Welcome to day 3 of my 13 days of Halloween DIY party special! Today I have a special DIY for you to make, spooky ghosts! These little cuties are pretty easy to craft and they make adorable decor items to add to your mantle or bookshelves! I made mine to stand on sticks but you could easily make them to hang instead. You can also customize their faces to your own style. I have always been a fan of Tim Burton, and so I made my ghosts with sunken eyes and sketchy pen outlines. I only made two, but I think a whole group of them on a mantel or hanging from the ceiling would be oh so adorable! They are pretty easy to make, so I may just attempt to do some more if I have the time.
Here’s What You Need:
*Wooden Block(s)
*Small Dowel
*Small to medium sized styrofoam ball
*Cheesecloth
*Scissors
*Air Dry Clay (model air, or paperclay)
*Water
*Modge podge
*Paint
*Paintbrush
*Fine tip pen (sharpie or micron)
*Drill
*Glue
Step 1: Make base- Drill a hole in the middle of your block the size of your dowel. Cut your dowel to the height you wish it to be plus a little extra. Glue the dowel into the wood block. Once the glue is dry, paint your wood block and dowel.
Step 2: Form the Head- Pinch off bits of the model clay and smooth it over your styrofoam ball. You can use a little water on your fingers when smoothing it out to make it a little easier and more uniform. If you are going to do sunken eyes you need to have a nice thick layer of clay on your ball. To make the eye sockets, first decide where you want them. Then, press into the clay with your thumb and rotate to make a sunken circle. Repeat for other eye. Poke a hole in the bottom for your dowel to fit in later. Let the clay dry according to the package instructions.
Step 3: Add the Gauze- Cut squares of cheesecloth for your ghost. I just eyeballed it. Put your heads on the dowels and push onto dowel until firm and not wobbly. Paint a layer of modge podge onto your dry ghost head. Lay one layer of cheesecloth over the wet head and gently press into eye sockets and around top of the head. Repeat with other layers of cheesecloth, painting modge podge down before each layer. I used three layers for mine. Let the modge podge dry.
Step 4: Finish- You can add a little bit of grey paint to the inside lids of the eye sockets if you like. I think it gives it a little extra oomph. Then draw in the eye outlines and pupils and add the other facial features you like. Mount your ghost on the dowel and you are finished.
I really like how my little ghosties turned out! They make me smile! I had a lot of fun making these, and I hope you will too! Be sure to tune in tomorrow for more exciting Halloween fun!
Happy Crafting!
Decofairy
Your two little ghosts are adorable!!!!
…and your photo with the -cutest ever – cat made me laugh so much 😀
My So Called Crafty Life
Thanks, I’m so glad you like them! The kitty is my sister’s cat Titus who is the sweetest fat cat ever! And he makes a great model 🙂
Suz
Love these – and thanks for introducing me to a new product: the air-drying modeling clay. I must try some. 😀
My So Called Crafty Life
Thank you Suz! This was the first time I had used the air dry clay and I love it! It’s so easy 🙂
Fun and Fabulous Snow-Family | My So Called Crafty Life
[…] Today I have a special holiday craft project to share with you! My mom and I have been working together on these little snow people. We had so much fun working on the Halloween ghosts and heads that we decided to do some Christmas snowmen. We covered styrofoam balls in air dry clay. Once the clay dried we painted them and then added glitter with some beautiful fine snowy glitter and modge podge. I poked holes in the body with a nail to insert the arms attach the balls together with toothpicks. To get them to stand up we painted a board white and drilled holes for small dowels that were about 3″ long to push into the bottom of the snowmen to hold them up sturdy. I added buttons and felt accents to a couple and made little scarves out of yarn and tinsel for the others. The little bow tie was really easy to make. You just cut a small rectangle, scrunch the middle and glue a piece of skinny felt around the center. The greatest thing about this craft is that it is so customizable to your style. Just play around and have fun with it. The basics are just molding the clay over the balls and adding your own style with paint, glitter, and accessories. If you’d like a similar and more detailed diy, check out my Halloween ghosts Here. […]