I saw this DIY Floating Ghost on Pinterest and knew that I immediately needed to make a few to decorate my home. Even though I had seen several versions of this project on Pinterest, I was still a little skeptical that it would turn out and that the ghost would stand on its own. Well guess what? It totally does work and it gives a really cool illusion of a floating ghost!
And now I’m pretty much convinced that all homes need a floating ghost or two as decoration this year – especially if you have kids. This is an easy project for them to help with, plus the cool factor is off the charts on this one.
To get started you’ll need the following: Cheese cloth, liquid starch, a spray bottle, black felt, soda bottle, Styrofoam ball, wire. And a hairdryer if you’re impatient like me. Everything but the liquid starch and soda bottle can be found at the craft store. I found the liquid starch at a big box store that wasn’t Target.
I used a 2-liter soda bottle and a large Styrofoam ball for a larger ghost, but you may opt to use a smaller bottle and ball for a small floating ghost. I filled my bottle with water to keep it weighted. Remove the bottle label so the ink doesn’t bleed through. Then, with the cap off, smoosh the Styrofoam ball onto the neck (lip?) of the bottle. Stick wire pieces into the Styrofoam to create arms. (Wings? Floaty apparatuses…?)
Drape the cheesecloth over the form you just created and leave enough excess on the front and back to create a balancing stand for the ghost once you remove it.
If your liquid starch is concentrated, mix it 50/50 with water. Now cover your work surface, and spray the ghost down. You might want to sing the Ghostbuster theme song. Just sayin’.
The more starch you use, the stiffer the ghost. Use your best judgment, but I got mine pretty saturated. Don’t forget to spray the excess cheesecloth at the bottom. While the starch is still wet, you may want to pull out the shape and rework the cheesecloth to get the look you want. Now, you can either leave it be to dry overnight, or you can use a hairdryer to help speed up the drying process.
Once the ghost is completely dry, remove it from the form. He should now stand on his own. But if he doesn’t, place him back on the form, and add a little more starch to the base and let it dry. Create eyes or face pieces out of black felt and glue them on.
That’s it! Now your DIY Floating Ghost is ready to haunt your abode.
Happy ghost making, DIY’ers!
~julee~
