I found a bin of ceiling fan blades that were SUPER cheap, and there was a pack of white blades on the top. Right off the bat, I saw the potential of creating some outdoor ghost decorations from them. Making ghosts from fan blades isn’t exactly an original idea, but I had a feeling that I could get two ornaments from each ceiling fan blade.
Now, this isn’t my first rodeo with repurposed ceiling fan blades. Remember this windmill wall decor that I made?
Anyway, back to the current task at hand. I brought the fan blades home and played around with the idea of creating some Halloween tree ornaments for the yard.
Think my idea work? Let’s find out!
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Repurposing the Ceiling Fan Blades as Ghost Ornaments
In my mind, each fan blade would yield two similar, but slightly different ghost shapes.
The bottom ghost would require a rounded cut for the head, but would utilize the flowy shape of the bottom of the fan blade.
The top ghost already had a rounded “head” (and holes for adding hanging thread and eye placement), but would require a sawtooth cut along the bottom.
First, I did my best to transfer this idea to the fan blades with a pencil, compass, and ruler.
There would be a little strip of leftover fan blade from between the two Halloween tree ornaments, but that’s ok.
Then, Jon used our jigsaw to cut out the Halloween ornaments from each fan blade.
Next, I sanded down the cut edges to smooth them out. For the “bottom blade” ghosts, I also had to drill a small hole at the top of each one in order to hang them.
Finishing the Outdoor Ghost Decorations
Now, even though the blades were white, the other side was, unfortunately, faux wood grain.
So, I spray painted both sides with a fresh coat of white paint. This hid the brown of the wood grain on the flip side and covered up my pencil marks on the white side!
After this, I realized that I needed to fill in the holes on the “top ghosts”. Not the large hole at the top of each one, but the holes that look like eyes. Which is where the whale-tail brackets had been when it was attached to the fan motor.
So, I filled them in with white wood filler, scraped off the excess, and let it dry overnight. I should have done this before painting, but it wasn’t a huge deal to do it now.
Next, came the scariest part (or, rather, most nerve-wracking) step: adding faces to my outdoor ghost decorations.
And, well…I did the best I could! Free hand painting is NOT my forte, but with a little practice, my Halloween tree ornaments came out ok!
Last but not least, I gave the Halloween tree decorations a coat of water resistant sealant. I’m hanging them outside after all!
Outdoor Ghost Decorations from Repurposed Ceiling Fan Blades
And for hanging, I used clear monofilament. Which can be a pain to tie in a knot but is also good for handling the outdoors.
Finally, I hung them on the tree outside. And just like that, I had a cute set of outdoor ghost decorations from ceiling fan blades!
And just for fun, I took them to a hauntingly beautiful spot not far from where I live, the Poinsett Bridge! A fun little photoshoot…
How fun are those? Halloween tree ornaments to hang outside and enjoy throughout October. And all by repurposing some ceiling fan blades!
If you enjoyed this upcycling idea for Halloween decor, then you’ll love this candy bowl holder for Halloween night!
Craft on!
S
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Sarah Ramberg is the owner of Sadie Seasongoods, a website that celebrates all things secondhand. From upcycling ideas and thrifted decor to vintage-centric travel itineraries, Sadie Seasongoods is a one-stop shop for anyone who loves thrifting and approachable repurposing ideas. Sarah is also the author of “Crafting with Flannel” and has been featured in numerous media outlets and magazines.
OMG You are so creative. I also love the way you include such complete directions for your all your projects, from the thrift shop to the finished project. It helps us un-creative people!! Happy Halloween!
Thank you, Melissa!
Wow! I love this idea. Such a wonderful repurpose.
Thanks, Patti!
Oh my these are so cute and to think I threw away some fan blades not that long ago. I’ll be saving the blades of the next fan I take down.
Thank you, Sharon!! Yes, I was already eyeballing the old white ceiling fan in our kitchen and wondering if I should replace it sooner than I had thought, hahaha.
So cute! You did good with the face painting. (My favorite part…I love to paint!) Great use for the blades too.
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Awww, thank you, Cecilia!! They kept looking like white dog faces to me, LOLOLOL.
haha, too funny. They look ghostly to me! 😀
I’ll never look at ceiling fan blades the same after seeing this, Sarah. What a great idea and I have the perfect tree in my front yard! pinned
Thank you, sweet friend!!!
Very cute! I don’t decorate much for Halloween, but I have really enjoyed all your projects.
Thank you, Lisa!
I already had fan blades on my look-for list but don’t own a jigsaw which is probably a good thing with my degree of coordination! These are adorable and won’t take much storage space; always a plus in my book! Do you know the trick of putting a touch of (clear) nail polish on your monofilament knots; it keeps them tied for sure. A jewelry lock knot is also a good thing to do. I scored 2 .50 round white plastic tablecloths; grand can make a couple of ghosts to hang in a tree!
Oooh, love that clear nail polish trick- thank you!!
Love this idea and so simple! They can sway in the wind!!
They sway so much, they were hard to photograph, LOL!!
It looks like your home and garden are ready for Halloween, Sarah.That’s another cute ghost project and such a great way to use fan blades.
Thank you, Julia!!
How cute is that? I wish I had seen this before I chucked the blades I had a while back.
Thank you so very much!
Really clever ! Good job
Thanks, Cindy!
That mind of yours Sarah!!!! How on earth do you come up with these amazingly cool ideas? Your ceiling fan ghosts are so cute and that picture you took of them at the Poinsett Bridge is wow. If I had to see that for real I’d probably pee in my pretty pink bloomers 😀
LOL, thanks, Michelle! Jon and I joked about hanging all my fan blade ghosties near the bridge and then leaving them to spook other visitors…but I didn’t want to leave anything but footprints. 😉
I’ve seen people use the whole fan blade as ghosts, but I like cutting it into two pieces to make more!
Thanks, Erlene!!!
how cute!!!
Thank you!