It's a Bat Colony! Halloween Pumpkin Decorating

The fall season is almost here. It's time to go back to school, get cooler weather clothes, and start decorating for Halloween. While carving spooky jack-o-lanterns is a popular tradition, there are other crafts that you can do with pumpkins. Why not use the tiny ones also available to create a whole bat colony to add to your display? This project is easy to do and fun for kids and adults.

You will need the following materials to make your pumpkin bats:

3 or 4 tiny pumpkins

Old newspapers or paper towels

Poster paint in red, white, and black or purple and paintbrushes

1 or 2 sheets of black or purple foam

Black or purple marabou trim

Scissors

A package of small wiggle eyes

Hot glue gun and glue sticks or craft glue

Optional - black twine

Cover your workspace with the newspapers or paper towels. Clean any dirt off of the pumpkins. Apply the black or purple poster paint all over the pumpkins and set them aside to dry.

While you are waiting, take a foam sheet and draw three or four matching small pairs of wings. You may need both sheets of foam. Cut them out and set aside. Hold one end of the marabou trim along the top of one of the wings and cut the length of the trim to fit the top of the wing. Glue the marabou to the foam. Repeat this step for the other wings. Alternatively, you can cut all the marabou first, and then glue it to all of the wings.

When the pumpkins are dry, take the red poster paint and draw a mouth on each bat. Use the white paint to draw small upside down triangles under the mouths for fangs. Open the package of wiggle eyes and glue a pair to each of the pumpkins. Glue the wings to the sides. Cut small sections of the marabou and glue them to the tops of the pumpkin bats. Arrange your little bat colony and enjoy.

If you would like to hang the pumpkin bats, don't add the marabou trim to the top yet. For each bat, cut a length of twine slightly longer than you want it to hang and tie one end around the stalk. You may want to glue the twine around the pumpkin as well to prevent the twine from slipping. When the twine is securely around the stalk, then glue the marabou to the top. Hang your tiny pumpkin bats for a spooky display!