Boo-tiful and oh-so-glowy, these little coffee filter ghosts are the cutest way to add some spooktacular charm to your Halloween! With their bright, tie-dye colours and soft glowing light, they’re equal parts festive and fun — perfect for decorating your covered porch, party table, or windowsill.
Best of all, they’re simple enough for kids to make but magical enough that adults will love them too. With just a few supplies, a splash of colour, and a flicker of light, and you’ll have the friendliest little ghosts haunting your home this Halloween season!
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How to Make Coffee Filter Ghosts
Equipment:
- Plastic water bottle
Instructions:
Step 1: Find what you need
- Gather your supplies and materials.
Step 2: Colour the filter and draw the ghost face
- Flatten a coffee filter onto a baking sheet or other protected surface.
- Draw on the coffee filter with washable marker.
- Now fill in the rest of the coffee filter with another colour of washable marker, one that will blend well with the first colour.
- Use a paint marker to draw the face of the ghost in the middle of the coffee filter, just below the center.
Step 3: Shape the ghost
- Now you’ll need a water bottle, or something of a similar shape, to form the ghost on.
- Place the coffee filter on top of the water bottle and try to shape it around the bottle as much as you can.
- Use an eyedropper to drop water onto the coffee filter.
- Continue adding water until all parts of the coffee filter are wet. You’ll see the washable marker start to blend.
- Allow the ghost to dry completely on the water bottle.This will take at least a few hours. The exact time needed will depend on how saturated the coffee filter is.
Step 4: Light up your coffee filter ghost
- Remove the ghost from the water bottle.
- You’ll need a battery operated tealight or other safe source of light to illuminate your ghost.
- Place the ghost on top of the flameless candle. Your coffee filter ghost is complete!
- You can make a whole gang of ghosts in all kinds of fun colour combinations. Now turn off the lights and enjoy the spooky flickering light!
Helpful Tips:
- Let them dry in shape: It’s best to let the ghosts dry while draped over a bottle or other object so they keep their form. If you lay them flat, they may lose their shape once dry.
- Plan the face placement: You can draw the face before shaping the ghost, or wait until the coffee filter is dry and still on the bottle. If you do the latter, just be sure not to crush the shape of the ghost.
What markers do I need to make coffee filter ghosts?
You need to use washable markers to colour your ghost. They blend beautifully with water to create a tie-dye effect. You can also use diluted food colouring or liquid watercolour paint to colour your ghost.
For the face, we recommend a black paint pen, since it won’t bleed when wet. Permanent markers like Sharpies can work too, but in our experience they sometimes look a little fuzzy around the edge once water is added.
What type of light is best to make these ghost decorations glow?
Always use battery-operated tea light candles for safety — never real candles. Flameless tealights are perfect, since they flicker like the real thing.
You can also place the ghosts over fairy lights, or even use small LED balloon lights for a magical glow.
How else can I decorate my coffee filter ghost craft?
There are lots of fun ways to make these ghosts your own! You can add glue along the edge and sprinkle glitter for a sparkly effect, use googly eyes or paper cut-outs for the face, or even glue a little ribbon bow on the “neck” for extra charm. Try giving each ghost a different expression and using different marker colours so every ghost looks unique.
There’s something so magical about glowing little ghosts lighting up a Halloween night. Simple, colourful, and full of charm, these coffee filter ghosts are the perfect project to make with kids or to add a whimsical touch to your seasonal decor. Set them on the mantel, in a windowsill, or on a party table, and let their cheerful glow bring a warm and playful spirit to your Halloween celebrations.
Here’s even more Halloween coffee filter craft ideas:
Haunted House Coffee Filter Craft
Now available
Low-Mess Crafts for Kids Book
72 cute and fun crafts that kids and parents alike can enjoy. All with as little mess as possible!
Where to buy:
You can purchase Low-Mess Crafts for Kids from Amazon, or wherever books are sold:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Books-A-Million | Indiebound | Amazon Canada
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