Easy DIY Ghosts for Halloween Decor

Decorating for Halloween isn’t really my thing, but I wanted to make something quick, easy, and adorable to get in on the holiday fun. Enter: DIY wood ghosts. 

They take less than an hour to make, require minimal tools, and look great on any table or shelf. You can also customize them to make them as large or as small as you like. 

Alright, let’s start DIYing and make some little ghosts! 

What You’ll Need: 

• Wood (we used scrap 1x6s in both red oak and primed pine) 
• Spray paint (we used Krylon Chalky Finish in Classic White and Krylon Glitterblast in Diamond Dust)
• Stain (we used Minwax Rustic Beige)
• Craft paint 

Recommended Tools: 

• Jigsaw 
• Orbital sander 
• Small paintbrush 

How to Make DIY Wood Ghosts for Halloween Decor 

STEP 1: DECIDE ON THE DESIGN 

You can either search Google images for a clip art outline of a ghost to print out or you can draw your own design. The clip art we used for our white ghosts can be found by searching “ghost clip art”. For the oak ghost, we drew him ourselves. 

As you’re drawing (or tracing), I’d recommend sliding the bottom of the design slightly off the edge of the board. It doesn’t have to be by much, but this will give your ghosts a flat bottom so that they can stand on their own. 

STEP 2: CUT 

Using a jigsaw, cut out your ghosts. Make sure to clamp your board to the table before you start cutting.

STEP 3: SAND 

Quickly sand the edges of your ghosts to make sure everything is nice and smooth. 

STEP 4: SPRAY PAINT OR STAIN 

On our oak ghost, we stained him using Minwax Rustic Beige stain. 

For our white ghosts, we first sprayed the edges with Krylon Chalky White spray paint and then sprayed them with Krylon Glitterblast in Diamond Dust. If you like sparkle, you have to try this stuff. It doesn’t photograph well, but it’s beautiful in person!! 

Once that dried, we sealed in the glitter using Krylon Glitterblast Sealer. This prevents all that glitter from ending up all over your house! 

STEP 5: PAINT ON FEATURES 

Grab your craft paint and a small paintbrush and paint eyes and mouths on your ghosts if desired. 

If you want a more subtle look, you could also drill through the ghosts to give them eyes.

There you have it! Now you know how to make the easiest (and cutest) DIY wood ghosts! If you prefer cute over scary, this is the Halloween decor for you!