Printable Bat Template

I don't decorate for Halloween. Well, I didn't before now. ​

These bats are making their way all over the internet and for good reason. We've seen them in both indoor and outdoor spaces, wall mounted, and even suspending from the ceiling. Either way, we wanted to jump in on this action sooner rather than later. 

They're cute, classic, and so easy to make! 

I knew the second I saw them that they were the best way for me to decorate for Halloween without going to corny town. It's something I fear -being too corny too soon. My mom and I tease about it, but these are pretty cute, right?! 

These are the easiest Halloween craft I've found to date, although I haven't looked hard. Like I said, I don't decorate for Halloween. Heck, it's even a great craft to keep your kiddos busy! For this craft, I used a template I found here, black construction paper, scissors and a pencil. If you don't have a printer or ink, you could probably find bat stencils online to trace. 

After printing, I cut out the single bat template with my scissors and then cut it down the middle, giving me half of a bat.  ​

I then folded a page of black construction paper in half, and traced my half bat template against the fold with a pencil. This way, when I cut it out and unfolded it, I'd have a full bat, perfectly mirrored to its other side. 

Due to the size of the bats in this template, I was only able to fit 2 bats per page. But really, that was okay for me. 

I used Scotch tape and attached them at the belly to my DIY Board and Batten wall. The added dimension of the bats is so stunning! I'll probably have to re-tape them a few times, but I'm too afraid glue dots would mess up my paint. We'll see how annoying it becomes to keep replacing them. I may change my mind. 

I also went through the bats and folded in a few wings so that a few looked in flight. Ya know, to mix things up a bit. Just be sure to match the folds up to a dip in the wing. It looks more realistic that way. 

Of course Lenna is too little to understand how cool this Halloween decoration is, but I plan to store them and use them again next year. Fun fact -her Halloween costume will play into this. Stay tuned on that front.  What are you going to be for Halloween this year?