Create Halloween Glow in the Dark Ghost Rattles with Mod Podge.
When I was a little kid I had a VERY vivid imagination.
I could scare the heck out of myself just by thinking about something. Or imagining that I saw or heard something. I remember that I read the book The Fog when I was a teen and couldn’t go out in the dark for MONTHS.
When my middle son was born I could tell early on that he had the same vivid imagination that I do. When the monsters started scaring him at night I’d bring the vacuum cleaner into his room and suck them all up for him.
When he was afraid of thunder and storms we would either crank up the stereo and dance or I’d get him to shout at the thunder and show it who was boss. Any kind of silliness to make him feel at ease and to encourage him to master his fears.
I was thinking of him when I came up with this idea of rattles to scare ghosts away. I figure there is no better way to help a child be less afraid of all of the things he or she can imagine around Halloween time than a cute, rattly ghost.
And if you aren’t afraid of ghosts? They are still cute decor… AND they glow in the dark!
Supplies for the Ghosts:
- Paper Mache Ornaments (or foam balls)
- Black paint, white paint, paint brushes
- Foam block or shoe box
- Cheese Cloth
- Mod Podge Glow in the Dark
- Wooden Dowel Rod(s)
- Brown Rice
- Ribbon
- Hot glue gun
1) The first step is to create the rattle. Drill a hole into the ornament the same size as the dowel rods. (You can buy a package of shorter dowel rods or buy one long one and cut it down) Add a small amount of brown rice inside the ornament, push the dowel down into the ornament and glue around the hole with hot glue. Paint the round portion white and the stick black (Or colors of your choice).
NOTE: If you can’t find the ornaments you could always use foam balls. They would be just as cute but they wouldn’t rattle.
TIP: Push the dowel rods down into a foam block or into holes in the top of the shoe box to allow the paint on the ornament to dry without smudging. When painting the dowel rods you can just lay them down on a protected surface to dry as very little of the dowel rod comes into contact with the table top due to the ornament being glued on.
2) Cut a square of cheese cloth (2 layers) large enough to cover the paper mache ornament and hang down all sides. Using the brush applicator (or the foam brush included with Glow in the Dark Mod Podge) spread Glow in the Dark Mod Podge from the center out. Don’t worry about covering every inch of the cheese cloth.
3) Brush a little Glow in the Dark Mod Podge onto the dried ornament/rattle and then drape the wet cheesecloth over it while it’s standing in the block of foam or shoe box. Pull on the cheese cloth around the bottom just a little to stretch it out and give the bottom a mussy finish. Let dry thoroughly.
4) Once the Glow in the Dark Mod Podge is dry you can create the faces with more black and white paint.
5) Add small bows with ribbon as desired gluing them in place with hot glue or add any other embellishments you want.
I also created a container to hold my little ghosts by covering a planter in napkins. I used Sparkle Mod Podge to give the container a little extra pizzazz.
And now you have two very adorable ghosts that glow in the dark. Use them as decor or let your child rattle them at the scary things they imagine. Nice ghosts beat out scary ghosts every time.
This is a sponsored post created as part of a paid campaign with Mod Podge and Blueprint Social. All opinions are my own
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This looks really neat to try. I can think of other things to use the glow in the dark part for like hanging spiders or jusr paint the cheese cloth then roughlycut it into strips and hnag them for spider webs or just creepy hangings.
Rebecca, you’ve got some really great ideas there! :)
Oh My Goddess! Glow-in-the-dark Mod Podge? A match made in heaven!
So Cool and So Cute!
Super cute project! I love that they have happy faces and not scary faces. Just right for little kids!!
I know, right? I prefer my Halloween cute rather than scary. :)
These are so cute! I love them.
Thanks a bunch Carolyn! :)
Oh these are adorable!! What a fun craft idea!!
Thank you, Janette! :)