Deck the Fall with Bats and Pumpkins

"Listen! the wind is rising, and the air is wild with leaves, We have had our summer evenings, now for October eves!"
~ Humbert Wolfe

Ok, I know...lame title, but I just can't help myself! If you are judging right now, you apparently don't understand...no....APPRECIATE my fascination with all that is fall. I love it. I have decided to spread this love to my humble abode. So, I researched some arts and crafts for Halloween, and this is what I found...and you can bet that I will be doing this over the weekend and I will be taking lotsa pictures! And maybe, just maybe, I will post them and provide you with some mid-day entertainment:)



Coffee Filter Vampire Bats

What you'll need:

• 1 basket type coffee filter
• Purple and black watercolor paints
• Paintbrush
• 1 miniature wooden clothespin
• Black or purple acrylic paint
• 2 small wiggle eyes
• White scrap of paper
• Scissors
• White craft glue
  

How to make it:

1. Paint the clothespin either black or purple acrylic paint and set aside to dry.
2. Cut coffee filter in half.
3. Paint one half of the filter with black watercolor paint and the other half with purple watercolor paint. Let dry.
4. When filters are dry, place the purple half on top of the black half so that they line up. Pinch the filter with your fingers, gathering the paper in the center of the straight edge.
5. Open the clothespin and clamp the gathered end of the filter inside the clothespin. Add a dab of white glue in the clamp.
6. Use scissors to cut half circles from the rounded wings to resemble a bat’s wings. Use the color differentiation between the black and purple sides of the coffee filter as a guide.
7. Cut jagged edges along the circular side of the half circle to further define the shape of the bat wings.
8. Glue two wiggle eyes to the front of the clothespin.
9. Cut two small triangular fangs from white paper and glue to the clothespin “jaws”.
   

Tips:

• Attach these cute bats to curtains, plants, anywhere they will grab onto.
• Suspend these bats from the ceiling by tying a piece of fishing line to the clothespin and pushing a thumbtack into the ceiling.
• Instead of purple, try red for a different look!

Sparkling Spiders

What you'll need:

• Styrofoam ball, approximately 4” in diameter
• Purple acrylic paint
• Sponge applicator
• 2 large wiggle eyes
• Hot glue
• 9 black chenille sticks
• Colorful craft gems OR purple sequins and sequin pins

How to make it:

1. Using the sponge applicator, paint the entire Styrofoam ball and allow to dry completely.
2. Use eight of the chenille sticks for legs. To do this, at the bottom of each one, bend into a foot, about 1” long. Bend at the “knee” about halfway up the stick.
3. When the ball is dry, insert the chenille sticks into the body, four on each side.
4. Cut the last chenille stick in half, and then cut one of those halves in half again. Bend the quartered chenille stick to create a “feeler” (officially known as a “palp,” for those budding scientists) about ½” long and place one on either side of the face (on either side of where the mouth would be).
5. Hot glue the wiggle eyes onto the spider’s face.
6. Decorate the spider’s back with purple sequins, securing them in place with sequin pins. Alternatively, especially with younger children, you can glue colorful craft gems to the back instead.
7. Adjust the legs so that the spider stands on its own.

Tips:

• Sequin pins are tiny and can be hard for younger children to manipulate. Using craft gems is a great alternative. Craft gems can be found in any discount department store or craft supply store.
• Sponge applicators can be found by the paintbrushes in any craft supply or discount department store. They are also available at building supply stores as they are commonly used for applying stains and varnishes.
• Styrofoam is very porous and can take a little while to dry. Plan something fun during drying time so that the children aren’t impatiently waiting at the table to begin the next step. This is also a good time to cut and bend the chenille sticks.