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DIY Kit Cheesecloth Ghost

Unpack your Marisa Home DIY Kit and let's make a Cheesecloth Ghost!
Prep Time5 minutes
Active Time1 hour
Total Time1 day 1 hour 5 minutes
Keyword: Crafts
Yield: 1 cutie pie ghost

Equipment

  • 1 Pair of scissors
  • 1 Hot glue fun with glue
  • 1 One cup measuring cup
  • 1 Microwave safe large mixing bowl
  • 1 Whisk
  • 1 Piece of wax paper or parchment to act as a drop mat
  • 1 12 inch vase with a 5 inch round ball or balloon as a stand Add plastic wrap around ball or balloon so color does not transfer to cheesecloth

Materials

DIY Kit Cheesecloth Ghost Materials

  • 1 piece Cheesecloth 42 inch round
  • 2 pieces Black Felt 2 inch x 1 ¼ inch
  • 1 piece Old Gold Felt 1 ½ inch x 12 inch
  • 1 piece Sea Grass Green Felt 4 inch square
  • 1 piece Rose Pink Felt 4 inch square
  • 1 piece Black Tassel 5 inches
  • 1 piece Dark Plum Felt 5 inch square

Kitchen Staple Ingredients

  • 2 cups Water
  • 1 cup Cornstarch

Instructions

Building the Cheesecloth Ghost

  • Build the stand for the cheesecloth ghost. Lay out wax paper or parchment as a drop mat. On your drop mat, place a 5 inch round ball or balloon on top of a 12 inch tall vase. Cover the ball or balloon with plastic wrap so the color doesn't transfer to the cheesecloth. If your vase is not 12 inches tall use a book or two, like I did, to get the desired height.
    Set Up for Cheesecloth Ghost
  • Mix together 2 cups water with 1 cup cornstarch in a microwave safe mixing bowl until combined.
    2 cups Water, 1 cup Cornstarch
    making cornstarch glue
  • Put the cornstarch mixture in the microwave 30 seconds at a time. Mixing every interval until the mixture turns into a thick paste. It usually takes about 2 - 3 minutes. *
  • Let the paste cool down a bit so you can touch it but don't let it cool completely otherwise it will be too stiff and you won't be able to work with it.
  • Drench the cheesecloth into the paste. You don't need a thick layer; use enough of the paste to cover the cheesecloth. Make sure to use wax paper or parchment as a drop mat in your work space. I forgot to put it down under the mixing bowl and it made quite a mess!
    1 piece Cheesecloth
  • Using your hands smooth cornstarch paste all over the cheesecloth.
  • Drape the cheesecloth over the vase/ball stand you created.
  • Pull the wrinkles out from the cheesecloth. Make sure the cheesecloth can touch the flat surface you are working on all around; this will help to keep the cheesecloth ghost stable and allow it to stand on its own.
    pull wrinkles out
  • Let the cheesecloth dry out overnight. ** Clean out that mixing bowl ASAP otherwise it will be dry paste you're trying to clean off and that is not fun. Ask me how I know?!
    time to clean

Notes

*Tip: Do not wait too long before putting the cornstarch and water mixture into the microwave. For some reason it won’t thicken up and adding more cornstarch doesn’t seem to do the trick; at least in my experience. Once you have mixed together the water and cornstarch immediately start heating in the microwave.
** Tip:  If you are short on time or want to speed up the drying process you can use a fan on a medium low setting to dry it out quicker.  Rotate the fan over time to dry out the entire ghost.  Please note that it can change the shape of your ghost if left unattended or the setting is too high.  You can also use a blow dryer on a low cool setting to dry out the cheesecloth ghost.  You are involved in the drying process and it will take awhile.  I mean awhile, like an hour or two but it is quicker then waiting over night.  I've used all three methods of drying and find drying overnight is the easiest, you just need to plan for it. ;)