Looking for an easy Halloween craft to make with your kids? These blow painted ghosts are super cute, easy to make, and only require a few simple supplies. This not-so-spooky Halloween project is perfect for both younger and older kids!
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Not only is this super simple ghost craft totally adorable, but it’s also lots of fun to make. The end result doesn’t need to be super precise, which makes it suitable for younger kids, but older kids will have lots of fun with it too!
If you’ve been looking for an easy Halloween project that your kids can make all on their own, using materials that you already have at home, this craft is a great option.
Why You’ll Love This Craft
- Easy to make: This project is easy enough for kids to make without much, or any, adult involvement. Even toddlers should be able to do most of the steps on their own, and they’ll be so proud of themselves when they do!
- Simple supplies: We didn’t have to make a special run to the store to get supplies for this activity, because it only requires common craft supplies that we already had at home—and that you probably do, too.
- Good for fine motor skills: Using droppers can help kids strengthen their hand muscles, as well as practice their hand-eye coordination and motor planning skills. Add that to the blow painting process done with a straw, and this activity is actually full of opportunities for learning!
- Fun for kids: My kids loved blowing the paint around and seeing the shape of their ghosts appear. It can be a little tricky for kids to figure out how hard to blow initially, but that’s all part of the fun—this one is more of a process art activity, and the final shape of the ghost isn’t that important.
Looking for more ghost-themed Halloween ideas? Check out this Lollipop Ghost Craft or these Free Ghost Coloring Sheets.
Required Materials
- Cardstock: I opted black cardstock for maximum contrast, but any dark-colored cardstock could work. If you don’t have cardstock, you can try using black construction paper, but the wet paint will cause it to get wavy, so cardstock is best.
- Paint: Use white washable kids’ paint (this is what I used) or something of similar consistency, like tempera paint or acrylic paint. Make sure whichever paint you choose is opaque enough to provide good coverage on dark paper—watercolor paint won’t work.
- Water: Tap water is all you need for this project. The temperature doesn’t really matter, as long as it’s not too hot for kids to handle.
- Dropper: If possible, choose a large liquid dropper that can hold more liquid. (We used the kind that you would use to make homemade gummies.) If you’re making this craft with young kids, I recommend sticking with plastic rather than glass for safety reasons.
- Straw: You’re probably better off using a disposable plastic straw for this project, to make the cleanup easier if you happen to get paint on it. Mine was from the dollar store. Non-bendable straws are best if you can find them, but if you can’t, just make sure to blow into the bendable end and hold on to the other for better control.
- Googly eyes: The size you need will depend on how big you make your ghosts. I bought a big googly eye set with multiple sizes so we could be covered no matter which craft we’re making! If you don’t have any and want to make this craft anyway, you can simply draw the eyes with a marker.
- Glue: I used regular white school glue. Liquid glue works best for glueing googly eyes, but a glue stick can work in a pinch if you use enough. If your googly eyes have a self-adhesive backing, you can skip the glue entirely.
- Marker: A black fine tip permanent marker is perfect for this project. Chisel tip will also work, but not ultra fine tip, which is too small. If you don’t have any permanent markers, you can use a regular black marker, provided the tip is wide enough.
The full supply list and instructions can be found in the how-to card.
How to Make Blow Painted Ghosts (Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Dilute paint. Pour some paint into a small bowl, and use the dropper to add a bit of water in order to thin out the paint. Stir with a popsicle stick or spoon until combined.
Step 2: Add paint to cardstock. Using the dropper, pour a bit of diluted paint onto the sheet of cardstock. Depending on your preference, you can create several small dots for multiple smaller ghosts, or a single larger dot for one large ghost.
Step 3: Blow paint. Use a straw to gently blow on the paint and spread it out in the shape of a ghost, adding more paint as needed until the shape is the size you want. If your paint is too thick to spread, stir in a bit more water and try again. Wait for the paint to dry fully before moving on to the next step.
Step 4: Add facial features. Once the paint has dried, create the ghost’s face by adding two googly eyes (using glue or the googly eyes’ self-adhesive backing) and drawing an open mouth with a black marker.
My kids had so much fun with this one, and the end result was super cute! We may try switching up the colors next time to see what the ghosts look like on a dark blue or purple background.
Helpful Tips
- Get the right paint consistency: For best results, you’ll want the paint to be runny enough to blow around with a straw, but still thick enough to dry opaque. (If it’s too watered down, it will dry translucent and won’t look as good.) Start with just a bit of water and if you’re having trouble blowing the paint around with your straw, add more water in small increments until the paint is just runny enough to be easily blown around.
- Don’t blow too hard: To better control the shape of your ghosts, start by blowing very softly into the straw and only blow harder if needed in order to help the paint move around. If you blow too hard, the paint will quickly spread, then instantly dry, which means you’ll have less control over where it ends up and will likely need to add more to complete your shape.
- Add more paint as needed: Didn’t add enough paint to create a reasonable sized ghost? You can always use the dropper to add more paint once you’re done spreading the paint that is already on the sheet of cardstock.
- Switch up the eyes: I used two different-sized eyes for each ghost because I liked the way it looked. Feel free to use two eyes of the same size, to choose two different sizes, or to skip the googly eyes altogether and replace them with two black dots drawn in marker.
More Halloween Crafts for Kids
If you have tried this Blow Painted Ghost Craft or any other project on my website, please let me know how it went in the comments below. I can’t wait to hear from you!
Blow Painted Ghosts
Materials
- 1 sheet dark-colored cardstock
- white paint washable, tempera or acrylic
- water
- 1 large plastic dropper
- 1 disposable straw non-bendable if possible
- 2-6 googly eyes
- liquid school glue
- black fine tip marker permanent or regular
Instructions
- Pour some paint into a small bowl. Dilute the paint by adding a bit of water with the dropper, then stirring with a popsicle stick or spoon until combined.
- Use the dropper to pour some diluted paint onto the sheet of cardstock. Create several small dots for multiple smaller ghosts, or a single larger dot for one large ghost.
- Use a straw to gently blow on the paint and spread it out in the shape of a ghost, adding more paint as needed until the shape is the size you want. If your paint is too thick to spread, stir in a bit more water and try again.
- Once the paint has fully dried, create the ghost’s face by adding two googly eyes (using glue or the googly eyes’ self-adhesive backing) and drawing an open mouth with a black marker.
Video
Notes
- Get the right paint consistency: The diluted paint should be runny enough to blow around with a straw, but thick enough to dry opaque. Start with just a little water and add more in small increments as needed if the paint is too difficult to spread.
- Don’t blow too hard: To prevent the paint from drying too quickly and have better control the way it spreads, blow softly into the straw and only blow harder if you’re having trouble moving the paint around.
- Add more paint as needed: If you didn’t start out with enough paint to create the size of ghost you want, you can use the dropper to add more while you create the shape.
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