I'm seriously obsessed with bats this year, so I decided I needed some good bat decor for my upcoming Halloween party. (If you missed the posts, here is my lazy bat costume and this year's party inspiration.)
Additionally, I've challenged myself not to buy any new decorations or "stuff" for the party this year, so I have been trying to come up with projects to use up my already oversized stash of supplies. I got the idea for a bat garland last week, but didn't have any black string. I did, however, have a spool of black wire. After playing around with a few kinds of links, I landed on a wire coil connector. I think it turned out pretty cute, so here's how you can do it too...
SUPPLIES:
*cardstock
*printer or pen
*scissors
*1/16" hole punch
*wire and wire cutters
STEP 1: Print or sketch your bat silhouette on cardstock. I used the bat silhouette below and printed four per page on black cardstock...you could also print on white, but it will take you a lot more ink to achieve the same effect. This bat pattern will also work and takes a lot less ink to print. If you don't want to print, you can freehand sketch or make a tracing template.
Click Here to Download the Bat Garland Template
STEP 2: Cut out enough bats to make your garland. I used 24 to make three strands. Punch holes in the tips of each wing. (It took me about an hour to cut these out while I was waiting for my daughter at gymnastics.)
STEP 3: Make wire connector coils by wrapping your wire around a pen or pencil about seven times, then snip the end...this will take about 8-10 inches of wire per coil. Make as many coils as you need to connect your bats.
STEP 4: Twist one end of your coil through the hole in a bat wing about two times through so that it stays put. Then twist a bat wing onto the other end of the coil to connect the two. You can smoosh or stretch the wire as you like to make the bats stay put.
STEP 5: When you have enough bats strung together, hang!
NOTES: If you don't have wire, you can just as easily thread the bats on a length of yarn or string. Twist ties, jump rings or little ribbon ties would also look cute as connectors. Just look around and see what you have.
What are you making for Halloween this year?
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XOXO, Cindi
So cute :) Nice work !
Posted by: roulette | October 17, 2011 at 11:21 PM
This is all of the awesome. LOVE the wire connectors, brilliant!
Posted by: handwashcold | October 20, 2011 at 12:41 PM
What a great project! :) I've featured this post on Craft Gossip here:
http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/bat-garland/
If you would like a "featured by" button, you can grab one here:
http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/grab-a-craft-gossip-button/
Posted by: Amanda | October 21, 2011 at 05:17 AM
i love it too! & i've been meaning to come up with something quick to decorate our porch... perfect!
Posted by: map.cutter | October 21, 2011 at 09:40 PM
Thanks for the positive feedback everyone! Glad you like the project. If you make one, be sure to let me know. I'd love to see pics...you can post them in my project Flickr pool here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/brasspaperclip/
Posted by: Cindi Brooks | October 25, 2011 at 12:45 PM
Love this, great idea!
Posted by: Rebel Crafter | October 25, 2011 at 10:01 PM