Cheescloth Ghosts

A Hallloween Decorating Project for You and the Kids

Group these little spooky guys on your table for a centerpiece, or scatter them around the house for Halloween decorations. They are fun for all ages to make, and it is easy to gather the materials you need from craft and hobby stores. They get their haunting shapes from starch-soaked strips of cheesecloth draped over plastic bottle frames. Once they are stiff and dry, remove the frames and your ghosts are ready to decorate with scary faces, chains, and doll-size hats.

1. Tape water bottles to baking sheets to stabilize them as you work, separating the bottles at least 8 inches apart.

2. Put the tip of a wooden skewer into a Styrofoam ball; place the skewer into the bottle so that Styrofoam ball sits in the neck of the bottle. Tape the ball securely to the bottle to form the head.

3. Holding two pieces of wire together, wrap the wire around the neck of the bottle to secure, and then extend the ends to form arms.

4. Unwrap each piece of cheesecloth and cut crosswise into two or three equal pieces. Cut pieces into 4-inch strips.

5. Pour fabric stiffener into a pieplate or shallow plastic bowl. Moisten each strip completely in the fabric stiffener, squeeze out excess.

6. Pull strip into a single layer and drape over ghost frame. Repeat soaking and draping the cheesecloth strips to cover the frame.

7. Allow the ghosts to dry 24 hours. Glue the wiggly eyes and felt mouths on ghosts; decorate with chains and hats, if desired.

Materials Needed:

• Water bottles (16.9 fluid ounces and 8.5 fluid ounces)
• Duct tape
• Styrofoam balls (3-inch-diameter and 2 1/2-inch-diameter)
• 4 inch wooden skewers
• Florists wire (2 pieces for each ghost frame)
• Cheesecloth (One package makes about 3 ghosts.)
• Fabric Stiffener (from craft and hobby stores)
• Wiggly eyes
• Craft glue
• Small chains (jewelry-making chains from craft and hobby stores)
• Scraps of black felt
• Doll witch hats