Garbage can ghosts are a craft idea I came up with whilst attempting to find ways of recycling more of my trash, and send less to the landfills. Being the entrepreneur that I am, I am always looking for profitable ways to recycle, ways that will generate me some extra income. Hence the Trash to Treasure division of DGD Enterprises was bourn.
Because these ghosts/dolls/decorations are made entirely of recycled materials and fabric remnants they are or will be available in a variety of colors, not just the traditional white that is associated with ghosts or ghost related decorations.
These ghostly decorations are made completely from recycled materials: the base of the ghost is an empty bottle (mostly hot sauces) that has washed out and dried. After washing and drying the bottles I fill them with dried coffee grounds and scrap papers, cellophane wrappers, and other small trash objects, this is simply to give them a bit extra weight, so that they can be used outdoors on my porch as Halloween decorations, it gets a bit windy here that time of year. I make the “head” of the ghost by wading old papers, and/or aluminum foil, again there might be other small items wadded into the ‘head” as well such as the bottle cap or my cigar wrappers. I often use a couple layers of duct tape to secure the wad together. Once the head is formed I use a little E6000 epoxy around the rim of the bottle to hold the head in place and seal the bottle keeping the contents inside.
Because these ghosts/dolls/decorations are made entirely of recycled materials and fabric remnants they are or will be available in a variety of colors, not just the traditional white that is associated with ghosts or ghost related decorations.
These ghostly decorations are made completely from recycled materials: the base of the ghost is an empty bottle (mostly hot sauces) that has washed out and dried. After washing and drying the bottles I fill them with dried coffee grounds and scrap papers, cellophane wrappers, and other small trash objects, this is simply to give them a bit extra weight, so that they can be used outdoors on my porch as Halloween decorations, it gets a bit windy here that time of year. I make the “head” of the ghost by wading old papers, and/or aluminum foil, again there might be other small items wadded into the ‘head” as well such as the bottle cap or my cigar wrappers. I often use a couple layers of duct tape to secure the wad together. Once the head is formed I use a little E6000 epoxy around the rim of the bottle to hold the head in place and seal the bottle keeping the contents inside.
Once the epoxy is set, I simply drape a scrap piece of fabric over the top and tie it off with a piece of string. Sometimes I tie the string into a bow for a more decorative effect, simulating a bow tie.
The finished ghost shown here was done in red and tied with a metallic gold chord to give it a more Christmassy feel, as it was near Christmas when I made him.
Feel free to browse www.davidgduke.com/t2t (follow this link to our store) for our latest garbage can ghost creations, or perhaps this will inspire you to try making your own ghost. They make great gifts!
The finished ghost shown here was done in red and tied with a metallic gold chord to give it a more Christmassy feel, as it was near Christmas when I made him.
Feel free to browse www.davidgduke.com/t2t (follow this link to our store) for our latest garbage can ghost creations, or perhaps this will inspire you to try making your own ghost. They make great gifts!
fill with sand or other fillers
Draw face with marker
