Bat Halloween Treat Cup

Bat treat cup by Mia, age 3 1/2

The directions for making this bat treat cup are very similar to those for making the black cat treat cup. Inspiration for this craft comes from this website.

Materials Needed:

• tin can
• black paint
• paint brush
• black construction paper
• glue
• scissors
• clear tape 
• wiggle eyes
• small black paper plate (or regular plate colored black)
• white construction paper

Directions:

1. Paint the outside of a tin can black. We used a foam brush and dabbed it to get into the ridges of the can.
2. While paint is drying, cut out 2 triangles from black construction paper for ears and fangs from white construction paper..
3. Cut a small black paper plate in half.
4. Holding a paper plate half so the curved part is on top, cut scallops on the bottom to resemble a bat's wing. Repeat with the other half of the plate.
5. Glue wiggle eyes, ears, and fangs to the front of the can. (We used Aleene's Tacky Glue.)
6. Using clear tape, adhere wings to the back of the can.
7. Fill with goodies and enjoy. 

Finger Puppet Bats

This project would be perfect for an elementary class, scouting group, or any Halloween gathering with kids. It would be easy to cut out several bats in advance and let the kids decorate them. I found this project idea here: http://familyfun.go.com/crafts/batty-finger-puppets-664771/

Materials Needed:

• bat template 
• black construction paper
• pencil
• white crayon
• scissors
• glue
• pom pom
• wiggly eyes
• circular punch (optional)

Directions:

1. Print off bat template.
2. Cut out bat template.
3. Trace bat onto black construction paper using template.
4. Cut out construction paper bat.
5. Use scissors or circular punch to make finger holes.
6. Glue pom pom below bat ears and above finger holes to make the bat's head.
7. Glue on wiggly eyes. Allow to dry.
8. To make the wings stand out, you can accordion fold them and then highlight the folds with a white crayon.

Notes:

• If you don't want to make finger puppets, you can skip the holes and use fishing line to hang several bats for decoration. 
• You could also glue two bats together, leaving an opening at the bottom wide enough to use as a finger puppet or attach a craft stick for a handle.
• The original craft directions said to use black pom poms. We didn't have black, so we used various colors, which I think look fine.

Hand Print Bat Craft

The inspiration for this project comes from the Oriental Trading Co. catalog.

Materials Needed:

Hand Print Bat by Mia, Age 3 1/2

• black construction paper
• scissors
• glue
• wiggle eyes
• white craft foam (or construction paper)
• dimensional paint (optional)
• pencil

Directions:

1. Trace both hands onto black construction paper.
2. Cut out paper hand prints.
3. Cut the face/body of the bat from black construction paper. (Ours looks like an oval with pointy "cat" ears on top.)
4. Glue hand print cutouts to bat's body to form wings.
5. Glue wiggle eyes to bat's face.
6. Cut fangs from white craft foam.
7. Glue fangs to bat's face. (You could also use candy corn for a fun twist!) 
8. Draw a mouth. (We used red dimensional paint. You could use crayon, marker, or tempera paint in any color.)  

Gone Batty Craft Project

Since my kids have been making me just a tad batty lately, I've decided it's time for another craft project! Follow these simple steps, and you will soon have your own spooktacular colony of bats. My inspiration for this project comes from: http://www.craftbits.com/project/egg-carton-bat

Materials Needed:

• egg cartons
• black paint
• paint brush 
• scissors
• glue
• wiggly eyes
• elastic

Optional Materials:

• white felt or craft foam
• dimensional paint
• wooden skewer

Directions:

1. Cut egg carton into 3 sections. (We used both cardboard and Styrofoam egg cartons. The cardboard seemed to take paint better, but the Styrofoam is slightly easier to cut. I think the cardboard is also more durable.)
2. Use a skewer (If you don't have a skewer, use a pencil or tip of scissors) to make a hole in the top for hanging. 
3. Cut wings from two outside sections. (It looks like you are cutting arches on either side.)
4. Paint black and allow to dry. (We used tempera paint.)
5. Decorate by gluing on wiggly eyes. We used glued on some fangs cut from white felt and white craft foam (I preferred the foam). Then we added dimensional paint to make the rest of the mouth. (If you use the dimensional paint, it takes much longer to dry.)
6. Add elastic for hanging, so the bats will be bouncy. Insert both ends into the hole so there is a loop on top, and then knot the underside. (My elastic was saved from some packaging, possibly a box of chocolates.) If you don't have elastic, you can use string, yarn, or ribbon.