↑

  • Recipe Index
    • Appetizers
    • Main Dish
      • Casseroles
      • Main Dishes: Beef
      • Main Dishes: Pork
      • Main Dishes: Poultry
      • Main Dishes: Vegetarian
    • Salads
    • Soups
    • Sandwiches
    • Side Dishes
    • Desserts
      • Slow Cooker
      • Instant Pot
      • Holidays
  • Travel
  • Fitness & Health
    • health
    • free workouts
    • buy chanelle’s eBook!
    • shop chanelle’s faves
  • Pets
  • Crafts & DIY
  • Lifestyle
    • entertainment
    • home decor
    • productivity
    • style & beauty

  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

  • About Us
  • Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Eat Move Make

food | travel | lifestyle

  • Recipe Index
    • Appetizers
    • Main Dish
      • Casseroles
      • Main Dishes: Beef
      • Main Dishes: Pork
      • Main Dishes: Poultry
      • Main Dishes: Vegetarian
    • Salads
    • Soups
    • Sandwiches
    • Side Dishes
    • Desserts
      • Slow Cooker
      • Instant Pot
      • Holidays
  • Travel
  • Fitness & Health
    • health
    • free workouts
    • buy chanelle’s eBook!
    • shop chanelle’s faves
  • Pets
  • Crafts & DIY
  • Lifestyle
    • entertainment
    • home decor
    • productivity
    • style & beauty
Home ยป Crafts/DIY ยป Flying Halloween Bats Tutorial + Free Printable

Flying Halloween Bats Tutorial + Free Printable

By: Liz  /  Published: October 27, 2015  /  Updated: September 1, 2020  /   Leave a comment

As an Amazon Associate and member of other affiliate programs, I earn from qualifying purchases.
  • Share
  • Tweet

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!

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)

Bat tutorial01

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!

Bat tutorial06

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.
Bat tutorial16

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.

Bat tutorial08

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.

Bat tutorial09

Here’s what one wing looks like folded

Bat tutorial10

Now fold in the right wing

Bat tutorial13

Now your bat is 3D!

Bat tutorial14

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.

Halloween bat flock finished

Halloween bat flock side view

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!

Lizventures Flying Bat Template

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!

Halloween Bat tutorial

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.

Related topics
Crafts/DIYbat Halloween Halloween decor

About Liz

Liz is a midwestern mom gone southern (accent in transition). She lives in North Carolina and loves cooking, baking, traveling, movies, crafts, hot and cold tea, wine, pizza and the occasional nap. She also revels in the fact she's a crazy cat lady.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Terri Beavers says

    September 8, 2016 at 11:25 am

    These are creepy cool and in time for Halloween too. I’d love to let the kids help me make some of these to add around my front door. I think it will be cute with the old wood.

    Reply
  2. Shannon Gurnee says

    November 2, 2015 at 11:29 pm

    Those are super cute decorations! I love your nail polish color too!

    Reply
  3. Erin says

    November 1, 2015 at 11:56 am

    These are so awesome! I love easy and awesome decor like this!

    Reply
  4. Tracey says

    October 30, 2015 at 4:07 pm

    These turned awesome! I love easy, DIY crafts for Halloween like this.

    Reply
    • Shannon Gurnee says

      November 2, 2015 at 11:57 pm

      I totally agree with you. They turned out really awesome!

      Reply
  5. Rosey says

    October 30, 2015 at 1:40 pm

    Well that did turn out very cute!! I haven’t seen that anywhere either. My kids would love it, I already know. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  6. Bismah says

    October 30, 2015 at 10:21 am

    Wonderful idea for a cheap, easy, and fun craft for kids. This would be great craft not only as a Halloween decoration but also when teaching kids about bats.

    Reply
  7. Lynndee says

    October 30, 2015 at 10:18 am

    How cute are those bats?! Never thought bats would look much cuter. My son would surely love them.

    Reply
  8. Anjanette @MommaYoung says

    October 30, 2015 at 9:49 am

    These bats are adorable! I love how they seem to fly off the wall. Thank you for sharing this bat tutorial with us. Happy Halloween.

    Reply
  9. Teresa Bowen says

    October 30, 2015 at 7:48 am

    These look great. As soon as I get home I’m making a few of these for tomorrow.

    Reply
  10. Bonnie @wemake7 says

    October 30, 2015 at 7:03 am

    That’s so cool! I can’t to print these out and make some bats. My hubby will love these.

    Reply
  11. jataya says

    October 30, 2015 at 12:22 am

    spectacularly spooky! this looks like a very fun and festive craft. I am going to try it with my little ones!

