to skip the fake cobwebs and make some not-too-spooky ghosts instead. With a few very basic supplies, Jude and I made a little family of ghosts to fly around our tree. And they really do fly! The wind whips them about in a delightfully ghoulish fashion. It has been so fun to look out the window and watch ...
Daddy,
Mommy,
and Baby Ghost,
... dance in the autumn wind.
Would you like to make you're own? Here's how we did it:
DIY Ghost Tutorial
You'll need:
- One wire hanger per ghost (I didn't have any, but my local dry cleaner was nice enough to give us a few)
- White fabric (I used muslin but an old sheet would be great)
- Black felt or permanent marker
- Hot glue (optional)
- Sewing machine
- Thin wire or fishing line
Directions:
Note: Older children could do this project with little help, while young ones won't likely get involved until the face making stage. Either way, my hope is that you will create these spirits with your little ones.
- Fold your fabric in half and cut it into rectangles to form the basic size/shape of your ghosts. (I did one small, one medium, and one large.)
- Bend your wire hanger into a ghostish head and arms. My small one looked like the phot below. For the larger ones, I cut the bottom of the hanger apart so that the head and arms could be bigger.
- Lay your bent hanger on the folded fabric with the point of the head at the top of the fold and trace the shape of the arms and head.
- Sew along that line. Cut a small hole at the top of the head for the hook to go through. And cut around your sewn line. Turn the fabric so that the raw seam is on the inside and slip it over your hanger. Cut the bottom of your fabric into a ghostly shape.
- Now the fun part, make the faces. Jude helped me draw circles and ovals with a white pen on black felt. We then cut the shapes out and he taped them to the ghosts. (I later attached them with hot glue.) Another option would be to draw the faces, with black marker, directly on the fabric. (Don't forget to give mom eyelashes!)
- Optional: I used a little hot glue on the ends of the hanger "arms" to keep the fabric in place.
- Bend the hook of your hanger to form a loop. Hang with thin wire or fishing line from the branches of a tree.
- Ooh and awe at your Spoocktacular Specters!
Happy Haunting!