Cute Ghost Craft

an easy Halloween themed mobile to make this half-term

This super easy cute ghost craft is ideal for pre-schoolers and young children alike. All you really need is a few toilet paper rolls and lets be honest, what family doesn’t go through a whole heap of these each week?

Every year, we try to make some seasonal art that will be displayed in the play space. Last year, we made cute mixed media pumpkins from old pizza boxes and this year, we’ve gone for a mobile. These make great (and authentic) artistic additions to the kid’s space. 

One of the things that often annoys me about Pinterest and Instagram crafts is that the ideas shared are obviously made by adults. Yes, we all objectively know that, but perfectly finished crafts can also feel a little off-putting. That’s why you’ll notice in our photos of this cute ghost craft differences between the faces made.

This is because our craft was made by myself, my seven-year-old daughter and five-year-old son. Each of us had a slightly different spin on the cute ghost craft and I personally love the fact that they all look a little different.

I’ve talked about the importance of process art many times before and I believe that it is vital to get children interested in creating and experimenting with resources and art materials first, before you bombard them with heaps of instructions.

How to Make your own cute ghost craft

This cute ghost craft couldn’t be simpler to make and is suitable for children aged 4+ to do independently (but under supervision) Not only is it a fun craft, but a great way to work on scissor skills too.

Materials:

• non-toxic white paint

• paintbrushes

• 4-6 toilet paper tubes

• sharpie pens or art markers

• needle

• yarn / thread

• branch

• scissors

Instructions:

1. Round off the top of the toilet paper tube with a scissors

2. Make a wave or zigzag shape at the bottom

3. Paint the toilet paper tubes with white paint – you may need to repeat this process

4. Once dry, add the ghost faces. We used black and pink art markers to create eyes, a mouth and cheeks on both sides of the tube

5. Use a needle to poke a hole in the top of the toilet paper tube

6. Thread some yarn through the hole and tie a knot

7. Affix the other end of the yarn to a branch

8. Cut off another length of yarn to tie onto both ends of the branch

9. Hang your mobile from a window or by using a picture hook

10. Stand back and admire your handy work!

This post originally featured on my website, thisplayfulhome.com. I am now in the process of transferring all of my work onto Substack. You can read more about the changes here.