Table of Contents:
learn how to create a fun & Creative Halloween craft
My favorite time of year for crafting is definitely the holidays. It’s such a fun way to anticipate the season and create family traditions. This Halloween craft is too easy and too much fun not to share.
Let’s face it, Halloween is all about the kids. It’s about embracing a bit of fun. And while we’re busy having fun with costumes and potions, why not bring that same whimsical fun into your home decor with cute, creative Halloween crafts?
Kid Friendly Halloween Craft
So, what are my goals when doing a craft, any craft? Especially one that involves my children. My number one priority is to keep it SIMPLE. My kids are boys, ages 10 and 12, and their attention to craft projects at this age is limited to say the least. This project passed their low-tolerance test. If this isn’t the easiest Halloween craft project you’ve ever encountered, I will eat my witches hat.
Easy Fall/Halloween Decor
For the decor around the fireplace, I just moved a little bench in front, threw together a pile of pumpkins, added the ladder for interest and had my son harvest the corn stalks in his garden for a bit of harvest flavor. I also used a bit of raffia to create a natural nest look for the Casper pumpkins to rest on. A vintage wood cutting board tied in the natural wood elements. Done.
Next, for the fun part.
Paper Bat Halloween Craft
For our Halloween craft, I knew I wanted to do paper bats. I had used paper bats last year and they created a dramatic effect with little effort and zero trips to the craft store. Bonus. They are simple, fun, and versatile.
Halloween Craft Supply List
Here’s how I created my Halloween craft paper bats:
I gathered my supplies:
- Glue dots
- Scissors
- Black construction paper
- Paper Bat template
To find the template I searched Paper Bats on google this is what I found.
Halloween Crafts: Sizing
The size of the image was too big for what I wanted. Plus, it was too big to fit on the 8″x 10″ construction paper. Keep in mind that you will need to fold the paper in half so the width of the template will have to fit on the folded piece of paper with the center of the bat aligned along the crease.
To create the desired sizes, I used my copy machine and tried copying first at 50%, then at 35% and so on, until I found the sizes that would work. For this look copy the template a few times at 65%, 50% and 35%. Depending on your particular needs you can use any sizes they work. I love this ease of flexibility. Another bonus!
Next, I set the boys to work at cutting out the templates. As mentioned above, all you need to do is fold the paper in half and align the center of the bat along the crease. You can space them to make several bats per page depending on the size of your template. My boys decided to try tracing the image and found that a bit easier, but I found it easier to just hold the paper template steady and cut around it.
Placing Your Bats
Once the bats were cut and I had a pile of different sizes to choose from I got out my step ladder and started putting them up. The small bats got one glue dot and the larger bats got two. As far as the design or pattern you create, it’s totally up to you. One thing you DON’T want is for the bats to look that they are just in a mob on the wall. Instead what you DO want to create is some sense of movement. The idea is to create the look that they are flying up (randomly) but in some sort of flock up and swooping in some direction.
Here is my “system” for my Halloween crafts:
- decide on your shape
- put up a few
- then step back and see what it looks like
- next keep adding more moving up the wall to create your preplanned pattern
- keep stepping back and checking
- re-position any if they don’t look quite right
The process is very organic and should feel pretty effortless.
Remember: There is no right or wrong way to do this. These are all simply suggestions. Have fun!
Julie and I love crafting, especially with the arrival of cooler temperatures. When fall weather brings everyone inside crafts are a wonderful treat to keep small (and big) hands entertained. We hope you enjoy this fun Halloween craft as much as my family and I did. Be sure to visit the other wonderful blogs below for a continuation of Halloween crafting/DIY fun!
Enjoy!
Welcome to our monthly Creative Blog Hop!
This month itโs all about Halloween/Fall Projects where youโll find lots of inspiration to keep you DIYing for months!
Meet your hosts
Tammy @ Hey Fitzy | Mary @ The Boondocks Blog
Janine @ Happy Happy Nester | Carolann @ Sassy Townhouse Living
Norma @ Paint Me Pink | Sarah @ Creative Ramblings
Tara @ Lehman Lane | Michelle @ Our Crafty Mom
Sam @ Raggedy Bits | Amanda @ Life On The Bay Bush
Leanna @ Faeries and Fauna | Ashly @ Modern Glam
Katrin @ KreativK | Jodie & Julie @ The Design Twins
Kellie @ Gratefully Vintage
Grab some Halloween/Fall Inspiration
What a fun project, I can’t wait to try it with my daughter! & how adorable to see your boys too. The vignettes are so beautifully fall & Halloween! & it is so fun to be in this creative blog hop with you!!
Kellie,
You are so sweet! We loved including the boys in this project (and they did too). And since Halloween really should be all about the kids, it was perfect! So happy to have you visiting our blog. We really appreciate your kindness and sweet support. XO ~ Jodie & Julie
This is super cute, Jodie! I love all the little bats and how your boys took part in helping decorate. So fun! We would love, love, love for you to link up with Hauntingly Beautiful Decor Link Party. I don’t like to leave links in comments but I’ll attach it below in my signature on here. ๐
Dear Olivia,
We are just thrilled to be connected with you and hope we have more and more opportunities to “link up”. Grateful for your friendship. With love, Julie & Jodie
You might not have intended this, but you’ve given me instructions for my chihuahua’s bat wings for Halloween! My Jemma bears a startling resemblance to a type of black bat. At night in bed, she can actually frighten me with her pointy little face. Thank you for another sweet post. I look forward to them as a major distraction from the news.
