Craft of the Month: October

That's right, my friends, it's time for the October craft of the month post!  It is the first full month of autumn and my thoughts have turned to fun, spooky, cute creatures.  This month, craft up a cute little bat, a spider and web, and some glowing jack-o-lanterns.

TP Tube Bat--isn't this guy cute?  Don't you want to make one, like right now?

You will need a toilet paper tube, glue, googly eyes (mine are ~3/8"), white scrap paper (for fangs), brown paper, black or brown marker (optional)

1. Leave the tube as is, if it's brown, or paint it brown or cover it with brown paper.  Just a hint on covering tubes with paper--use a lot of glue, and have some clothespins or other clips handy to hold the paper in place while the glue dries.  I chose to leave my TP tube au natural.
2. To make the ears, fold over one side of the top of the tube, then fold the other side over it.  Basically, you're tucking one side of the tube under the other to end up with some pointy ears.  If you need more help with this step, my crafting idol, Valerie, has a good picture here (it's the 4th picture down) of what you're trying to do.
3. Add googly eyes and fangs (small triangles cut from white paper)
4. Optional: use a brown or black marker to draw nostrils on your bat.
5. Trace hands on brown paper for wings, cut them out, and glue on the back.

And there you have it! 

Bonus: if you wish to animate your bat wings (make them flappable (is flappable a word?)), there are instructions here.  Looks to me like you could easily adapt the instructions to fit this little guy.

Pom pom spider and web--the kids and I made these spiders last year for our pinecone owls to chase.  Not only is this a cute craft, but it is a great way to sneak in some fine motor skills practice for your kiddos.

Source: bluefield5.blogspot.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

For the spider, you will need two pom poms (brown or black is classic for spiders, but wouldn't a hot pink spider just make you smile?), one larger than the other.  I think mine are 1.5" and 1" (but I could be wrong), googly eyes, and two pipe cleaners.

1. Glue small pom pom (head) to large pom pom (body)
2. Glue eyes to head.
3. Cut 2 pipe cleaners in half
4. Stack 4 half pipe cleaners together and twist together in the center. You should have 8 ends, which will become the legs.
5. Shape each end into a Z shape for legs.
6. Glue body to legs (use lots of glue and let it sit undisturbed until dry)

For the web, you will need a small, sturdy paper plate (like Chinet), and yarn (again, black is classic, but use what you have).

1. Punch holes (about 8) around the outside of a small paper plate.
2. Thread a length of yarn through one hole and tie in place.
3. Lace the yarn through the holes in the plate, criss-crossing, until you’re satisfied with the web.

Recycled jar jack-o-lantern

Source: sister-share.com via Scarlet on Pinterest

Click the picture for instructions to make these delightful (ha, ha, punny) jack-o-lanterns using repurposed glass jars, glue, and tissue paper.