Accordian Bats

Halloween is my favorite holiday, hands down. I love the decorations and the creativity of the costumes. I have always loved Halloween, but never more so than when I had kids. Holidays become so much more special and magical when you live them through your kids' eyes. The smiles on my kids' faces when they dress in the costume of their choice that they've been waiting to wear for weeks only to walk around and get candy is priceless.

I love making Halloween crafts, too. Last year, I made these awesome paper mache pumpkins, skeletons with movable joints and scarecrows. This year, the average age of my day care kiddos is much lower, so I had to come up with some simpler crafts. The bats were inspired by my friend Mandy L. who made a super cute accordian cat. I thought I'd take the accordian idea and turn it into a bat. Here's what you need:

black construction paper

1 sheet of undressed chipboard

black marker (or black paint)

pipe cleaners

scissors

hole punch

circle template

 Take your circle template and trace lots of circles on the undressed chipboard. I chose chipboard because it is sturdier than plain paper. You will need something that won't tear easily because of the steps below. Cut out your circles.

 Color or paint your circles black. Of course, you don't have to use black, but my daughter thought basic black bats were good. Apparently, it's only spiders that should be pretty. Once the circles are colored (and dried if you paint them), punch 2 holes in the center of each circle so it looks like a giant button.

 Turning the construction paper so the long edge faces you, fold it into an accordian. Cut the pipe cleaners in half. Thread the pipe cleaner through the holes of the circle. The ends of the pipe cleaner should be on the back side of the circle. Pinch the middle of the paper accordian and place it on the circle with the pipe cleaner ends on each side of the pinch. Twist the pipe cleaner tightly so the accordian stays pinched. I also threaded the pipe cleaner ends back through the holes to the front of the circle so there weren't long ends. Finish with a twist.

 The finished bats! I'll likely hang them around the house and possibly outside in the trees using a little string.

 My camera hog daughter posing with one of her bats. You'll soon find out that my kids are anything but camera shy. I hope you enjoy this simple Halloween craft!