Haha Jean! That wasn’t our intention but we LOVE it! That’s too fun and we are seriously happy we could be a part of that ๐ It’s a lesson that we never know where our ideas will take our readers. Thanks for making us smile ๐ Blessings, Julie & Jodie
Those bats really look fantastic, so does your mantel all rustic and styled for the season!!
Katrin,
So lovely to hear from you. Thank you for the sweetest reply. We sure hope you will sign up and continue to enjoy our blog posts. With gratitude, Julie & Jodie
The bats look wonderful, thank you for the hint of placing them so they look like they are swooping. A single bat is adorable, but a whole bunch of them would be terrifying swooping down on you. Cute mantel and its wonderful to see your boys participating.
What fun your boys must have had making the bats!! I love that it’s something that they can join in with too! Your mantel looks amazing as always!!
Jodie,
I love that you got the boys involved and it looks like they cut a lot of bats out for you! Your fireplace and mantel are magazine worthy!!!!!!! I love that you continued another year of bats, maybe we should start a tradition every Halloween. Thanks so much for joining us this month, your post is such a welcome addition!
I just love your Halloween decor. Those bats are just too cute! They look easy to make and I love that. I think I’m off to make some. Everything looks simply stunning in your home.
This is such a cute idea! And I just love your mantel! I wouldn’t have thought about bringing the corn stalks inside but they look amazing!
Amanda, You are so sweet with your comment. We sure appreciate your taking the time to reply and of course love that you are visiting and enjoying our blog. We have such fun creating our posts that if our readers have even a midge of the fun we have we figure we are good! haha ๐ Hoping you’ll come back often and become a regular. With love and blessings, Julie & Jodie
Ladies this is such a beautiful setup! It gives us the spirit of Halloween while at the same time keeping with the rustic theme of the room. And the two go together beautifully. So glad to see your boy had fun making the bats.
Dear Mary,
Thank you Sweet Friend, for your kind words. So glad you enjoyed it. It passes all our standards, inexpensive, easy, fun, and versatile! So there you have it. Hope you find and excuse to try it yourself. Glad to have you visiting our blog and we hope you continue to enjoy well into the future. With gratitude, Julie & Jodie
Absolutely love the Bats!!! Love that your kids got involved in helping with the decorating.
Dear Tara,
Thanks, Sweet Friend, for your kind reply. We appreciate your coming to our blog and even more so, for taking the time to leave a comment. Yes, when the kids happily get involved it surely is an exponential joy! Doesn’t always work out, but it makes us all the more grateful for the times when it does ๐ Blessings, Jodie & Julie
Thank you for sharing this easy bat project. I think my kiddos would love to make some bats this weekend to add a little extra halloween decor to our home. So fun to get the kids involved. Thank you for sharing this stunning space for the halloween hop!
I made bats for our entry way and it turned out great! Love this idea. ๐
Oh wonderful! Isn’t it the greatest (read: easiest) Halloween decor ever??
Thanks for your visit and for your kind comment!
Blessings,
Jodie & Julie
We love to hear that. Aren’t they so fun and easy? Plus they really make a great dramatic statement. Glad to have inspired. We hope you will come back often to enjoy our blog posts. With gratitude, Julie & Jodie
[…] Bay Bush Leanna @ Faeries and Fauna | Ashly @ Modern Glam Katrin @ KreativK | Jodie & Julie @ The Design Twins Kellie @ Gratefully […]
[…] and Fauna | Ashly @ Modern Glam Katrin @ KreativK | Jodie & Julie @ The Design Twins Kellie @ Gratefully […]
Nice fun project! I canโt wait to try it with my family to decorate the area above the fireplace in my living room. Rather than keeping it simple or cute with bats, I will try to make it more ghoulish with Dracula and vampires.
Megha, That sounds like a fun variation! Jodie and I have always kept our Halloween decor very G rated, but we love seeing everyone else’s creations. The main thing is to have fun and make it your own. Enjoy! XO ~ Julie & Jodie
[…] Bay Bush Leanna @ Faeries and Fauna | Ashly @ Modern Glam Katrin @ KreativK | Jodie & Julie @ The Design Twins Kellie @ Gratefully […]
[…] Download Image Quelle @ http://www.thedesigntwins.com […]
[…] Bay Bush Leanna @ Faeries and Fauna | Ashly @ Modern Glam Katrin @ KreativK | Jodie & Julie @ The Design Twins Kellie @ Gratefully […]
[…] Bay Bush Leanna @ Faeries and Fauna | Ashly @ Modern Glam Katrin @ KreativK | Jodie & Julie @ The Design Twins Kellie @ Gratefully […]