I wanted to make Halloween decorations this year but I had very little extra money to spend. So I did my preliminary research and discovered these beauties.
Quite cute and pretty affordable, but not cheap enough. I needed to avoid a trip to the craft store because I always spend too much when I go. I needed something that would be almost free.
So, I gathered materials from around the house and began a project of my own.
"Almost Free" Cute & Cheap Halloween Ghosties
It's very easy to make these yourself and they're a great craft project for kids!
First, take a standard tall white kitchen garbage bag and cut it into 8 squares with scissors. I basically cut the bag in half along the seams, then divided each side into 4 squares. The edges don't need to be perfect or straight but make sure to cut off any seams.
Start out by upcycling junk mail into little balls for the ghost heads. Because wads of paper don't hold a ball shape too well on their own, it's a good idea to wrap them in masking tape. If you're a stickler, you can paint these babies white so the tan color doesn't show through at all.
[I decided to try two different sizes, large and small. I determined the smaller ones worked better and you can't tell much difference between them when they're completed. The small balls were about 2 inches across.]
Then take some cheap string [I bought some at the dollar store], cut a long piece (twice the length as you would like it to hang) and then "fold" it in half, taping the center of the string to your ball.
This is the kind of tricky part. You want to find your string through the bag and then poke two holes where you can pull the strings through.
First, mark the two spots where the string is coming out from under the tape using a pen or pencil.
Then widen the holes. You don't want them to be too large but you want them big enough for you to pull the string through with your fingers (or a crochet hook if you have one. I didn't.)
Thread your string through the holes.
OPTIONAL: If you'd like your ghosts to twist and turn in the wind, you can make a knot at the top of his "head" with your two string halves.
Then tie the two ends of your string together to make your decoration easy to hang.
Texture the ends of the bag by pulling the material down. This creates a "tattered" look and masks the fact that they are made out of a trash bag. I found having fingernails for this makes it more efficient. You can also even out the short parts of the ghost's "skirt" by stretching the short sides during this step. I shot a quick video showing this process.
Finally, use a permanent marker to draw cute rounded eyes on your ghost-- make them big so they're easily visible! You can even draw eyes on both sides if you want eyes to always be showing as they turn in the wind.
Voila! You've just created cute Halloween decorations and spent little to no money. :) These little guys fare well in bad weather and should last at least a few years, although the eyes might require touch-ups.
- 1 Tall White Kitchen Trash Bag
- Junk Mail (or other upcycled paper)
- Masking Tape
- String
- Permanent Marker
- Scissors
- Pen or Pencil
- (Optional) Crochet Hook
- Cut your trash bag into 8 squares.
- Wad up your paper to make 8 balls, about 2" in diameter.
- Wrap your balls with masking tape to hold their general shape.
- Cut 8 pieces of string twice the length that you want your ghosts to hang.
- Tape the center of the string to the top of each ball.
- Wrap each ball with a square piece of trash bag, keeping it centered.
- Mark the two spots where the string comes out from under the tape with a pen or pencil.
- Poke through the holes until they are wide enough to thread your string.
- Using your fingers, (or a crochet hook) pull the strings through your holes.
- OPTIONAL: Tie a knot with both strings on top of the ghost to allow free spinning.
- Tie the two ends together at the top.
- Texture the ghosts by pulling on the material to make a tattered look (see video above).
- Draw in the eyes with a permanent marker.
I hope you enjoy these as much as I do, they really add to my Halloween decor!
