How To Make A Wooden Ghost For Inside or Outside

I made a dancing wooden ghost sign for Halloween with a piece of leftover plywood, some paint and a few trinkets from my supply closet. 

It's a simple DIY and one that's bound to brighten your spookiest nights.


A few weeks ago I was in the craft store and I saw the most darling wooden ghost for Halloween.

At the time he was full price and $60 was way too much for this cheap decorator to shell out.

Instead I took a picture, for inspiration, went home and forgot all about it.

Until this weekend, when I was in the basement, looking for more of my fall decor, and found a scrap of plywood, leftover from my Christmas tree project.

And I suddenly remembered that adorable ghost. 

The one I knew I could make for much, much (much!) less.

Now, I'm not a power tool kind of girl.

However, when I noticed that my handy dandy mister had the saw out for a project of his own, I knew it was the perfect time for me to whip up a bargain version of that craft store wooden ghost.

And frankly, I like mine a whole lot better.

Although, that could just be my wallet talking...but I'll let you be the judge.

How To Make A Wooden Ghost 

The process was actually very simple. Like I said, the power tool cutting was the only part where I needed a little assistance. 

Of course, if I had to make it on my own. I would've modified this craft by painting the area around my ghost, black. It's a simple way to get the same look.

You could also use an old wooden fan blade to make your ghost shape like I did years ago.

The Supplies:

The Process:

I started by looking at my board size. It was a large, almost square piece, which was perfect. 

Next, I grabbed a piece of my favorite craft paper, placed it on top of the board and I sketched out a ghost shape.


I wanted to use the entire board so I made sure my ghost shape would go all the way to the ends.

When I was happy with my shape, I cut it out, laid it on top of the board.


I traced it with pencil so the pattern was visible on the wood.


This is the point where I'd start painting, if I wasn't going to cut the ghost shape out from the board.

I'd leave it alone, paint my ghost white and, as I said, the negative space surrounding him, black, to represent the night sky.

Since I was going for a full cut ghost shape, I handed it off to my husband to get busy with his jigsaw.


He also used a belt sander to smooth out all the rough edges.

Once that ghost was back inside, it was my turn to get crafty.

I covered one side of the wood with two coats of white craft paint. I used a foam brush and allowed each coat to dry thoroughly in between.


To make the face, I simple drew on a mouth and two eyes with pencil and painted them on with black craft paint.

And a small angled bristle brush.

I find the angled brushes work best when I'm trying to paint rounded edges. They create a nice clean edge.

When all the paint was dry, I coated the wood with my Dixie Belle satin sealer. You could also use a spray polyurethane to do the same trick.

With my ghost complete, it was time to work on his banner. That was my favorite part.

I adore banners and over the years, I've made tons of them, so I was excited to create a fun one for this little guy to hold.

I happened to have wooden ghost and pumpkin ornaments from Dollar Tree in my craft cabinet.

So I painted the ghosts white.


And the pumpkins orange. Again, I just used a simple acrylic craft paint and sealed them when dry.


My craft closet also contained a few black and white beads, so I added them to the banner for a little jazz.


I made the string just long enough to stretch between my little friend's ghostly arms, with a bit of a swag.

I was going to hot glue the twine in place, but I decided to drill holes in the wood instead to ensure the banner would stay in place. 

Since the drill is one power tool I do know how to use.

I haven't decided if this little guy is going to live inside or out, yet, but I wanted options, which is why I sealed him. I also didn't add him to a standing base, like my inspiration ghost, since I wanted to be able to place him on a shelf.

This way he can be a porch sitting sign or inside decor that I can tuck into narrow spaces.

When I was done, I had the most charming wooden ghost shaped sign for Halloween.


Inside or outside, day or night, he'll lend a festive air to my home, welcome guests.

And just make me smile.


For free.

Which, according to me, is the perfect price for Halloween decorations.

👻👻👻

Would you have paid or made?

More Crafty DIY Halloween Ghosts:

• Model Magic Ghosts Lanterns
  
• Elegant Dollar Tree Ghost Banner DIY
• Thrift Store Glass Ghost Lanterns

Happy Halloween, Friends!