    Reply
  12. Corina Ramos says

    October 30, 2015 at 12:13 am

    Now this is a craft I can do. The bats look awesome on the wall. Thanks for the download!

    Reply
  13. Kelly @ Texas Type A Mom says

    October 29, 2015 at 11:43 pm

    What a fun, low cost decoration for Halloween! I only hope I can cut straight enough lines to make these look as realistic as yours.

    Reply
  14. Nile says

    October 29, 2015 at 11:35 pm

    Well know… I could’ve used this yesterday when I was cutting out bats for my nieces to decorate their home for Halloween. Very cool to share this with everyone. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
    • Toughcookiemommy says

      October 29, 2015 at 11:40 pm

      I think it is really cool too. It’s so easy to do and probably doesn’t cost much either.

      Reply
  15. Toughcookiemommy says

    October 29, 2015 at 11:13 pm

    These bats look so real and are perfect for Halloween. I love how they get you into the spirit of the spooky holiday.

    Reply
  16. mya.k says

    October 29, 2015 at 10:08 pm

    That looks so good, I’m going to have to try this sometime.

    Reply
  17. aaronica (the crunchy mommy) says

    October 29, 2015 at 9:37 pm

    these are so cute!!!! i think i’ll make them tomorrow! we’re going for a bat theme for halloween!

    Reply
  18. Melissa says

    October 29, 2015 at 9:02 pm

    I love the 3D effect!We made some bats and hung them too.

    Reply
  19. Shannon Peterson says

    October 29, 2015 at 6:15 pm

    I LOVE how easy this looks! I’ve been a total slacker this year, but I might actually be able to do this!

    Reply
  20. Patty says

    October 29, 2015 at 6:06 pm

    Now I can wear my batty on my walls! We had bats nesting in our eaves last summer.

    Reply
  21. Alyssa C says

    October 29, 2015 at 5:29 pm

    This is definitely my kind of craft and perfect for Halloween. Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  22. Maureen says

    October 29, 2015 at 4:45 pm

    These are so cool. You did a great job on them and they look great on your wall!

    Reply
  23. Jennifer Mitchell says

    October 29, 2015 at 4:31 pm

    These bats are so cute! They would go perfect in our entrance way. Thanks for this great tutorial!

    Reply
  24. dawn says

    October 29, 2015 at 1:52 pm

    i love this post and i have to say. i love your nail polish…

    Reply
    • Chanelle says

      October 29, 2015 at 3:56 pm

      Ha! Thank you! I like fun colors for nails.

      Reply
  25. Melissa says

    October 29, 2015 at 1:02 pm

    I love this fun craft idea for Halloween. It would be nice to decorate my front entrance with these !

    Reply
  26. Julie says

    October 29, 2015 at 11:43 am

    Very festive! Perfect for Halloween. Thanks for sharing tips.

    Reply
  27. Claudette says

    October 29, 2015 at 11:41 am

    That looks really cool. Makes me kinda wish I was a Halloween person. ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  28. tonygreene113 says

    October 29, 2015 at 11:41 am

    My little girl would love to make these.

    Reply
  29. Jasmine Watts says

    October 29, 2015 at 11:28 am

    Wow, these are perfect for Halloween party fun!!

    Reply
  30. Chubskulit Rose says

    October 29, 2015 at 11:16 am

    Those are cute. It turned out really nice on your wall!

    Reply
  31. Nikki says

    October 29, 2015 at 11:11 am

    OMG! I’m sure my son would love this for his wall in his room. This is really fun, I’m gonna try it.

    Reply
  32. Carlee C says

    October 29, 2015 at 11:05 am

    Very cool and simple. Pretty much if I am going to make a craft that is the way to go!

    Reply
  33. Alicia says

    October 29, 2015 at 10:25 am

    These are adorable! I have not done Halloween crafts with m kids yet but these look fun.

    Reply
  34. Lexie Lane says

    October 29, 2015 at 9:17 am

    Ohh! so cute! My sons gonna have fun this a lot for sure! thanks for this kiddos activity!

    Reply
    • Crystal says

      October 29, 2015 at 10:31 am

      Mine are too. They’re excited about hanging them up. I get to do the cutting. ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  35. Chanelle says

    October 29, 2015 at 9:10 am

    Perfect for a Halloween party.

    Reply
  36. Heidi Gray says

    October 29, 2015 at 9:07 am

    These are adorable! They seem very easy to make and look great! I love that first picture where they jump in and out it’s very cute. I think these would be great for kids to help make as well! They would love cutting them out and hanging them up!

