You would think that something as simple as a black bat would be easy to come by around Halloween season. And it’s true that there are some out there: floppy “realistic” rubber ones, smiling ones suitable for your Kountry Kitchen, rounded ones that aren’t too scary for kids, etc. But just a plain black, menacing bat shape? I haven’t found any, and so I created my own out of sheets of thin craft foam.

Normally this is where the laziest of us would use black construction paper, but that bleaches in the sun, is floppy as heck, and usually won’t make it a second year. Craft foam is dirt cheap ($1-2 per large sheet at Joann’s, which fits at least 2 bats), easy to cut, and is basically all the things construction paper wishes it was. Sturdy, colorfast, and super smooth. Perhaps best of all is the ability to use tape on it, and then to easily peel it off. No ripped edges, and very little goo to clean. This comes in a wide variety of colors at craft stores, so bats are only one possibility. I also made a crow using the stencil below, but I can’t find any pictures of the finished project. Doh!

Now whip out your favorite creepy artwork as inspiration, trace or freehand a design, and go nuts! Here are 2 exclusive stencils that you can use, which will fit on an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper. Just click to enlarge either the bat or the crow, print them out, cut along the dotted lines, and trace around the stencil. I used a white gel pen, since it showed up so well on the black foam. A pencil might show up just enough to be able to see for cutting.

Just to get your creative juices flowing, here’s a couple cute bat decorations that would compliment your homemade bats: