Rats & Bats & Halloween Crafts

I began my Halloween decorating this week.  We still have the outside to do, and a few more finishing touches inside as well.  But here's a sneak peek at a few items you'll find in our lovely home!

Lounge entryway with black feather wreath and swag.

Detail of the swag and wreath.

Sweet glittery backbird nesting in the bow.  Did I someone say "nevermore?"

Pumpkin Chinese Lanterns are equipped with batteries and lights to glow at night.

Even though this home is half the size of our last home, and has relatively low ceilings compared to the old house, scale was still a toughie.  If there's anything I could change about the arrangement I would make it BIGGER!  My wreath would be twice the size (the bow 3x) and the swags would be double draped - next year, right?  Items were purchased from Michaels, Joanns, and Pier1.

Playful rats scamper along our stairs.  Bubonic plague anyone?

Black heavy-weight cardstock rats from Martha Stewart crafts.

 Lovely things happen when MS crafts go on sale - like our house being overrun with rats!  Sic' 'em Kate!

Bows completed, it was time to put my cricut to work for some other projects.

Black vinyl on a 12x24" mat.

When I really get to crafting, I literally will use anything... hey, there's even the kitchen sink!

Hot glue, ribbon, floral wire... tools of the trade.

Inspired by Martha yet again, I went to my "October 31" cricut cartridge and found one of my favorite bat images.

Cricut mat full of bats.

 Again, scale was the issue that plagued me.  I would have cut 23" bats if I could, but then the relatively inexpensive project would have soared in cost as you'd only fit 1 bat per vinyl sheet!  What I couldn't achieve in size I made up for in numbers.

Is that the rustling of the wind?

Heavens no, a colony of bats is swarming its way through our house!

I cut a total of 49 bats.

They ranged in size from 3" to 17".  Black vinyl purchased at Craft Warehouse, but there are better deals online.

Last but not least, I whipped out a project that I saw displayed at Craft Warehouse, but gave it my own Halloween twist.  I originally thought I'd add more color to the backgrounds, but ended up enjoying the simplicity of the predominately black & white color scheme.

Still need a bow to trim off the area over the hook.  And probably some beaded trim for the ribbon ends.

Cuts are from the "Happy Hauntings" cart.  Paper is Me & My Big Ideas.  Spider from a napkin ring from Peir 1, only a few dollars.

Glitter skeleton from Michaels.

As you can see, I need to add a few finishing touches, but those will be easy and fun.  It was already past the witching hour (and my bed time) and I needed to have most of the ideas completed in this one night.  These are only a few of the decorations I put up.  Stop on by the house for some cider and a visit to see more ... if you dare!

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Just for fun, here's a video of a craft project I recently made as well.