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Easy Halloween Milk Jug Ghosts Craft Tutorial

Grab that milk jug out of the recycle bin and turn it into a really cute and easy Halloween Milk Jug Ghost Craft that lights up at night!

For more ways to make this the best holiday, check out all of our Halloween posts.

Milk Jug Ghost lit up with the words "Easy Halloween Milk Jug Ghosts Craft Tutorial" digitally written on top.

I love craft time. I would have it every day if I had somewhere to store the crafts. We don’t have that sort of space, so I really like disposable crafts, like this Easy Halloween Milk Jug Ghost Craft.

It’s made from an empty galloon of milk, which you were going to throw away anyway.

So safe it from the recycle bin, decorate it to act as Halloween décor during spooky season … and then throw it out when November comes.

No need to purchase expensive Halloween decorations, and no need to find a place to store this after you’re done with it (just, of course, don’t throw away the string lights).

Then, next year, just drink another gallon of milk and make it again.

Ghost piñata with the words "7+ Easy Halloween Ghost Crafts" written digitally on top.

This Milk Jug Ghost craft is just one of the ghosts crafts on Drugstore Divas. Be sure to check them all out in our Easy Halloween Ghost Crafts list.

Easy Halloween Milk Jug Ghosts Craft Tutorial

Affiliate links are included in this post and Drugstore Divas may make a small commission if you use them.

Halloween Milk Jug Ghosts Supplies:

How To Make A Halloween Milk Jug Ghosts:

Peel any stickers off of the sides of the milk jug.

If you can’t get the labels off completely, and some adhesive residue is left behind, you can use Goo Gone to help remove it. If the sticker pulls off without any residue, you can skip the Goo Gone.

Eye cut out of printer paper in front of an empty milk jug.

Cut an eyeball out of the printer paper.

You can make it any shape you want, just make sure that when you cut it, it’ll fit on the milk jug.

Cut a mouth out of the printer paper.

One eye drawn on a milk jug and one paper eye used as a template.

Trace the eye with the permanent ink marker. Then, trace it a second time to make a second eye (unless you’re making a Cyclops ghost).

Trace the mouth with the permanent ink marker.

Ghost face drawn on a milk jug.

Color in the eyes and mouth. You don’t have to perfectly fill this in, but you do want to make sure you don’t leave any huge white gaps.

Then, freehand a nose in between.

Side note: If you want to make this a little easier, you can just freehand the entire face. That’s a lot easier, too, if you’re making this as Halloween craft with young kids.

And, if you are making this with young kids, you can stop the craft right here and skip ahead right to the part where you add the lights into the jug.

The next steps involve painting, and that might be something you want to omit if you’re making this with young kids. This will work as a Halloween milk jug luminary even without the paint.

Paint brush painting an eye on a milk jug ghost.

Carefully, paint black acrylic paint over the eyes, nose, and mouth. Let the black paint dry completely. If you can see through the paint, you’ll want to paint a second coat because you’ll be able to see all those gaps when you illuminate the milk jug ghost.

USB string lights in a milk jug.

Charge the USB wine bottle light. Put the string light portion into the milk jug and leave the “cork” portion hanging out. Gently screw the milk bottle top back on.

Doing it this way gives you easy access to the USB charger portion when you need to recharge. And easy access to twist the cork portion to turn the light on and off, rather than having to unscrew the milk jug’s cap every time.

When it’s dark out, turn the USB wine bottle light on so now you have a Milk Jug Ghost luminary.

Milk jug ghost on display.

Don’t forget to turn the lights off when you’re going to bed. If not, the lights will die quickly and you’ll end up having to recharge them daily.

Easy Halloween Milk Jug Ghosts Craft: Frequently Asked Questions

What size milk jug is the best for this craft?

Any size milk jug will work to make milk jug ghosts. This milk jug ghosts tutorial uses a gallon milk jug, but a half gallon one would work too.