    Reply
  37. polenation says

    October 29, 2015 at 8:45 am

    my nephews and niece should try this!

    Reply
  38. Shaney Vijendranath says

    October 29, 2015 at 7:12 am

    Brilliant! This sounds like an activity that will keep the kids busy plus they will really enjoy it.

    Reply
  39. Rachel Mouton says

    October 29, 2015 at 5:45 am

    How adorable…and SIMPLE! I’m going to try this out today. I bet construction paper would work well too ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  40. The L's Mum says

    October 29, 2015 at 5:38 am

    What a simple but effective way to decorate. If we were having a party I would definitely be looking to use this tutorial. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  41. Sabrina @ Dinner, then Dessert says

    October 29, 2015 at 2:48 am

    This seems like a simple craft but it can add a lot of Halloween feel to a room! This is a perfect one to do with kids!

    Reply
  42. victoria says

    October 29, 2015 at 2:26 am

    Wow this would be fun and easy decoration for Halloween. I do this for our Halloween party Decorations

    Reply
  43. rika says

    October 29, 2015 at 2:00 am

    I love this bat tutorial. So easy and fun! Perfect for Halloween!

    Reply
  44. Reichel says

    October 29, 2015 at 12:58 am

    Paper bats. Super easy, cheap and make a big impact. They’ve got to be one of my favorite Halloween decorations ever! ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  45. He says

    October 29, 2015 at 12:45 am

    Oh so fun and easy! Definitely a pleaser with kiddos!

    Reply
  46. Janice says

    October 29, 2015 at 12:38 am

    How adorable! I love this idea and the kiddos will, too! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  47. Janis @MommyBlogExpert says

    October 28, 2015 at 11:46 pm

    That looks like a really fun and easy craft. Definitely would look great as decorations for a Halloween party this weekend.

    Reply
  48. Carol Bryant says

    October 28, 2015 at 11:30 pm

    These are too cute – fun for a school, a daycare, or just a craft project in general. Love the motion look of them.

    Reply
  49. Mistee Dawn says

    October 28, 2015 at 11:10 pm

    These are so cute and fun! I will definitely have to make some of these with my daughter!

    Reply
  50. Crystal says

    October 28, 2015 at 11:07 pm

    Making fun & festive decorations doesn’t have to be expensive. These are so perfect!

    Reply
  51. Stacie says

    October 28, 2015 at 11:05 pm

    This would be great craft for kids to do. They love everything Halloween. I love your bats.

    Reply
  52. Lee says

    October 28, 2015 at 10:38 pm

    Oh that is so neat! 3 Dimensional decorations you made yourself are so fun. I’d decorate the whole house like this. Well, if you gave me some other options. You have a spider or a ghost hidden in that bag of tricks? Hah.

    Lee

    Reply
  53. dana vento says

    October 28, 2015 at 10:34 pm

    These are great, and easy and you are wonderfully talented .thank you for this

    Reply
  54. Ourfamilyworld says

    October 28, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    Those are cute. This will be a fun project for me and the twins.

    Reply
  55. Jeni Hawkins says

    October 28, 2015 at 10:22 pm

    Those are so cute! What a fun project for the kids this weekend! Thanks!

    Reply
  56. Chastity says

    October 28, 2015 at 10:19 pm

    What a great craft! Pinning for later:)

    Reply
  57. Stacey- Travel Blogger says

    October 28, 2015 at 10:19 pm

    This turned out so cute. I love how inexpensive it is as well. This is such a cute craft for Halloween.

    Reply
  58. Shauna says

    October 28, 2015 at 10:16 pm

    Oh how adorable. We love Halloween and decorate as much as we can… so these are perfect. Plus the kids can help with them.

    Reply
  59. Jamie H says

    October 28, 2015 at 10:11 pm

    These are so cute! Can you call a bat cute? I think I’ll have to quickly whip up a few to decorate my front porch. Thanks for the printable!!

    Reply
  60. Shann Eva says

    October 28, 2015 at 10:09 pm

    Very cool. I will be attempting this with my boys on Friday. Thank you!

    Reply
  61. Elizabeth O. says

    October 28, 2015 at 10:02 pm

    What can I say? It’s awesome because it’s really easy to do! I love that you can just put it anywhere you like nd it still looks perfect for Halloween.

    Reply
  62. April G says

    October 28, 2015 at 9:33 pm

    Super cute and easy. I think my girls would love it. Thanks.

    Reply
  63. Norah Loves Makeup says

    October 28, 2015 at 9:26 pm

    What a neat suggestion for a Halloween decoration! I like it a lot.

