I love bats at Halloween. What I don't like is having to cut new bats out of black construction paper every year. Plus, I like to be able to use them indoors and out. Enter black craft foam!
I searched online for my favorite bat template. This printable pdf by Creative Kristi is perfect; there are three sizes of bats to print out, trace, enlarge or shrink as you like. I printed the bats, traced them onto thin cardboard, then made a stencil that was easy to trace onto the craft foam with a ball point pen.
I had a scrap of red glitter craft foam and used two sizes of paper hole punches to make the eyes. I considered making larger bats with fangs, but maybe that can wait until next year. For now, the little bats are happily stuck to the siding on the covered porch with Scotch tape.
I was able to make all the bats you see above out of one piece of 12 x 18" craft foam. If you missed the tutorial on the magnetic door spiders, click here. To see the pumpkins more clearly, visit this post.
The bats taking over the pumpkin pile in front of the fireplace. I always seem to have to have at least one upside down!
The kids got bored watching me cut out the bats, so I printed a few extra copies out and let them color away! Then I cut those out and will either make a mobile or put them in the windows.
Long live the foam bats!
xo Karin
PS - Chosen by the random number generator at Random.org, the winner of the Pumpkin Masters carving kits was Margaret, who said, "We hit the pumpkin farm two weekends ago. It was 80 degrees — not exactly pumpkin-carving weather. As a result, I've been afraid to carve the ones we brought home lest they turn to mush. But this weekend might be the moment. If I could cast a spell, I'd come home to a clean house every day and I'd know exactly where everything was because I'd designed and conjured that spell to be according to my exact specifications. I'd get all of the satisfaction of a beautifully organized home, but I'd only have to do it once." Thanks so much to everyone who entered; I enjoyed hearing what your spells would be!
