Oct
18

Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights

 

DIY Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights with spooky Halloween tree | unOriginalMom.com

 

Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights – a spooky and fun Halloween project! I first discovered this DIY Halloween Decor on Craft Passion – made out of ping pong balls, gauze squares, and Mod Podge.  I added my own twist to display them, though…read on to find out :-)

 

DIY Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights with spooky Halloween tree | unOriginalMom.com

 

 

To make your own, you’ll need: (This post contains affiliate links. Click here to read my full disclosure.)

 

The first step to creating your own strand of ping pong ball ghost lights is to poke holes in the ping pong balls big enough for the light to fit through.  I used a large nail – you don’t even really need a hammer.  If there is a logo on your ping pong balls, punch the hole there.

 

DIY Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights with spooky Halloween tree | unOriginalMom.com

 

It should fit easily, but snugly.

 

DIY Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights with spooky Halloween tree | unOriginalMom.com

 

Next, you need to decorate your ghosts.  Take them off the lights and use a black permanent marker to make your faces.  You can make happy ghosts, angry ghosts, scary ghosts, goofy ghosts…whatever you’re in the mood for!  (This would be a fun step to get the kids involved, too!)

 

DIY Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights with spooky Halloween tree | unOriginalMom.com

 

Cut up your cheesecloth into 8×16″ rectangles and fold them in half to become 8×8″ squares.  (It doesn’t have to be perfect.)  If you’re using gauze, it should unfold into an 8×16″ rectangle that you can fold back over into an 8×8″ square.

 

Prepare your drying surface – egg cartons work well (I used two). Use some balls of masking tape – about 1″ tall – to attach the ping pong balls to the egg carton and give them a little more height above it.  Then, line the egg cartons with wax paper.  (Set aside some small squares of wax paper in case you need it later.)

 

DIY Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights with spooky Halloween tree | unOriginalMom.com

 

Dilute some Mod Podge with a little bit of water until you get a slightly runny consistency.  For 10 gauze squares, I used about 5-6 tablespoons of mod podge with 2-3 teaspoons of water.

 

DIY Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights with spooky Halloween tree | unOriginalMom.com

 

Dip your gauze squares into the Mod Podge until it is saturated.  Now, prepare to get messy!  Get your hands in there and wring out as much of the excess as you can.  Place it on the ping pong ball, and smooth it out over top.  Here’s where you need to make sure the sticky gauze isn’t touching anything except the ping pong ball and wax paper – especially other gauze from a neighboring ghost.  Use those little squares of wax paper to help.

 

DIY Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights with spooky Halloween tree | unOriginalMom.com

 

Let them dry for at least 24 hours.

 

DIY Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights with spooky Halloween tree | unOriginalMom.com

 

Once they’re dry, you can put them on the lights and display however you’d like!  Because of how finicky Christmas lights can be, I decided not to use any adhesive to attach my ghosts to the lights.  (If the lights stop working, I want to be able to switch my ghosts to a new strand!)  You could hot glue them on if you want, though.

 

DIY Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights with spooky Halloween tree | unOriginalMom.com

 

I knew I wanted to display my ghosts on our front porch in a spooky way…so I found a gnarly tree branch and made a little “tree” out of it by putting it in a flower pot with floral foam and some gravel to weigh it down.  Originally I was going to spray paint the branch black, but I decided it looked spooky enough on it’s own!

 

DIY Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights with spooky Halloween tree | unOriginalMom.com

 

It took a little bit of tweaking to get the ghosts where I wanted them on the tree…eventually I found that a few black twist-ties were all I needed to help the light strand stay in place.  (Note: Mod Podge is water soluble, so I’d recommend keeping your ghost lights somewhere that they won’t get wet.)

 

It looks really neat in the dark – these pictures don’t really do it justice!  I’m excited for all the neighborhood kiddos to see it on trick-or-treat night :-)

 

DIY Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights with spooky Halloween tree | unOriginalMom.com

 

Looking for some more fall decor ideas?  Go rustic glam with this glitter monogrammed pumpkin…

 

Glitter Monogrammed Pumpkin and a tutorial on using Silhouette double-sided adhesive | unOriginalMom.com

 

…or match pumpkins to your style with these  fabric covered pumpkins!

