Sunday, October 10, 2010

Ethereal little {cheesecloth} ghosts

Halloween is such a fun time of year! 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not into the gory or macabre...
I just love the fun and thrill of little ones dressing up in their costumes,
all of us poking a little fun at what scares us.

Friendly little ghosts, furry black cats, 
bewitching witches, and not-so-scary monsters!
Halloween turns me into a kid again.

I wanted something new to dress up my dining room,
but buying new decorations every season & holiday gets expensive.
It's so much more rewarding to MAKE something yourself.

So I made two darling, ethereal {cheesecloth} ghosts
to haunt over our October feasts.


Using a simple list of materials I had on hand,
I made two of these ghosts
that seem to virtually float in mid-air.

I started with a can of spray starch 
(I couldn't find liquid anywhere)
and two packages of cheesecloth that I already had.


I borrowed a piece of wired cable from my husband,
and wrapped the wire around the neck 
of a 2-liter bottle of soda filled with water (to stabilize it).
I took a section of newspaper and balled it up, 
wrapping it with masking tape to hold its shape.

I stuck the ball of newspaper ontop of the bottle to form the head.
Then I laid the cheesecloth over the form,
and sprayed it repeatedly with spray starch.
I let the whole thing dry in the sun.


It stuck a little to the newspaper ball, so I just delicately loosened it,
then re-laid it ontop of the form and lightly resprayed it
so it would maintain its shape.
(I think a styrofoam ball would've worked better,
but I didn't have one).


Using some leftover stick-on black felt,
I cut eyes out and stuck them on.


I love the way they turned out!
You could use fishing line to turn them into flying ghosts,
and make them any variety of sizes.
It's such an easy peasy craft that even the little ones can help with!

BOO!

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9 comments:

  1. O my gosh...those are so cute! How simple to make too...thanks for sharing Judy:)

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  2. Oh my soul. . . how cute is that. I bet Andrew loves them!!

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  3. Hi Judy!
    I have been away from blogging for so long, and now I see that I have missed so much! LOVE your little ghosts...so cute! And looks like the birthday party was an absolute success once again...
    Can't wait to see what other fun stuff you have been up to!

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  4. That spray starch is such a good idea. Those ghosts really look wonderful.

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  5. That is super cute! You come up with the greatest ideas. hugs, Vic

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  6. Just popping in for a quick hi. Judy, they are so cute. Just precious. I love your creative mind....speaks to my spirit.

    Barb ♥

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  7. Ah that is SO cute! What an awesome idea! I wanted to let you know about a linky party I started called "Handmade Tuesdays." I feature a tutorial first and then I have a linky at the bottom where people link up their tutorials :)

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  8. These little ghosts are so cute! My kids would love to make them :)

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