I tried my hand at making some little eerie ghosts to add to our Halloween décor this year, but they didn’t quite turn out the way I would have wanted. Actually, it was not at all what I was thinking, and I may have to tweak the final design a bit before the big night. Either way, here are the to-dos (and what not to-dos) for super simple spirits!
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My original idea was to create two floating spirits to attach to the hooks on our front porch (for hanging baskets). They would be cute during the day and glow at night; and I didn’t want to spend much money on them.
First thing, I gathered some materials together:
Materials needed:
You’ll also need some scissors, and maybe a helper (although I did mine on my own). All in all, it cost me less than 5 dollars (I only had to buy the glow sticks and curtain).
I cut the curtain panel into two even parts, and then blew up the balloon.
Here was my thinking: I would poke the glow stick through the bottom of the balloon so that when it was hanging from the hook outside, the stick would hold the balloon upright. BUT this method to tie the balloon shut (using the fishing line) still allowed air to flow through – which I didn’t realize until a few minutes later when my little ghost was real little!
I improvised by just tossing the glow stick in, then tying the balloon as normal. When it is fully open, you simply take your sharpie and draw some eyeballs (my black sharpie wasn’t working – so that’s why it magically turns brown here!). Once that’s dry, place the curtain panel on top, and loosely tie a piece of fishing line around the base.
Again, the original idea was to hang them from the ceiling hooks – but the silly little simple spirits kept flopping their heads down! I improvised and tied them around our porch columns, and you can barely see the fishing line.
There’s one on each column, and they’ve held up pretty good so far. Now, the other issue is that maybe they’re a bit too transparent. Notice how you can see the orange glow stick? It’s worse at night (not the “glowing” head I was looking for) and you can see the photo at the bottom to see what I mean.
Technically, this would be a “fail” if I was unwilling to compromise from my original idea. However, I persevered and was able to achieve a similar look AND I still have some time to adapt my design before the big day! (Can you spot a “spooky” little doggie in the window photo above?)
I’ll probably still attach them to the columns rather than hang them (unless I can figure out a way to keep their heads upright); but I really do want to try and make them more “glowy” at night. Maybe one of these little lights would produce the effect I am going for?
Here’s a super dim and blurry photo to show what they look like at night. Don’t worry, I’ll update them and let you know how they turn out!
This simple spirits DIY ended up not turning out the way I originally hoped, but they’re still real easy (and cheap) to make, so no loss there! How would you alter them to make them work? Do you understand the glowing vision I’m going for?
Looking for more Halloween decor? Make sure to follow my Halloween, Thanksgiving and Fall Pinterest board for lots of other great ideas! (Okay, some better ideas haha!).
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