Coffee filter bats- These adorable little vampire bats can look really ghoulish hanging from the ceiling!
You will need for each bat:
- 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
Instructions for the project:
Have each child paint the clothespin either black or purple acrylic paint and set aside to dry. Carefully cut the coffee filter in half. Have each child paint one half of the filter with black watercolor paint and the other half with purple watercolor paint. Let dry completely. When filters are completely dry, place the purple half on top of the black half so that they line up. Gently pinch the filter with your fingers, gathering the paper in the center of the straight edge. Open the clothespin and clamp the gathered end of the filter so that it is inside the clothespin. You can add a dab of white glue in the clamp. You can then have the kids use the scissors to cut half circles from the rounded wings to resemble a bat’s wings. Then can then cut jagged edges along the circular side of the half circle to further define the shape of the bat wings. Each child can then glue two wiggle eyes to the front of the clothespin. As the finishing touch cut two small triangular fangs from white paper and glue to the clothespin “jaws”.
You can attach these cute bats to curtains, plants, or anywhere they will grab onto. You can also suspend these bats from the ceiling by tying a piece of fishing line to the clothespin and pushing a thumbtack into the ceiling. For a variation instead of purple, try red for a different look!
Treat Buckets- While the kids wile away the hours until the start of trick or treating why not have them decorate their own unique treat buckets to haul their stash in. Best of all this craft can be made easier or more complex depending on the age of your party guests
You will need for each bucket:
- 1 empty and washed ice cream bucket
- Several sheets of Halloween colored tissue paper
- Wired Halloween trim (you can find this at your craft store)
- Lots of white glue (you will be thinning this out to attach the tissue paper)
- Other small Halloween objects that you can attach to the buckets
- Paint brushes for each child
- Hole punch
- Optional: glitter pens
Instructions for the project:
Have each child cover the outside of their ice cream bucket with a thin layer of white glue. They can then begin tearing the tissue paper into whatever shapes they want and attach them to the outside of the buckets. Keep in mind that the more tissue paper that is put on the better it looks. After every layer reapply more white glue making sure all of the pieces are attached. Use the same procedure for the top of the bucket. After the lid and bucket are completely dry use the hole punch to punch one hole on each side of the lid to make the handle. Attached the wired trim through the holes. Have the child glue on any additional decorations they want and when finished they are all set to go trick or treating.