Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Spooky Floaty Bats

Last year I made these floaty, quivery bats out of crepe paper and curly wires.

On my Halloween decor tree inside they shook and floated and quivered every time we walked by. I loved how they came out!

So I thought that this year it would be neat to make a larger version for outdoors. Floaty black bats that would shiver in the wind.

Here is what I pictured in my mind and I am so jazzed this project came out exactly as I'd pictured!

I thought to use felt or craft foam but they are too floppy without a wire inside the wings. Then I found this bundle of foam packing scraps at St. Vincent's for fifty cents. Score!

I cut these out with scissors freehand since the scraps were an odd shape. I was able to finagle 3 or 4 bats out of each sheet.


This is concrete rebar wire which can be found at Lowe's for cheap. This roll cost $3.50 a while back and I use it alot.

Cutting a generous piece of wire and leaving the curls intact, I ran one end up inside the foam then crimped it over at the top.

Yikes, albino bat!
Time for the trusty cheap spray paint from Walmart in gloss black.

Ooh aah! EXACTLY what I had in mind! The gloss paint on the foam sparkles in the sunlight and every little breeze makes them float and quiver and shake. Here they are on a foggy morning, so spooky and cool.




They make me laugh! Love it! So now I have over 3 dozen of these black beauties ready to fly out of my deck planters. I'm putting some on tall wires over 4 foot long so they'll be even more quivery.

We plan to decorate the whole deck soon and I'll post pics when we do. For now I'm loving my floaty bats and the kids going to the bus stop do too. That's a win win!

I'll be posting to the fun parties in my sidebar. Take a moment to come check them out, you never know what clever projects you'd miss.

15 comments:

  1. holy cow.
    awesomeness in a bat...
    thanks for sharing!

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  2. What a great idea. I am all about the bats this year. I may have to borrow this idea, thanks for sharing.

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  3. Well, those are terrific!! And you're upcycling!! Thanks for the idea!

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  4. These are wonderful. You are so creative! I linked to you from Show off Your Stuff Thursday!
    Thanks for a great post!

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  5. Great idea! I found you at Inspire Me Fridays.

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  6. This? is SUCH a great idea!! LOVE love them, both indoors and out! I'm going to share this on my crafty facebook page : )
    Jaimee @ craft-interrupted.blogspot.com

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  7. This is a super idea! I am going to have to try making a few for our entry way bush. Thanks for linking up this week! Theresa @ DearCreatives.com

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  8. They're PERFECT! Very creative! Thanks so much for sharing =)

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  9. These are so fun!!
    Thanks for sharing at Show & Share!!

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  10. Oh my gosh! I love your bats. You should stop by and link them to my party if you get a chance.

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  11. I love bats and am so going to give this a try!! Thanks so much for sharing!!

    XoXo,
    Kristal

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  12. This is such a creative idea! I loved this idea so much that I featured it tonight!! I would love if you would come by, check it out and grab a button!
    Hope you have a great weekend!
    Michelle
    http://delicateconstruction.blogspot.com/2011/10/delicately-constructed-features_20.

    p.s. And I am a new follower!

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  13. What a GREAT idea! That would spook the pants off some unsuspecting guests... perfect!

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  14. Love these bats! I featured them on my blog today. Come by and grab a featured button if you'd like.

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  15. Hi! I'd like to invite you to join our Halloween Link Drive!

    http://www.crochethappy.com/halloween-link-drive-2012.html

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I love your comments and read every one. They let me know if I'm on a good track with my blog. Thanks for stopping by!

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