Make a ghostly jam jar
This spooky jam jar is so much fun to make and is a perfect craft for Halloween! The little ghosts are made from glue that is spread onto leaves and peeled off once dry and the glass jar is decorated with moss and little stones to make a mini graveyard home for the little ghosts!
What you will need:
Small leaves
PVA glue
Paintbrush
Glass jar with lid
Moss
Small stones
Sewing needle
Fine thread
Sticky tape
What you need to do:
First you will need to collect some leaves. Keep in mind the size of your jam jar and how many ghosts you want to put inside it. Choose leaves that are flat if you can, although you can press them to make them flat if you find a particularly nice leaf!
You’ll also need to collect a small amount of moss and some small stones. Moss can be found in shady areas, amongst grass or growing in between paving slabs, or on walls.
If your leaves aren’t completely flat, you can press them in between layers of paper inside a heavy book overnight or even just for a few hours. This will help stop the glue dripping off the leaves while they dry.
Using a paint brush, add a thick layer of glue to your leaves. Try to make sure the glue doesn’t go over the edges of the leaves if you can as this will make it harder to peel the glue off the leaf.
Leave the glue to dry overnight.
Meanwhile, you can make your ghosts’ home! Place your moss at the bottom of your glass jar. You can create a hill by adding a little soil underneath if you want to. Then push your stones into the moss so they look like little gravestones. Give the moss a little spritz or a few drops of water to stop it drying out.
Once the glue on your leaves is dry and transparent, you can carefully peel off the glue layer to reveal your ghost shapes - very satisfying! You’ll see an imprint of all the veins on the leaves!
Add eyes and a mouth to your ghosts with a permanent black marker pen or acrylic paint.
Take your thread and tie a small knot at the end then thread it through the top of your ghost from back to front so that the knot is at the back of your ghost.
Dangle your ghost inside your jar so you can see how long you want your thread to be, then stick the thread on the inside of your jar lid with a dab of glue or a bit of tape so that the ghost hovers inside. Add more ghosts if you want to! If you add more than one, you might want to have them hovering at different heights.
Screw the lid on your glass jar so your ghosts can enjoy their new home!
Author: Denise Hope, home educating mum of two boys
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