I love to decorate for Halloween!! You can see lots of my Halloween DIYs here. I prefer decor that is spooky but not scary or gory. This mobile bat chandelier, inspired by a piece from Pottery Barn Kids, is perfect for a Halloween party or just for decorating for the holiday. I used felt instead of paper, so you can display your chandelier outside, too. This would be a fun addition to your front porch, don’t you think?
This post first appeared at Crafts Unleashed, where I am on the Design Team.
Supplies Used:
- Metal Wreath Forms (14 inch and 12 inch)
- Black spray paint
- Black Glitter Felt
- Black Bead Thread
- Black Tulle
Step one: Spray paint both of the wreath forms black.
Step two: Cut bats from the glitter felt. I made 24 bats, but you can make more or less as you prefer. I used this template for the bats. If you have a bat shaped die cut that would be even quicker!
Step three: Use a needle and the black bead thread to string the bats. Start at the bottom of the bat, then string the thread in and out as pictured. You don’t have to knot it…the bats will stay in place. The felt is thick and stiff so the bats will only slide up and down the thread when you move them. This is great, since it allows you to arrange the bats once you have the chandelier hanging up!
Step four: Fold the tulle in half and stitch it to the wreath form. Trim the edges of the tulle to mimic the bat’s wings, in a sort of scallop shape.
I found that it was easiest to complete the chandelier by hanging it up so I could tie the pieces together. It was just too hard to do when the two wreath forms were stacked on each other on a flat surface; hanging was much easier! I used a hanger to dangle the chandelier in my closet.
Step five: Use tulle to make the hanger for the top circle. Tie one strip of tulle to opposite ends of the circle, and repeat with a second strip of tulle. Make the pieces as long or as short as you need to fit your space.
Step six: Use the black bead thread to tie the 12 inch wreath form below the 14 inch wreath form. Begin tying the strung bats onto the circles as well. As you can see in the photo below, the extra thread is hidden by the “flying” bats.
My kids love this bat chandelier! It’s not too scary for my four year old (who insists it’s a Batman call!), but it’s spooky enough to please my older kids. I’m glad that they like it, and that I was able to decorate on a budget! Why spend $59 when you can DIY it yourself? Have fun crafting and creating for Halloween!
[…] You could buy this cool bat chandelier at Pottery Barn Kids for $59, OR you could make my version for under 10 bucks! Get the complete tutorial at Crafts Unleashed. […]