Ghost in a Jar

This Ghost in a Jar is a wonderful way to add a little spooky, seasonal ambience to your (not so) haunted house. This project requires no crazy materials, no technological know-how, and only an afternoon of family fun and crafting!

• 1 plastic mason jar
• 1 electric tea light
• 2 large cotton balls
• 1 sheet of white paper
• 1 sheet of brown paper
• A few feet of twine
• Aluminum foil
• Pair of scissors or hobby knife
• Hot glue gun
• Extra glue
• Black paint & paintbrush
• Black pen
• Black marker
• Candle & matches
• 1 (old) knife
• Some Halloween spirit!

1. Lay out your two cotton balls
2. Slice one in half, and mold part of the fuzz into a cone
3. Hot glue the cone to the remaining cotton ball, shaping the cone to look like part of the ball
4. Use a marker to color a pair of eyes
5. Cut out the eyes and glue them onto your ghost!

1. Bring your candle, jar, and an old knife outside, or somewhere with good ventilation
2. Heat the knife over the candle (be careful!)
3. Carve a hole into the bottom of the jar (like a jack o' lantern!)

1. Paint a 1.5 in. strip along the top & bottom of the jar with black paint
2. Cut a strip of brown paper that can cover the rest of the jar
3. Cut a small hole (about 2 in. wide, and 1.5 in. tall) towards the top of the strip
4. Glue the strip to the jar

1. Cut a length of twine to wrap around the jar's rim
2. Finish it off with a bow!

1. Hot glue your ghost to the top of the electric tea light
2. Wrap a small piece of aluminum foil around the light (This should make the light just a bit too thick to fit in the hole you carved in the jar!)
3. Hot glue the foil to the light for stability

1. Gently place the ghost and light into the jar
2. Balancing the ghost inside, carefully glue it in place through the hole you carved earlier

1. Using black paint and a brush, decorate the paper!
2. I painted some scraggly trees and spooky clouds, but anything goes!

1. Cut out a small tag from your sheet of white paper
2. Decorate the tag! You could write your ghost's name, or a spooky warning like I did!
3. Use a dab of hot glue to attach it to the jar!

1. You've worked hard-- now you can sit back and enjoy! Turn on your ghost and put him somewhere spoooooky!