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DIY Patterned Clay Ghost Garland For Halloween

October 30, 2024

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Boo!

Did I scare you?

Well, I hope not.

Let's Make A Halloween Clay Ghost Banner Pin

I mean it is that time of year for all things spooky, but that's not my jam.

Halloween has never been my favorite.

I'm much more of a Christmas carol kind of girl than a Monster Mash fan.

However.

If an interesting craft opportunity comes along and it just happens to involve a little chill, I'm in.

Especially if I can put a cottage stye or cutesy spin on it.

For example, I've made:

Halloween Ghost Lantern DIY
Not to mention, my latest Halloween decoration, a thrift flip, Dollar Tree combo with skeletons and spiders.

Today's craft was also inspired by a thrifted item, a ghost cookie cutter I found in an adorable local shop.

Large Ghost Cookie Cutter

It was $3 and worth every penny. My husband saw it and said, You should get this and make cookies.

Sweet guy, but he should know by now that I'm a crafts over cookie girl. So while he saw treats, I saw a ghostly clay garland.

I'm a huge fan of creative holiday banners and I hadn't made one in a while. 

Plus, I'd had a package of air dry clay in my stash just waiting for the right DIY, so I grabbed it, called my daughter come over and play with me...and collected all of my supplies.

How To Make Clay Ghosts


Supplies For Clay Ghost Garland on table including clay parchment cookie cutter and rolling pin

Supplies:

Step by Step:


We began by placing a piece of parchment paper on the table, putting the clay on it and then cutting it into 1" strips.

Cutting Air Dry Clay with a plastic knife

Then we rolled the strips into round balls.

Ball of clay on parchment

Placed them on the parchment paper and rolled them out until they were about 1/4 of an inch thick.

Rolling Clay With A Rolling Pin For Ghost Garland

Then we pushed the ghost cookie cutter into the clay.

Pushing a ghost cookie cutter into clay with two hands

When we were sure we had a nice clean shape, we lifted the cutter away and smoothed out any rough edges with our fingers.

Smoothing the edges of clay cut outs

Adding Patterns To The Clay


Then it was time for a little bit of fun. Adding patterns and some old world cottage charm to our plain ghosts!

Keep in mind you can use this idea for clay Christmas ornaments or any festive occasion.

First up, we rolled a thrift store, milk glass votive holder over the top of a ghost to create a woven pattern.

Adding Texture To Clay Cutouts with milk glass bowl

Next, we placed a fabric doily on top of another.

Then we used the rolling pin to gently press the doily into the clay.

Rolling A Doily Onto Clay For Pattern

You can see it that it was almost embedded in it.

We carefully lifted it out to reveal a delicate lace patterned ghost. I have to say, this one was lovely.

Pressing A Doily Into Clay Ornaments

Finally, we pushed a Dollar Tree plastic serving tray onto one as well. 

You can use anything you think will leave an interesting mark in the clay or nothing at all.

We did a mix of both to make the garland a little more varied and interesting.

Adding Texture To Air Dry Clay Crafts

I will say this, nothing we used stuck to the clay, but if you are worried about that you can use a light spray of cooking oil to make sure your items will release easily.

Lastly, we used a straw to poke a hole in each ghost head so we'd be able to lace them up when dry.

Using A Straw To Poke Holes In Air Dry Clay Ornaments

Now, that drying process did take longer than I expected. It was about 2 full days...and I honestly, I suspect it takes even longer to fully cure.

In the meantime, I used an old spatula to transfer them onto a parchment covered piece of cardboard and set them aside.

Air Dry Clay ghosts drying on a piece of cardboard

As they dried, they turned color, from the gray we started with, to a crisp white. If they hadn't, I could've painted them, like I did with my gingerbread boy clay ornaments.

The final step was simple, I just strung them up with some black ribbon and hung them up on my plate rack.

To decorate my kitchen.

Patterned Clay Ghost Garland hanging on a plate rack with Halloween decor

Joining some of the other ghosts, already perched there.

Adding some holiday flair to my cottage.

Air Dry Clay Ghost Banner hanging in the kitchen

To welcome Halloween.

And there's nothing scary about that.

👻

Are you afraid of decorating with ghosts?

Happy Halloween, Friends!
Kim Signature


Post a Comment | 3 Comments

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  1. I LOVE this. I'm actually going to find my Thanksgiving cookie cutters and give it a go! Thanks for great idea.

    ReplyDelete
  2. So cute and very clever!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. What a cute idea Kim! I love it. I will be pinning.
    Carla

    ReplyDelete