    Reply
  64. Jasmine says

    October 28, 2015 at 9:23 pm

    LOVE it!! My boys would get a kick out of making this

    Reply
  65. Heather D. (@GirlGoneMom) says

    October 28, 2015 at 9:16 pm

    These are too cool. I’ll have to make them for my house.

    Reply
  66. Wendy @ ABCs and Garden Peas says

    October 28, 2015 at 9:13 pm

    What a cute idea! The kids would love it if we put some flying bats up on our walls!

    Reply
  67. Lisa says

    October 28, 2015 at 8:56 pm

    OH my kids would love these! What a fun and easy festive touch for Halloween!

    Reply
  68. Valerie says

    October 28, 2015 at 8:49 pm

    Those are so cute! What a creative idea and it looks great.

    Reply
  69. Onica{MommyFactor} says

    October 28, 2015 at 8:48 pm

    Perfect decoration for the halloween. The bats looks real on the wall. I must try this.

    Reply
  70. Cindy (Prime Beauty) says

    October 28, 2015 at 8:32 pm

    Such a cute idea and so easy! Great for kids too.

    Reply
  71. tara pittman says

    October 28, 2015 at 8:32 pm

    I love these bats. They look so cool on the wall.

    Reply
  72. Marcie W. says

    October 28, 2015 at 7:42 pm

    This is an awesome and totally inexpensive way to decorate. I love that the craft is easy enough for kids to create too.

    Reply
  73. Patrice says

    October 28, 2015 at 7:41 pm

    So creative and awesome idea for halloween easy for kids to do all hands on.

    Reply
  74. Debbie Denny says

    October 28, 2015 at 7:38 pm

    That is a simple and neat idea. The bats look so cute flying on the wall.

    Reply
  75. Aimee Smith says

    October 28, 2015 at 7:16 pm

    Such a cute idea for halloween decor. Easy enough for my kids to help!

    Reply
  76. Sherri says

    October 28, 2015 at 7:11 pm

    How fun! Thanks so much for the template. This is such a cute idea!

    Reply
  77. Chelley @ A is For Adelaide says

    October 28, 2015 at 7:08 pm

    This is so easy and so fun! I know what we’re doing on our rainy afternoon tomorrow!!! (Look for photos!!!!)

    Reply
  78. Courtney says

    October 28, 2015 at 6:46 pm

    Very cute and simple. Sounds like a fun craft! I think it makes for cute decor-I love how its three dimensional.

    Reply
  79. Theresa says

    October 28, 2015 at 6:26 pm

    So simple to make, this would be a great idea for my girls to busy themselves with! I love how they turned out!

    Reply
  80. Amber Nelson says

    October 28, 2015 at 6:07 pm

    Those are super cute bats. I bet my daughter would love to make these!

    Reply
  81. Sara P. (@SensiblySara) says

    October 28, 2015 at 6:02 pm

    My kids have been BEGGING to decorate for Halloween but I’m mean (because the decorations are only up for a week). They would be SO STOKED if I put these up while they are at school tomorrow.

    Reply
    • Chanelle says

      October 28, 2015 at 6:04 pm

      *chanting* Doooo it, dooo it!

      Reply
  82. [email protected] says

    October 28, 2015 at 5:56 pm

    Boy those are super cute. I love how they came out.

    Reply
  83. lisa says

    October 28, 2015 at 5:55 pm

    What an awesome craft idea! If I had more time before my party, I would add these to my walls! Next year I will do this!

    Reply
  84. Jeanette says

    October 28, 2015 at 4:59 pm

    I like this idea! My son wants to decorate the house for halloween and I don’t want to spend major bucks, so this is what we are going to do for halloween, thanks for the idea!

    Reply
    • Chanelle says

      October 28, 2015 at 5:08 pm

      Yay! It will be fun to do together.

      Reply
  85. Brenda Brown says

    October 28, 2015 at 4:17 pm

    This is such a cute idea! They would be all over my entire house! My 9 year old would have a blast making these with me too.

    Reply
  86. Scott says

    October 28, 2015 at 3:46 pm

    Such perfect timing – we’re going to make some tomorrow and decorate the outside of our front door for Halloween! Just waiting for the rain to stop!

    Reply
  87. Star Traci says

    October 28, 2015 at 3:32 pm

    I love this! I am a walking pinterest fail but this looks like its at my DIY/craft level. It also looks like one I could do with the kids.
    ๐Ÿ™‚
    Traci

    Reply
  88. Chasing Joy says

    October 28, 2015 at 3:25 pm

    It would be cute to decorate wiht these in unsuspecting places in your house during a halloween party. Like above the tub in your bathroom.

