If you love vintage cottage décor, thrifted treasures, lace, and a little spooky-season charm, this project is such a fun one! This adorable ghost combines an old-fashioned crochet/doily look with soft pink and white flowers for a Halloween decoration that feels more whimsical and romantic than scary.

The best part? You can customize the flowers and use thrifted materials to make your ghost completely one-of-a-kind.

---

🌸 What You’ll Need

For the Background

• 1 oval wooden plaque or vintage-style wooden frame
• Black or very dark charcoal acrylic paint
• Paintbrush or foam brush
• Sandpaper, optional
• Clear matte sealer, optional

For the Ghost

• 1 large white crochet doily, lace table runner, or crocheted piece
• White or cream fabric, optional, for adding fullness behind the crochet
• 2 pieces of black felt or black fabric for the eyes
• Fabric scissors
• Hot glue gun and glue sticks
• Floral wire or thin craft wire

For the Flowers

Choose artificial flowers in a soft vintage palette:

• Pink peonies or roses
• White or blush hydrangeas
• Small pink pom-pom flowers or alliums
• Small white flowers
• Green artificial leaves
• Optional: tiny baby’s breath

Tip: Look for flowers with slightly muted or dusty colors rather than bright, modern colors. They’ll give the project that beautiful vintage cottage feel.

Helpful Tools

• Wire cutters
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Ruler
• Optional: staple gun
• Optional: small decorative easel or wall hanger

---

👻 Step 1: Prepare Your Wooden Plaque

Start with an oval wooden plaque. You can find unfinished plaques at craft stores, or keep an eye out at thrift stores for old wooden frames and plaques.

Lightly sand the surface if needed.

Paint the entire front of the plaque black or deep charcoal.

You may need 2–3 coats for good coverage. Allow each coat to dry before applying the next.

For a vintage look:

Once the paint is completely dry, lightly sand around the outer edges to reveal a little of the wood underneath.

This gives the piece an aged, antique appearance.

---

🕸️ Step 2: Create Your Ghost

Now comes the fun part!

Find a large white crochet doily or vintage crocheted piece. A piece with an open, lacy pattern works beautifully because the dark background will show through the holes and make the ghost shape stand out.

Lay the crochet piece over the wooden plaque.

Arrange it so the center hangs down longer, creating the body of the ghost.

You want the bottom to have an uneven, flowing shape rather than a perfectly straight edge.

Don’t worry about perfection!

The slightly uneven folds are actually what make this project charming.

---

👻 Step 3: Give Your Ghost Some Shape

If your crochet material is very flat, you can add a lightweight piece of white fabric underneath it.

This will give the ghost more volume and make it easier to see against the black background.

Gather the crochet slightly around the upper portion and let the fabric drape naturally.

Use small dots of hot glue on the back of the crochet only to secure it to the wooden plaque.

Another option is to use tiny staples along the back edge of the plaque if your plaque is thick enough.

Important: Don’t glue every section down. Leaving some areas loose creates the beautiful flowing, ghostly appearance.

---

👀 Step 4: Add the Ghost’s Eyes

Cut two simple oval shapes from black felt.

You can make them:

• Large and spooky
• Small and sweet
• Slightly uneven for a whimsical handmade appearance

Place them near the upper center of the ghost.

Once you’re happy with the placement, secure them with hot glue.

Cute variation:

Instead of black felt, try using black buttons, small pieces of black lace, or painted wooden shapes.

---

🌷 Step 5: Prepare Your Flowers

Using your wire cutters, separate your artificial flowers from their stems.

Create several small flower groupings before attaching anything to your ghost.

For the look in the inspiration photo, create two floral sprays:

Left side

• 1–2 large pink flowers
• White hydrangea
• Small pink pom-pom flowers
• Smaller white flowers
• Several green leaves

Right side

Repeat the same general combination.

They don’t have to be identical. In fact, a little asymmetry makes the arrangement look more natural.

---

🌿 Step 6: Arrange the Flowers Around the Ghost

Start with your largest flowers.

Place them toward the lower sides of the ghost.

Then add the hydrangeas and smaller flowers above and around them.

Finally, tuck in your greenery.

The flowers should frame the ghost rather than cover it.

Think of the arrangement as creating a floral wreath that is open in the middle, with the ghost peeking through.

A good design trick:

Keep the flowers heavier toward the lower half and gradually make the arrangement smaller as it moves upward.

This helps draw the eye toward the ghost’s face.

---

🔥 Step 7: Secure Everything

Once you love the arrangement, start attaching the flowers.

You can use:

• Hot glue
• Floral wire
• A combination of both

For heavier artificial flowers, I recommend using floral wire first and hot glue second.

The wire provides support while the glue keeps everything in place.

Attach flowers directly to the wooden plaque or carefully secure them to the crochet depending on your design.

---

🕯️ Step 8: Add the Finishing Touches

Now stand back and look at your ghost from a few feet away.

Ask yourself:

Does the ghost still stand out?

If the flowers are overwhelming the face, remove a few.

If the sides look too bare, add a few small flowers or leaves.

You can also add a tiny amount of:

• Spanish moss
• Mini faux vines
• Small white berries
• Tiny black flowers
• Vintage lace ribbon

For an extra spooky touch, add a little black or gray dry-brushed paint around the outer edge of the wooden plaque.

---

🦇 Step 9: Display Your Ghost

Your finished piece can be displayed on a tabletop easel, shelf, mantel, entryway table, or hung on the wall.

I especially love the idea of placing it among:

• Vintage books
• Candlesticks
• Small pumpkins
• Dried flowers
• Antique frames
• Brass décor
• Other cottage-style Halloween decorations

The combination of black, white, blush pink, crochet, and flowers gives it that wonderfully unexpected vintage Halloween look.

---

🎃 Make It Your Own!

One of the best things about this DIY is that you don’t have to copy the original exactly.

Try different color combinations:

Romantic Ghost:
Blush pink + cream + dusty rose

Classic Halloween:
Orange + black + cream

Gothic Garden Ghost:
Deep burgundy + black + dark greenery

Winter Ghost:
White + silver + pale blue

Vintage Cottage Ghost:
Dusty pink + ivory + sage green

---

💡 Budget-Friendly Tip

Before buying your supplies, check your local thrift stores for crocheted doilies, lace runners, old wooden plaques, picture frames, and artificial flowers.

You can often transform pieces that would otherwise be overlooked into something completely new.

And don’t be afraid to mix different crochet patterns. The little imperfections are what give this project its vintage character.