Boo Garland

If you’re looking for festive ways to decorate this fall, here’s a quick and easy idea: make a BOO Garland for your mantel! It only requires a few basic supplies, and you can create your own in less than 30 minutes. Let’s get started.

Image is a collage of photos showing a garland made from cardstock ghosts and pumpkins hanging from black twine with wooden clothespins.

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How to Make a Boo Garland

This project is quick and simple, and you only need a few basic craft supplies. I’ve saved the cut files as a public project in the Cricut app, Design Space, so you can cut out the exact same shapes I used.

Materials

Image contains a white fireplace with a dark brown mantel decorated with the finished Boo Garland.

cardstock (I used white and two shades of orange)
google eyes
black marker
hot glue gun and glue sticks (I used my Surebonder Mini Cordless Hot Glue Gun)
mini clothespins
twine (I used black)
scissors
Cricut Maker 3 or other electronic cutting machine
Boo Garland Cricut cut files

Instructions

Open the project cut file in Design Space.

Just use this link or search for Boo Garland in the app.

Use the Cricut to ghost and pumpkin shapes from white and orange cardstock.

Just follow the prompts in the app to load, run, and unload the machine.

Image contains a pale blue Cricut Maker 3 machine with a piece of white cardstock loaded into it on a green cutting mat.

Color the mouth area black (optional).

You can also just punch the cut piece out and leave it open.

Image contains a pile of white ghost shapes cut from cardstock, with black ovals colored in for the mouths. A black marker sits nearby.

Glue google eyes to the ghosts.

You can use any size and style you like. I used some plain eyes and others that had colorful eyelids and eyelashes. My Surebonder Mini Cordless Hot Glue Gun was ideal for this project, because the small detail tip was a perfect size. Plus, the cordless feature allows me to work anywhere in my craft space.

Image contains white cardstock eyes with google eyes attached. A jar of google eyes sits nearby, and Amy’s hand is holding a glue gun near one of the ghosts.

Cut your twine and clip your shapes onto it with small clothespins,

I alternated ghosts and pumpkins, as well as alternating dark and light orange pumpkins. Feel free to arrange yours in whatever pattern you like. I ended up using 8 ghosts and 7 pumpkins, so I even had a few shapes left over to use for other projects.

Image contains a white workspace covered with orange cardstockc pumpkins, white cardstock ghosts with google eyes, small clothespins, black twine, and a glue gun.

All that’s left to do is hang your garland across the mantel or anywhere else in your house! Then, when Halloween is over, you can unclip the ghosts and just leave the pumpkins (and/or add more!) for the rest of the fall season.

Image contains a close-up view of the finished Boo Garland, featuring white cardstock ghosts and orange cardstock pumpkins attached to black twine with small wooden clothespins.

This Boo Garland is such an easy way to add a festive touch to your home decor, and it’s also really quick and inexpensive to create.

Image contains a white fireplace with a dark brown mantel. The front of the fireplace is decorated with the finished Boo garland.

Crafting Tips

Use any extra ghost and pumpkin shapes for other projects! Glue them to the front of a piece of cardstock to make a Halloween card, or attach a lollipop/other candy for a festive sweet treat to give away.
For an even more decorative effect, you can paint the clothespins or decorate them with seasonal washi tape.
Personalize your garland by writing names, the word “boo” or other messages on the cutout shapes.

Image contains a white fireplace with a brown mantel, decorated with the finished Boo Garland.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the garland?

As long as you want or need it to be! Just measure the area where you’ll be displaying it, then cut your twine slightly longer. A longer garland just requires a few more cutout shapes than a shorter one.

What if I don’t have a Cricut?

You can certainly draw or trace pumpkin and ghost shapes onto cardstock and cut them by. hand using scissors.