Like the majority of Autumn lovers, as soon as the clock strikes September 1st, my mind races to plaid, pumpkins, boots & Halloween. Oh & leaves, apple cider, hayrides; you get the idea, I'm obsessed. It may have to do with the fact that I absolutely despise the heat & enjoy ever bit of cool breeze that comes my way. Texas isn't good about sticking with the seasons, but I do my best to "fake it til I make it" when it comes to bringing all the Autumn & Winter holidays to life.
Part of my holiday planning & decor is saving money, because hello, have you met me before? While Benjamin and I were browsing the Target Dollar Spot recently, they were putting out all the Autumn & Halloween items, so I grabbed a few things & one of those items were these dainty & darling bat string lights. My Halloween decorating leans more towards cutesy & classic than gore & blood. I've had this horrible fear of haunted houses my whole light & my front porch representing any of that will never happen. I once went to, but slept through a screening of Saw II to avoid going through a haunted house on Halloween. Another time, I was scarred for life by entering the haunted house at Disney World; not even kidding. I blame my vivid imagination. It can also partially be Pantera's fault; ask me about that sometime.
To keep things spooky, but not terrifying, I made some muslin cloth ghosts last year & decided this year we needed some flying bats. These bats, however, aren't waterproof, so they will be staying inside to keep my string lights & other indoor decorations company.
What you'll need:
Cardboard egg carton
Black spray or acrylic paint
Googly eyes (found some at Dollar Tree!)
Bakers twine or other hanging string, cut into four 8" sections
Scissors
Hot Glue Gun
Begin, by removing the top portion of your egg carton & cutting the bottom part (where the eggs go) into sections of three; your wings on each side & then head in the middle. This will yield you four bats. I also trimmed up around the edges some to create a more symmetrical, bat look.
If spray painting, head outside with a drop cloth and spray paint the outside of the egg cartons, dry, then flip & spray paint the insides. If acrylic paint, you can paint insiders on top of newspaper or paper plate.
Once your egg carton sections are dry, using your hot glue gun, glue googly eyes onto the "head" of your bat.
Next, put a dab of hot glue on the top of your bat head & place both ends of your twine, creating your hanger. I also put a dab of hot glue over the strings to secure them in place.
Display!
Craft total cost was a single dollar + tax. Yeah, you read that right. I already had black paint, string & an egg carton, so googly eyes were my only expense. Those googly eyes, however, will pop up again in future crafts so I get my dollar's worth.
So tell me, what's your Halloween decorating style?
For other craft ideas & tutorials, you can find them here.
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