Garbage Bag Ghost

Here are the instructions for this easy DIY craft with a fun commentary below!

Materials:

1 tall white kitchen bag

Fishing line or thread

Sharpie

Scissors and a sewing needle/safety pin

Instructions:

1. Cut the top of the bag to remove the drawstring

2. Cut one side of bag and set it aside for later.

3. Bunch up the rest of the bag into a ball. Tie a piece of fishing line around the ball or tape it.

4. Cover the bunched plastic ball with the cut piece of plastic bag and draw the face.

5. Cut a tiny hole about an inch or so above the face then hread a long piece of fishing line through the hole. Tie a few knots under the to secure the line.

6. Tie a piece of fishing line tightly around the "neck."

7. Attach the other end of the fishing line to where you want to hang your ghost.

Fun Commentary:

What inspires you to make a DIY craft? Is it the thrill of accomplishing the possibly impossible? Is it a release from the stress of each day?

I think the nummer one reason I choose DIY crafting is to save money. 🤑😀

Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy being creative. Sometimes even more than saving a buck!

I felt like a budget super star this weekend when I decided to make my own ghost to hang out on our front porch.

We had been at a pumpkin patch earlier that day and I really wanted to take home a windsock ghost that they were selling. The cheapest one was $8. It was cute but the one I really wanted, which wasn't much bigger, was about $20.

Having spent $50 on bouncy houses, train and hay rides as well as $50 on fall treats from their farmer's market, I really didn't want to spend another $8-$20 on something I might be able to pull off at home.

I originally had grand thoughts of using leftover packing bubbles from our most recent Amazon delivery and upcycling shopping bags, using buttons for eyes and a mouth!.... But, I ended up just using one kitchen bag, some fishing line left over from hanging weaths last Christmas and a sharpie. Keep it simple, right?

First, I cut the top of the bag to remove the orange drawstring (colors may vary). Then, I cut one side of bag (the side without the death warning) and set it aside for later. I bunched up the rest of the bag into a ball. I tied a piece of fishing line around the ball but you could probably use some scotch tape to make your life easier.

I then covered the bunched plastic ball with the cut piece of plastic bag and drew the face. Then, I cut a tiny hole about an inch or so above the face. I used scissors but a needle would work very nicely. I threaded a long piece of fishing line through the hole and tie a few knots under the ghost to secure the line.

If you want more layers, you could add another piece of plastic bag under the piece you drew your face on.

Then, I tied a piece of fishing line tightly around the "neck."

I attached the other end of the fishing line to where I wanted to hang my ghost and enjoyed watching it sway in the autumn wind!

At first, I was so excited about my accomplishment that I just wanted to hang it up to really see how awesome I was. I hadn't cut a tiny hole above the face; I had tied another piece of longer fishing line around the neck. When I went to hang the ghost, I realized that I should have thought it through a bit more because the ghost's head just slumped over.

Thinking over my project, I bet there was some other material stuffed around my house that I could have used instead of a garbage bag.

Recently, I had thrown away the canopy top of my daughter's bed because she had destroyed the poles to hold it up. We are still working on sleep training after that doozy of a night. It was blue but I bet that kind of material would have made a great zombie or monster like windsock!

One further note on my project: I asked my daughter, who wanted to introduce the ghost to our other outdoor Halloween decorations, what we should name our new ghost friend. She chose the name "Turkey." 🦃