And any type of plastic milk jug, either clear or white, will work for this craft. And if you don’t have one, you can actually order plastic milk jugs online.

You can use glass milk bottles to make Halloween milk bottle ghosts too. And actually, if you do that, you should be able to wipe the paint off after Halloween and reuse those bottles for something else.

Milk cartons that are made from paper aren’t ideal for this because they’re completely printed on. So, you’d need to paint the entire carton white first. Which, you can do if you really needed to, but then it’s a completely different craft.

Can you use different string lights?

Any sort of string lights will work for this. But, we suggest the USB wine bottle lights because they’re really easy to charge, plus they hold a charge for a while, so you don’t need to charge them often.

Different types of string lights are less dainty and have a huge box with batteries attached to one end. That box is pretty heavy and will weigh down the milk jug. And in that case, you’ll have to offset the weight by adding something like rocks to the bottom of the milk jug. And if you do that, you’ll be able to see them when the jug is illuminated.

So, all around, not the best idea. Go with the more dainty USB wine bottle lights and you solve a lot of problems before they’re created.

Frankenstein Mason Jar Craft.

More Upcycled Halloween Craft Ideas:

I’m a big fan of upcycled crafts. I make some every season because I really do like turning trash to treasure, especially when you can make that trash really cute during its second life.

If you’re looking for make a few more Halloween upcycled crafts, the ones below are perfect:

Yield: 1 Milk Jug Ghost

Easy Halloween Milk Jug Ghosts

Grab that milk jug out of the recycle bin and turn it into a really cute and easy Halloween Milk Jug Ghost Craft that lights up at night!

Active Time 30 minutes
Additional Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Difficulty Easy

Materials

  • Empty milk jug
  • Goo Gone (optional)
  • Scrap or printer paper
  • Permanent ink marker
  • Black acrylic paint
  • USB wine bottle light

Tools

  • Scissors
  • Paint brush

Instructions

    1. Peel any stickers off of the sides of the milk jug. If you can’t get the labels off completely, and some adhesive residue is left behind, you can use Goo Gone to help remove it. 
    2. Eye cut out of printer paper in front of an empty milk jug.Cut an eyeball out of the printer paper. You can make it any shape you want, just make sure that when you cut it, it’ll fit on the milk jug. Cut a mouth out of the printer paper.
    3. One eye drawn on a milk jug and one paper eye used as a template.Trace the eye with the permanent ink marker. Then, trace it a second time to make a second eye. Trace the mouth with the permanent ink marker.
    4. Ghost face drawn on a milk jug.Color in the eyes and mouth. You don’t have to perfectly fill this in, but you do want to make sure you don’t leave any huge white gaps. Then, freehand a nose in between.
    5. Paint brush painting an eye on a milk jug ghost.Carefully, paint black acrylic paint over the eyes, nose, and mouth. Let the black paint dry completely. If you can see through the paint, you’ll want to paint a second coat because you’ll be able to see all those gaps when you illuminate the milk jug ghost.
    6. USB string lights in a milk jug.Charge the USB wine bottle light. Put the string light portion into the milk jug and leave the “cork” portion hanging out. Gently screw the milk bottle top back on.
    7. Milk jug ghost on display.When it’s dark out, turn the USB wine bottle light on so now you have a Milk Jug Ghost luminary.

Did you follow this easy Halloween Milk Jug Ghost Craft tutorial to make ghost luminaries for your home? Let us know in the comments.

Teri@The Freshman Cook

Saturday 25th of October 2014

What a super cute and clever craft! I would love if you would stop by and share this at my blog party, Celebrate It! It’s all about celebrating what we do in our everyday lives! http://thefreshmancook.blogspot.com/2014/10/celebrate-it-blog-party-14.html

Sara

Friday 24th of October 2014

Ah that's cute :) #batcraftcrazy

Natasha Johnson

Monday 20th of October 2014

These are super easy and toddler friendly to make.

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