DIY Bat-Mobile

My crafty sister-in-law came by the house last week with a super-cool bat mobile that she had made from a Paper Source Kit. (they no longer have it on the site, maybe in stores? Maybe on sale?) Alas, the bat-mobile was for her bat-loving mom, not me, but what a cool idea! So here is my version of a bat mobile.

DIY after the jump...
What you need:
Black cardstock or paper (silver & brown bats could work as well)
A tree branch
fishing line
needle
Black spray paint (optional)
scissors
and a printer if you want to use our bat template



1. Find a nice creepy branch and remove the leaves (or leave natural, if you prefer))





2. Spray Paint your branch black on both sides in a well-ventilated area



3. Print out 3-4 copies of the bat template and, holding a template over one sheet of black paper, cut out the bats through both layers. They don't have to be exact. The more variety the better. You will see that I decided not to cut out my fangs but I left them in the template should you wish to do so.

4. Cut 2 small horizontal slits in the bat. One in the head and one in the abdomen. Vary the location a bit so your bats are at angles.

5. Thread your needle with the fishing line (or thread)

6. Tie a knot at the end of the string for the largest bat to "sit" on.



7. Run the string through the lower slit and out of the head of your largest bat. String your bats with the largest bats on the bottom and smallest on top to create the illusion of distance, tying a knot between each for the bat to "sit" on.  On some strands string the top bat up-side-down so he is "hanging" from the branch.



8. If you would like to secure your bats, add a dab of glue at one of the slits on each bat.

9. Tie the top of each string to the tree branch and let the bats hang down

10. Tie a piece of fishing line to each end of the branch and hang the mobile from the ceiling, in a doorway or from a light fixture (as shown here.) If your final location is reachable, you may want to hang your branch before attaching the bats



If you would like to make strands of bats, as my sister-in-law did, simply string the bats on a length of 1/8" satin ribbon. Elegant and so simple and dare I say, much less of a pain in the butt.