Hi, I’m Bre. I’m a severe preeclampsia survivor and two-time NICU mama navigating motherhood after pregnancy and birth trauma. I decided to create mothermade as a way to share my reflections on motherhood, home, and what gets made in between. 🤎
I’ll be the first to admit I’m not a Halloween girlie. But I am a fall girlie. And my husband loves Halloween. AND I know it’ll just get even more fun as our girls get older. So, here’s me trying to get into the Halloween spirit. And nothing gets me more excited about a themed holiday than a cute DIY. 🤩
This DIY could really not be easier… pre-cut options for fabric, styrofoam heads, fabric marker eyes, and BAM, you’ve got cute little ghosts. No glue gun required!
Here’s everything you need to get started:
Fall cloth napkins (and/or any other fabric you like!)
I used these Flower Cotton Napkins & Checkered Fabric Napkins
Plus, I had the scrap black & white fabric on-hand*
Thread to tie around the ghosts’ necks
Black fabric marker for the ghosts’ eyes
Yarn or twine to string together the garland
Round wood beads to use as accents
A large tapestry needle to assemble
*Make sure you have fabric scissors if you’re cutting your own fabric. I cut mine to 18” x 18” to match the size of the cloth napkins. I also frayed the edges.
How to make DIY Halloween ghost garland:
Step one: assemble your ghosts by draping your cloth napkins and/or 18” x 18” scrap fabric over the styrofoam balls
Step two: gather your fabric around the styrofoam balls and tightly loop and tie your thread under the balls. There isn’t really a science to this—I just looped and tied a few times until each ghost felt sturdy.
Step three: draw little oval ghost eyes on your ghost heads. I free-handed this. It doesn’t have to be perfect!
Step four: thread your ghosts and round wood beads together. There was a debate on how best to do this, but we decided to go through the fabric only (NOT including the styrofoam) on the top of their heads—that way you can position them exactly how you want them spaced once your garland is hanging.
I created a little pattern with my round wood beads, starting with one on the outside, then three, then two, then one, then repeat starting with three.
That’s it! Enjoy your new favorite handmade Halloween decoration 👻
What to expect from mothermade.
Motherhood is already a beautiful, messy, wild adventure. So when you add pregnancy and birth trauma on top of it, there’s a lot to process. My hope for mothermade is to talk openly and honestly about not just the beautiful parts of motherhood, but the messy ones, too. I’ll talk healing, health, hardships, home and navigating mothering and family planning after trauma.