How to make a super easy Ghosts and Bats Halloween tree.

I'll take any excuse to celebrate. Birthdays, Easter, Christmas, Graduations, any reason will do. The month of October is one celebration after another with barely a breath between. Five family members have birthdays, including Miss A and Miss B, and of course its Halloween baby!

I love Halloween. I know it can be a controversial holiday for some. But I have no problem decorating and celebrating. See my take on it here.

In New Zealand trick or treating wasn't something we grew up with, but it has grown in popularity over the last few years. In our neighbourhood, much to the disgust of Miss A and Miss B, it still hasn't caught on. So this year instead of going out, we are going all out to decorate our home and get people to us instead.

Having a limited budget for decorating I have been contemplating various ways to get the best bang for my buck and to re-purpose as much as I can from around the house. We already have a remarkably disturbing number of skulls in various materials, old worn books, wooden boxes, and the occasional decorative (not sure that's really the right word here) dagger. But I felt like we needed something more.

After all the stormy weather in the last few weeks, I have collected an assortment of branches blown down around the streets and beach. These inspired me to create a Halloween tree with two quintessential Halloween elements, ghosts and bats. I have seen examples of ghost bunting on Pinterest and decided that something similar hung on the tree would be just the thing. The best part of this project is that it cost a mere $2.00 in materials. Most of the items I already had or was able to find for free. It requires a ridiculously low level of crafting skill (am I the only one whose projects never turn out like the photo?), and it's easy for the kids to do too.

Ghost and Bat Halloween tree

If you'd like to create something similar in time for Halloween, you'll need the following materials:

• White material (I found a large scrape left over from another project)
• Scissors
• Black marker pen (felt tip)
• Ruler or tape measure
• Cotton or string (I used a neutral string because that's what I had to hand, but you could use white as well)
• Stuffing or batting (I had a bag already and it's super handy for crafts and is cheap.)
• Needle and thread (white and black)
• Tree (I used a broken branch found on the beach) the gnarlier the better
• Black card stock (I bought mine from the $2 shop)
• Bat shape pattern (I downloaded mine free from www.firstpalette.com here)
• Something to hold your tree up (I used a pot and some pebbles from the garden path) 

White material

Scissors, string, sharpie felt pen

Stuffing or batting (the inside from an old cushion would do)

Black card stock. I used one piece, the other two are for a different project

Fallen branch with lots of twig off-shoots to hand your ghosts and bats.

Bat shapes for the pattern

Steps:

Cut white fabric into squares. I made mine 20 cm by 20 cm. I also tried a rectangle shape but the bottom of the ghost "feet" sits better with a square shape.

Take a piece of stuffing and scrunch it to the size you'd like your ghost head to be. This might take a bit of trial and error to decide how big you want the head to be. I made two sizes and hung them on the branch together to see which one looked best. Place the stuffing in the middle of the white fabric square and fold the fabric down around it.

Using your third hand (or if like me, you only have two hands, a spare child) tie the cotton around the 'neck' of your ghost.  Don't make this too tight as the shape looks best if the neck is not too defined. You should end up with something like this.

Now comes the best part. Draw on the ghost's face with black marker or felt tip. You may need to manipulate the fabric to ensure a flattish space for the face. Get the kids to draw on the faces. You can guest which one below is the face I drew and which one is Miss B's, hers if far more interesting.

Fluff the ends of the fabric until they look suitably ghostly. Then using the needle and thread, make a handing loop from the top of the ghost's head to hang onto the tree.

Lay the bat shape pattern onto the black card stock and cut around the shape. 

Using black thread and needle, make a hanging loop from the tail so the bat is handing head down.

Repeat until your tree is covered with as many ghosts and bats as you like.

And there you have it. A fantastic Ghosts and Bats Halloween tree made by your family. Enjoy!

Do you have any special Halloween traditions? I'd love to hear about them, please comment below.


Have a great week.

Grace