So… I’m a Pinterest freak. Seriously… It’s an illness. I saw a picture of these things on there and with a little sleuthing I finally found the tutorial for it. Lowe and behold, it was a Martha Stewart tutorial. I was amazed. I didn’t know the Domestic Queen could come up with something so cool and amazing. So… Sit back, read this and then go make some hanging spirits.
Supplies You’ll Need
You’ll need some newspaper to lay out on your work surface if you’re a messy crafter like I am lol. Sponge brushes are the best tools to work with. You can also use just a regular paintbrush to help kinda push the cheesecloth into the nooks and crannies. You’ll need some cheesecloth. You can get this at Hobby Lobby, Michaels or Walmart. Scissors are a must. You’ll need however many foam heads you want. My sister got these for me over at Sally’s for super cheap (cheaper you can get them at Hobby Lobby!) and you’ll need Alleen’s Fabric Stiffener. This works awesome and you’ll definitely use a bit of it, so get the biggest bottle you can.
Step One:
Cut your cheesecloth to varying lengths. Make some long, some short.
Open it up and spread it out so you don’t have to do this when you’re right in the middle of everything.
Step Two:
Get ready to get messy. Pour out a good amount of the fabric stiffener on a paper plate and have your sponge brush at the ready.
Step Three:
Drape your cheesecloth over the foam head. I usually start with a shorter piece of cloth at first and build up from there.
Step Four:
Start glopping on your fabric stiffener. It isn’t going to look completely perfect, but it doesn’t really matter. They’re both white so it’s not really going to show. It is kinda hard to get the cheesecloth to stay in the hollows of the eye, but you just have to keep at it until it looks like you want it to.
You’ll continue on with the rest of the layers of cheesecloth.
NOTE: You do NOT have to cover the entire head with the fabric stiffener. I use the seam of the foam head in the middle to judge where to start with it and then end right around the jaw line/chin.
You can put four to seven layers of cheesecloth, it is all a matter of how flowy you want it. I put four layers on each of mine and I’m pretty pleased with how it looks. But it probably could have used a couple more.
Now these things have to dry completely, and I mean completely. And it will take at least 24 hours, if not closer to 48. The more layers, the longer it will take to dry. It is some SUPER sticky stuff, so make sure wherever you put it, you don’t have to worry about it falling over or sticking to something.
Step Five:
When you’re all done and everything is dry, then you’re ready to hang them! You’ll need some fishing line, a pair of scissors and eye hooks or eyelet screws.
Be mean and give your foam head a headache by taking the eye hook and pushing it into the top of the head. If you’re planning on leaving this out for a few days (and I really don’t, because the fabric stiffener doesn’t react well with moisture) you might want to use a little epoxy or hot glue to make sure that the eye hook stays in there. Then string with fishing line and hang!
Pretty darned creepy huh? I can’t wait til Halloween and I can put them all out. I think they’re really gonna creep people out. It’s gonna be fabulous. I will of course I’ll have pictures of the final setup!
Let me know if you make these awesome little ghoulies!
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