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Halloween decor doesn’t have to remain the domain of the front porch. You can dress up the inside of your house in the spirit of the season, too. And, you don’t have to be macabre or even eerie to be festive. This kid-friendly colony of flying bats will delight even the littlest trick-or-treaters when you open the door.

You’ll need

    1 small plant pot
    black spray paint
    2 small found tree branches
    twine
    3 lhandfuls of garden stones
    1 small bag of preserved moss
    1 traceable template of a bat shape
    pencil
    utility knife
    cutting mat
    2 sheets of black foam
    a needle
    black thread
    scissors
    chalkboard tag (small chalkboard sign)
    chalk

Method

Step 1: Buy a small pot to paint, or give new life to an old one that’s cracked or chipped. (Painting it black will hide imperfections.)

Wash and dry the pot thoroughly.

Give it two coats of black spray paint, applying it outdoors or in a well-ventilated area, using short and even strokes. Allow to dry thoroughly.

Photos by Karen Robock

Step 2: Tie the branches, found in your yard or a nearby park, together with twine. Place them in the pot and fill the bottom with rocks, purchased from a craft store or borrowed from your garden. This will help to keep the branches in place and prevent the pot from tipping over. Top with a few handfuls moss.

Step 3: Find a free clip art image of a bat online to use as a template. Adjust the size of the image to about four inches in diameter, then print. Resize it again to about six inches in diameter; print. Cut out both bats, leaving a small white border all around. This will make it easier to see them on the black foam. Use a pencil or piece of chalk to trace each size of bat about five times. Cut out all of the forms using a utility knife on a cutting mat.

Step 4: Using a needle and black thread, string each bat by pushing the needle through the underside, in between the wings. Start with about 30 centimetres of thread per bat, folding it in two as you thread the needle, then trim the lengths as necessary, as you tie them to the branches. For the nicest looking grouping, stagger the two sizes of bats at various heights and distances from each other.

Step 5: Set up your colony of bats on the fireplace mantle, in a window, or as a dining table centrepiece for a spooky soirée. You can even personalize your pot by adding a chalkboard sign with a whimsical word or two (like Boo!).