DIY for Kids: Make Unique Ghost Footprint Halloween Cards or Invitations

This Halloween card project is a great craft activity for the whole family. These cards let kids have a little messy fun with paint so be sure to do this project outside or cover your floor with newspaper.

Young children (ages 0-5) have the perfect sized feet to make the ghosts. If your children are older, you can make larger sized cards or have the older children decorate the cards once the ghosts are created.

Supplies:
White acrylic (craft) paint
Paintbrush
Paper plate
Black sharpie
Scissors
Glue or favorite adhesive such as scrapbook tape runner
Assorted Halloween printed paper - oranges, purples, greens, and blacks
Solid black and orange cardstock
Halloween themed stickers (optional)
White colored pencil (optional)

How to Make Ghost Halloween Cards Using Your Footprint
1. Measure your child's foot.

2. Cut out rectangles from the black cardstock that are slightly larger than the footprint size. In the example used in the article photo, I cut out pieces of black paper approximately 6 inches by 8 inches.

3. Pour some white paint into a paper plate.

4. Use the paintbrush to apply a heavy layer of the white paint to the bottom of one foot. For older children, ask them to hold their foot up while applying the paint. For young children, you'll need to help them hold their foot up so the paint doesn't smear off before you make the ghost. Don't dip the foot into the paint because you'll get way too much paint and the impression won't work.

5. Press the child's foot onto the black paper to make the ghost's body. You may need to reapply the paint to make multiple ghosts or multiple cards.

6. Allow the footprint to dry completely.

7. Use the black sharpie to draw eyes and a mouth on the ghost.

8. Cut the black paper into a smaller rectangle if you have too much blank paper.

9. Decide on a design or theme for your cards or invitations. In the article photo, I provided some different examples of how to accent the ghost using paper and stickers.

10. Cut out the patterned Halloween papers into rectangles larger than the ghost and layer them. Glue the papers together and let dry.

11. Accent with Halloween themed stickers.

12. Use a colored pencils to write words such as "Boo!" or "You're Invited to a Halloween Party." Be sure to write the child's name and date somewhere on the card.

Variations:
If you want to make an invitation, be sure to cut the paper large enough to fold in half. You may want to glue in a picture of your child wearing a Halloween costume if you're hosting a costume party.

You can simply leave the card as a large square and write the party details on the backside to save paper. In this variation, be sure to choose a solid orange cardstock as your last card layer. If you use black cardstock, then you'll need to use a white pencil to write in the party details.

If you have multiple children, consider making a larger card with multiple ghosts. This is a great variation for twins or triplets. Be sure to label each footprint with the child's name in colored pencil or pen.

You can make a family ghost scene using everyone's feet on large poster paper. Let the kids decorate the ghosts once they are dried and use your creation in family Halloween photos.