Spooky Ghosts and Goblins

The leaves are falling and ghosts and goblins are starting to appear in my neighborhood. Here’s an easy way to make your own little ghouls from clay. It’s an easy clay project for kids of all ages. 

Materials

Clay* (stoneware, terracotta or non-hardening modeling clay)

Empty water bottle, soda bottle or other small plastic or glass bottle

Old newspaper

Old sponge

Sharpened pencil or wooden skewer with pointed end

Water for dampening sponge

*The amount of clay you need will depend on the size of the bottle you are using. Mine required a baseball-sized piece of clay.

1. Flatten the clay and roll it out into a square about a quarter-inch thick.  It doesn’t need to be perfectly square.

2.  Wrap the bottle with newspaper. Place the bottom edge of the clay along a straight edge of the bottle and roll the clay around the bottle. The bottom of the bottle should not have any clay covering it so you can remove the bottle after you finish your ghost.

3. Using a wet sponge, smooth the clay seam and close up the cylinder of clay at the top of the bottle. As you smooth the top of the bottle, you can form the head of your ghost using the wet sponge.

4. Add eyes and a mouth to your ghost by drawing them on with the pencil or wooden skewer.  

If you want to make little goblins to go with your ghost, use a piece of clay the size of a ping pong
ball.  Keep the clay solid and form it by rolling it into a small cylinder and shaping it with a wet sponge. Then you can add the eyes and mouth using your pencil or wooden skewer.