New Bats in My Belfry......

I am getting ready for the Wednesday Witches Halloween party tomorrow. I noticed that the bats in the Witches' Warehouse were getting old and the worse for wear. Time for a new generation of bats.

I think that the original ones, made 20 years ago, have held up pretty good, but as I remember, I made their wings of black construction paper. They have faded to a dull pinkish tan. I am not partial to skin colored bats, so I decided it was time to do something.

Come along with me and I will have you knee deep in bats, in no time at all......That is, if you want to be knee deep in bats...Maybe not.

Personally, I like big healthy bats that can be seen with the naked eye. You can scale down the wing size if you don't want them that big. These turn out about an inch across when they are folded and put together. It's a personal choice.

This time I used heavy scrapbooking paper that is black on one side and kind of a metallic purple on the other. Perfect batty colors.

In this photo, you see pretty much all of the bat assembly.

You will need one black chenille stem. That will make lots and lots of bats. Each bat takes an inch or a little less. I don't really measure. After all, not all bats are the same size.

Basically, all you do is trace the wings onto the black paper. Cut them out. Remember, if you are using a two sided paper, to cut opposing wings. I usually cut them two at a time by drawing the wing on one side along the edge. Then I hold two pieces together to cut. That way I get pretty much the same wings on both sides.

Next I fold the wings from the top point to the bottom two points, making a V shape. Then I fold down just the tip of the wing.

Now take your piece of stem and fold it in half. This gives you some place to put the wings. Put glue on the inside edge of the wings and overlap them inside of the fold, one on top of the other, and position them the way that you want them. Let them dry and then if you want to, you can put two #14 or smaller beads on the front of the head. I used green this time, just for fun.

If you want the bats to wander around underfoot, bend their wings closer to the body and make them stand up.

If you want them to fly, you can do that too. Just attach a length of black sewing thread to the top of the head. If you place it further back, they will look like they are swooping down towards the ground. You choose.

Here is the result of the replacement. I drew lines on the folds with a regular pencil to make them stand out more.

I glued one to the wall. One is on the floor in a bat can. The third is flying about. You can hardly see the thread.

I don't think that the fortune teller is at all happy about the invasion...The old bats were very quiet. They were old....

Here's to a new generation of vamps....

See you tomorrow.