This is not the first Pepper’s Ghost illusion to appear on Pop Goes the Page. Back in 2020, we posted a kid-friendly version featuring a spirited fox. The illusion is basically a reflection trick, but it’s very effective when done right!
You’ll need:
- A clear plastic drink container lid
- Paper (heavier paper or thin cardboard works best)
- A small section of clear plastic (like the lid of a food container)
- Scissors and pencil for construction
- Cell phone
The project was originally designed and posted by artist Joshua Ellingson on his Instagram. First, wash a clear plastic drink lid. Then cut a half circle template out of paper. When you have a half circle that correctly fits at a 45 degree angle inside your cup lid, trace the paper template onto a piece of clear plastic. We used an acrylic gift box, but plastic food containers work great too. Tape the plastic half circle inside the cup lid. The hardest part is getting that 45 degree angle just right. I made about 4 templates before I finally nailed it. Here’s my finished cup with the plastic half circle:
Head to YouTube for a Pepper’s Ghost illusion on a black background. We tried a couple different ones, but had the most success with this hummingbird. Cue up the video on your phone, maximize it to full screen, and lay the phone on a tabletop. Place the cup lid on top. Finally, roll the video and turn off the lights! Your object will appear to float inside the cup lid! It’s really quite remarkable.
The original designer, Joshua Ellingson, also made a GIANT version of this craft with a thrift store bubble chair and his flat screen television. It’s a must see! And Disney’s Haunted Mansion famously employs this illusion, including an entire ballroom of ghosts!
Bring on the color, fun, decorations, and wheels…the jingle trucks are here! Author 
Jingle trucks are famous in South Asia for their elaborate patterns, details, calligraphy, and paintings. Each truck is unique to the driver, and represents pride in their work as well as their dedication to beauty. The truck’s dangling chains earn them their famous name. A tuk tuk is a smaller three-wheel truck, used for zipping around the roads quickly.
The biggest hit were bookmark tassels left over from 
Medium…
And small!
When the trucks were complete, Hinna handed out jingle bell bracelets to each driver (again, purchased on Amazon, a box of 48 were $33). To keep your budget low, you can buy packs of individual jingle bells (typically a pack of 50 runs about $6) and hand out just a few per driver.
After rush hour ended, I caught up with Hinna to chat about her awesome books!
My studio is a small room at the back of my house, in a residential neighborhood on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. To get to it, you have to cross a patio that we filled with plants.
There is a split glass window with blue and orange borders, which is what I like the most about that space, because it lets in the light and looks right at a monstera with impressively large leaves.
Since I have small children and I like to change places to work, sometimes I move around the house and take “my studio” to different spaces. I like to share my materials and the creative process with them, so we often draw together, at the kitchen table or at a table in the patio. In that sense, it is common to see brushes and pencils in the kitchen, sketchbooks on the coffee table, Indian ink in the room where I sleep.