🎨 Pressed-Leaf Ghosts 👻🍁

Here’s a Halloween craft that checks all the boxes: cheap, easy, adorable, and it gets the kids outside first. 🙌

And, perhaps most importantly...

We are NOT making another jar craft. 😂

These little leaf ghosts start with real leaves collected on a fall walk. Press them, paint them white, give each one a silly or spooky face, and suddenly your crunchy backyard treasures have joined the paranormal community. 👻

Use them to make a Halloween garland, decorate the windows, create homemade cards, or just let your tiny ghosts haunt the refrigerator for October.

🛒 What You'll Need

🍁 Fallen leaves in different shapes and sizes
📚 Heavy books for pressing
🎨 White washable or acrylic craft paint
🖌️ Paintbrushes
🖤 Black marker or black paint
🧵 String or twine, optional
📎 Mini clothespins or tape, optional
📄 Cardstock, optional for Halloween cards
📰 Scrap paper to protect your table

Approximate cost: FREE to $8 if you already have basic craft supplies
Best for: Ages 3+ with adult help
Craft time: About 20–30 minutes, plus pressing/drying time

🍂 Step 1: Go Leaf Hunting

This is half the fun!

Take a walk around the neighborhood, park or backyard and look for leaves that are mostly intact.

Try to collect different shapes and sizes. Long leaves make wonderfully dramatic ghosts, while big round leaves make excellent chubby little ghosties. 😂

Avoid leaves that are already super dry and crumbly.

📚 Step 2: Press Your Leaves

Place the leaves between sheets of paper and tuck them inside a heavy book.

Stack another book or two on top and leave them overnight or for a couple of days if you have time.

Buzzy shortcut: If the kids absolutely cannot wait, place the leaves beneath a heavy book for a few hours. They don't need to be museum-quality specimens. We're making ghosts, not opening a botanical archive. 👻

🎨 Step 3: Paint Them White

Lay your pressed leaves on scrap paper.

Paint one side with a thin coat of white paint.

Let it dry and add a second coat if the leaf still shows through.

Don't worry about making them perfectly white. A little leaf color or texture showing through actually makes each ghost look different.

👻 Step 4: Give Your Ghosts Some Personality

Once the paint is completely dry, grab your black marker or paint.

Add:

👀 Big surprised eyes
😱 Classic spooky mouths
😊 Happy ghosts
😉 Winking ghosts
😜 Silly faces
🖤 Tiny eyelashes

Let the kids invent their own.

No two ghosts should look alike!

🧵 Step 5: Decide How Your Ghosts Will Haunt the House

Now comes the fun part.

Make a garland: Clip or tape the ghosts onto twine and hang them across a mantel, doorway or window.

Make window ghosts: Use removable tape to create a little ghost family on a window.

Make Halloween cards: Glue one ghost onto folded cardstock and write “BOO!”, “Hey, Boo!” or “Have a Spooktacular Halloween!”

Make a ghost family: Have everyone in the family create a ghost that looks like them.

Make fridge decorations: Add magnets to the back and let them haunt the refrigerator all month.

🐝 Buzzy's Extra-Fun Idea: Give Them Names!

Once your ghosts are finished, everybody has to name one.

May we suggest:

👻 Boo-Berry
👻 Sir Spooks-a-Lot
👻 Ghost Malone
👻 Leaf Erikson
👻 Boo-nita
👻 Casper's Cousin Kevin

Yes, Leaf Erikson is staying. 😂🍁

🍁 Why We Love This One

This craft isn't about making something Pinterest-perfect.

It's a reason to take a walk.

It's a reason to collect leaves.

It's twenty minutes around the table making ridiculous ghost faces together.

And when October is over?

You don't have another giant craft project to figure out where to store until next year. 🙌

Sometimes the simplest crafts are the ones kids have the most fun making.

Happy haunting! 👻🍁🐝

💗 Find More Buzzy B Fun

Looking for more crafts, recipes, family activities and things to do around Colorado?

🐝 Visit TheBuzzyB.com and sign up for the FREE weekly newsletter for a fresh batch of family fun every Wednesday.

The Buzzy B | Making Parenting Easier and More Fun