Spooktacular Spark Contest: Ghost Pinata

Here's what you'll need: Flour, water, newspaper, scissors, balloons, white paint, brushes, white tissue paper, glue, black felt, and string. Optional: CANDY

Cut your newspaper into thin, short strips. Make your paper mache paste by mixing white flour with water. Play with the ratio until you get a thickness you like. I like something about the consistency of gravy. Dip your strips into the paste, and apply to an inflated balloon. Remove any excess paste from the strip. Keep crisscrossing and overlaying strips until you cover the whole balloon. Things will get sticky and messy! Don't forget to leave a hole at the bottom for your candy.

Make sure the balloon is covered entirely (except for your candy hole). Allow to dry overnight. When dry, you'll get a nice, hard shell for your ghosts head. Pop the balloon so it's hollow inside.

Paint your paper mache ghost heads white and allow to dry. This will prevent any newspaper print from being visible through the tissue paper.

Take a full sheet of tissue paper and glue the top of it around the head near the base. You should have a good amount of paper loosely hanging down from the head. Make sure you cover all the way around! You'll probably need two sheets per layer. Glue another couple sheets slightly above the first layer and work your way up to the top of the head. Cover the top with a round piece of tissue paper cut to size.

Cut your remaining tissue paper into medium sized strips. Once again, starting from the bottom, glue the tops of the strips to the base, making sure you cover all the way around. Glue another layer above and work your way up to the top. This will give your ghost a nice shape and give it a more finished, clean look. Finish off with another circular piece of tissue paper, cut to size and glued to the top.

Cut the hanging tissue paper into several thin strips all around. Cut from the bottom all the way to the base of the head. This will give your ghost "tails" and looks awesome blowing in the wind!

Finally, cut out eyes and a mouth with black felt. I went the cute route with my ghosts, but be creative! Finish it off by sticking a string through the top and hanging it up somewhere. You can use it as a pinata by putting candy inside the bottom and covering the hole with some newspaper and tape.