 

Create beautiful pumpkins for fall decor by covering them with fabric and mod podge. Perfect for any style of fall decor! | diy fabric covered pumpkins | fabric pumpkins | neutral fall decor | blue fall decor | mod podge fabric pumpkins |

 

Happy Halloween!

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105 Responses to Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights

  3. I absolutely love this, Meredith! I pinned it, but I would really like to pin the last image of it all lit up. Is it possible for you to pin it, so I can pin it. It really shows how adorable this really is! Also, I’d love it if you would join our Get Your DIY on fall Party Challenge. This week’s theme is spooky outdoor decor and this would be perfect!! (I’m very demanding aren’t I lol?) I really hope to see you there! XO

    Reply

    • I`m in love with Your blog too ! I just shared Your blog on my facebook page and next week I`m planning to create my own ghosts! Sound like a scary plan :) Thank You Meredith

      Reply

    • Thanks a bunch Tori!! I was pleasantly surprised with how well they turned out :-) Thanks for sharing them with your followers!

      Reply

  8. […] would love this! Halloween & Fall Display – She’s Crafty Love this whole display! Ping Pong Ball Ghost Lights – Unoriginal Mom Doing this with my kids for sure! Glitter Monogrammed Pumpkin – […]

    Reply

  16. Found you via Confessions of a Serial DIYer. These little ghosts are so cute and really like the branch idea! I’ve made large ghosts with cheesecloth draped over a tomato cage with lights inside. Next year! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  22. I am in love with these! Will need to decorate my office with these next year and am thinking I could do cherubs for Christmas replacing gauze wings for ghost covering. Thank you!

    Reply

  32. I am not exaggerating when I say that this is my favorite new (to me) Halloween project I’ve seen in years. It’s too late for me this year, but I’m pinning for next year! I love it.

    Reply

  44. The ghost are amazing but I found if I foarm my ghosts on a small water bottle top it worked great ,slight sticking but once dry no problem and easy to keep from other ghosts

    Reply

    • Thanks so much, Kati! I actually liked the tree just as much as the ghost lights, but unfortunately it wasn’t feasible to store it so I had to toss it after the first year :-( But I loved it while it lasted!

      Reply

  58. I had problem that damp cloth smudged black marker?
    It was called Permanent marker and I let it dry overnight.
    Any ideas?
    Thank you.

    Reply

    • Hm, I didn’t have any trouble with the permanent marker smearing on mine. Maybe your ping pong balls are more shiny and slippery? Mine had a matte finish so the marker didn’t smudge at all even right after I wrote on them.

      Reply

  66. Love this! We go camping every halloween.I am going to make a few strands of these.The camp grounds have variuos contest site decorations, decorate a pumpkin etc. & trick or treating for the kids at each camp site. I am betting these ligjts will be a big hit.

    Reply

  86. Love this ping pong ghosts! I see them as a cheap option to decor your house in halloween with a low budget =)

    Thanks for your help and the information.

    Reply

    • I’m not sure, but I think that would be okay! As long as they’re not in rain. If you try it, let me know how it works out!

      Reply

  93. A friend posted this on Facebook. Love it. I have a bag full of gauze squares from 6 years ago that I couldn’t bear to part with. Plus we had a neighbor give us some old xmas lights. Now I know what I am going to do with them. Thanks!

    Reply

  94. I’m so glad I found this idea! I made some ghosties tonight for my Halloween buddy and I think she’ll like them! They were so fun to make but so messy! I wish I could show my results here.

    Reply

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stay-at-home mom to three beautiful children, wife to an incredible husband, and daughter of a loving God. I freely admit that I am not always the most creative or original person when it comes to crafting, decorating, organizing, cooking, etc...but I love being inspired by great ideas and putting my own spin on them! Look around, stay a while, and I hope through my *unoriginality* I can provide some inspiration to you, too!
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