Here’s another fun and unique craft project using hot glue as a medium. I hope you enjoy these spooky ghost lights! They are cheap and easy to make for Halloween. You can use string lights for decor, or even put little ghosts around a light-up necklace. Just make sure the lights are LED. They don’t heat up like the traditional incandescent lights do.
Supplies you will need:
- AdTech® 0450 Lo-Temp Glue Gun Click here to buy on Amazon
- AdTech® Multi-Temp Mini-Size Glue Sticks Click here to buy on Amazon
- Battery-operated LED string lights (Must be LED bulbs that don’t heat up! This project has not been tested with plug-in LED lights.)
- Tiny beads for the eyes
IMPORTANT: Anything made with hot glue will start to melt above 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Do not leave your finished project in a hot car, near a heater, run it through your clothes dryer, etc.
Step one: Attach the glue stick to one of the lights.
The number of glue sticks you’ll need depends on how many LED lights you have on your string. I used 4-inch mini glue sticks and put one on each light. You can cut them down if you want smaller ghosts, or if your glue sticks happen to be a longer length. I cut mine down to about 2 1/2 inches long. You will also need extra glue sticks for the texture layers and arms.
Heat up your glue gun. I prefer a low-temperature glue gun for this project because it will make your glue stick base less soft while you’re working, and your hot glue will be less runny.
Pick up a glue stick and push the nozzle of the gun into the end of the glue stick to melt a divot into it – long enough to submerse the bulb part of the light.
IMMEDIATELY push one of the light bulbs into the glue divot to bond. Hold for a few seconds until it bonds. If it doesn’t bond all of the way, just add a little hot glue around the top of the bulb to bond it in place.
Tip: You can leave these glue stick lights as-is. They look pretty cool just as plain sticks and will put off more light than the bulbs alone. Another alternative to ghosts is to make icicle lights for the winter season. There are a ton of things you can do with glue sticks and lights!
Cut your sticks if necessary. I cut mine down to about 2 1/2 inches long.
Step two: Add hot glue layers.
Using your hot glue gun, add layers of hot glue over the glue stick base, alternating sides. If your glue stick base starts getting too warm and flexible, wait a few seconds before adding more hot glue.
Just keep adding lines of hot glue until you get the shape you want.
Step three: Add arms (optional).
If you want your ghosts to have arms, just add a blob of glue and hold your ghost at an angle so the blob “wings out”. You can also use AdTech’s Finger Guards to shape the arms once the glue has cooled a little.
Step four: Add the eyes.
You can add any kind of eyes. I found that tiny beads work well. Just hot glue the beads onto the head area.
That’s it! Each ghost takes a little bit of time, but you will end up with something really unique and inexpensive. I hope you enjoy this project using hot glue as a medium!
Love what you created? We will, too! Tag us in your image on Instagram, @adtech. Use the hashtags #glueasamedium and #thisishotglue so others can see your creation!