    Reply
  89. Kelly Hutchinson says

    October 28, 2015 at 3:08 pm

    OK, those are super cute an I need to make them. I have all the materials I need. I just need to get the kids to help me do some scissor work!

    Reply
  90. Aeryn Lynne says

    October 28, 2015 at 2:48 pm

    That’s really cute! Thanks for the template; the nephew would have a blast sticking these to the wall for sure! ๐Ÿ˜€

    Reply
  91. Felicia says

    October 28, 2015 at 2:33 pm

    I need you to help me decorate Saturday. So cute! Maybe I can get my daughter on board. LOL

    Reply
  92. Stacie @ Divine Lifestyle says

    October 28, 2015 at 2:19 pm

    I think this is a super cute project. This is one of those things you can do with the kids that makes Halloween so much more fun.

    Reply
  93. Kristen from The Road to Domestication says

    October 28, 2015 at 1:54 pm

    Oh, these are great! I love how they end up looking 3-D!

    Reply
  94. Paula Schuck says

    October 28, 2015 at 1:51 pm

    This is such a cute idea! I think this is a great way to make Halloween decorating more fun and less expensive.

    Reply
  95. brianna says

    October 28, 2015 at 1:16 pm

    Batman. Nananananana Batman!
    Cute!

    Reply
  96. Pam says

    October 28, 2015 at 12:16 pm

    These are so cute! I haven’t decorated for Halloween as much as usual this year, but these are so adorable I might have to make them and stick them up.

    Reply
  97. Karen says

    October 28, 2015 at 10:34 am

    So fun! Thanks for the printable, my kids will have a blast cutting these out and hanging them up ๐Ÿ™‚

    Reply
  98. Catherine S says

    October 28, 2015 at 10:32 am

    What a cute and creative idea. I need to make some to finish off our decorations.

    Reply
  99. Kristi says

    October 28, 2015 at 9:30 am

    What a fun idea. We were just at house yesterday and they made a bunch of these and put them in the windows.

    Reply
  100. {Erica}EverythingMomandBaby says

    October 28, 2015 at 9:27 am

    I love these! They turned out so nice. Thanks for the template too. That helps!

    Reply
  101. Lois Alter Mark says

    October 28, 2015 at 8:22 am

    Okay, those are awesome! Thank you for the printable because I could never make a template for them myself!

    Reply
  102. Bri says

    October 28, 2015 at 2:21 am

    What a great and simple DIY decoration. My little cousins will really enjoy making bats.

    Reply
  103. Amanda || Growing Up Madison says

    October 27, 2015 at 11:59 pm

    That is too cute and just perfect for Halloween. I might just make a stack with my pre-schooler who has been asking to do crafts a lot lately.

    Reply
    • Robin (Masshole Mommy) says

      October 28, 2015 at 5:34 am

      We’ve been on a crafting binge lately, too! These are perfect ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
  104. Ourfamilyworld says

    October 27, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    What a cute idea. I love that this is so easy to make.

    Reply
  105. Robin (Masshole Mommy) says

    October 27, 2015 at 8:40 pm

    That is such a cute idea. I should make a bunch and surprise the boys with them.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

recipes in your inbox

Subscribe for the latest updates

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.

The Latest

roasted red pepper soup in bowls

Roasted Red Pepper Soup with Potatoes

spicy lemon chicken with lemon sauce

Spicy Lemon Garlic Chicken

plate of black cherry rhubarb dump cake

Black Cherry Dump Cake with Rhubarb

chipped beef on toast

Creamed Chipped Beef on Toast

add dressing to BLT salad

BLT Pasta Salad Recipe (No Mayo)

stacked strawberry grilled cheese panini

Strawberry Grilled Cheese Paninis

Eat Move Make is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon properties including, but not limited to, amazon.com, endless.com, myhabit.com, smallparts.com, or amazonwireless.com.

This means that some posts may contain affiliate links. We earn a small commission when you purchase through these links, which helps us create more great content! Full terms of use here.

Footer

Meet Liz

Hey there, i’m Liz!

Iโ€™m the founder of Eat Move Make and a North Carolina mom of two humans and six cats. I love to cook, bake, craft and travel. Iโ€™m also addicted to tea (but not sweet tea).

When Iโ€™m not creating something in my kitchen, and since my kids are now adults, Iโ€™m all about my bucket list of travel destinations and adventures.

recipes in your inbox

Subscribe for the latest updates

Thank you!

You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

.
ยฉ2021, Eat Move Make / About / Terms Of Use / Privacy Policy / Site by Pixel Me Designs