Are you looking for a simple, spooky Halloween decoration idea that will make a big impact at your party? Look no further than this flock of flying Halloween bats!
They’re simple to make, you can reuse them every year, and they look AWESOME in person and in photos!
What you’ll need:
- 1 poster-sized sheet of black cardstock
- 1 piece of copy paper
- A pen or pencil
- Scissors
- Tape (Painter’s tape works best here)
Step one: Make your bat template. I drew a bat on white copy paper, then cut it out and picked the half I liked best.
I traced the half-bat onto another piece of paper, then flipped it horizontally to trace the other half. That gave me a symmetrical bat!
But guess what! You don’t have to make your own template – I’ve provided a free printable bat template at the bottom of this post!
Step two: Trace the copy paper bat onto black cardstock with a regular ol’ ballpoint pen and cut the new bat out.
This first bat is your new tracing template. It works better for tracing than the copy paper because it’s sturdier.
Step three: Stick a piece of tape (painter’s tape works best) on the back of your template bat. This will prevent the shape from slipping while you trace.
Step four: Use your template to trace and cut out as many bats as you want. The more you have, the more dramatic the final product will be! One poster-sized piece of cardstock full of bats will probably give you the effect you want.
Folding in the left wing
Step five: Fold the bats’ wings. Once your bats are all cut out, it’s time for the best part! You’re going to fold their wings up so that they look like they are taking flight.
Fold in one wing, then the other.
Here’s what one wing looks like folded
Now fold in the right wing
Now your bat is 3D!
The finished stack of bats!
Step six: Arrange the bats in a flock formation on your wall. Above a doorway or window works great! I don’t have much space to work with, so I hung a few of them above a mirror in my bedroom.
Click on the image below to get to the full-sized flying bat template. It will open in a new tab – just right click, save to your computer, then open the file, print, and cut out!
Click here to download the free flying Halloween bat template!
Below is a pinnable image so that you can save this fun project for later!
If you make a flock of bats for Halloween, please share with us by tagging us in your photos on social media with #eatmovemakebats! Can’t wait to see what you come up with.
