How to Make Pine Cone Bats for Halloween!

 Here's how to step by step make these cute bats for Halloween. 

Materials:

• one redwood cone
• one rounded oak acorn cap
• 2 long pine cone scales
• 16 or more large maple keys (seeds). Ideally, collect the maples seeds before they are mature. If you collect after they are mature, you will have to rub off the tiny spines before use and cut off one or both bumps on the sides of the seeds so the keys lay flat for gluing.
• red paint
• yellow or white acrylic paint
  paintbrush
• glue gun or other glue

For this project, it is easiest to build the pieces separately, paint them, then glue them together.

1. Start with the body. 
Choose an oval redwood cone and glue a oak acorn cap on the narrow end. 
Choose two rounded pine cone scales and glue one on each side of the acorn cap. Place the tip into the first crack behind the cap. Glue into place.

2. Next, put together the wings.
If you are using fully mature maple seeds, choose two to cut the bump off the back side of each. These become the supports for the wings. Choose another one to cut bumps off both sides. This one is attached to the cone at the bat's "shoulder".

The seed on the left is natural. The middle seed has one side bump cut off. The right seed has both bumps cut off.

Lay out three seeds in the shape you want before gluing. The seed with both cut off is the one on the right.

Glue them together. Let dry.

Next, add the bat "fingers" on the wing. Make sure to place the seed parts of each wing as close together as you can. 

Now add the cross supports for the wing. This one only needs one bump cut off the back side so it sits flat. 

Add the last cross support laying it across the "fingers" and putting a bit of glue on each "finger" close to the seed bump. 

Here is a finished wing using developed maple seeds that have the spines rubbed off and bumps cut off. You can fill in the open space with a piece from another wing. 

Here is a finished wing using undeveloped seeds. They lay flat without needing cutting the bumps off. And they do not have fine spines.

3. Make a second wing that is the mirror image of this one.

4. Paint all three pieces. You can use black, brown or even white for an erie effect in a dark room.

Paint two red dots on the acorn for the eyes and let dry. Paint a tiny white or yellow dot on the red.

5. Push one end of a wing into the next crack of the cone just below one ear. Remove, add glue and push back in. Repeat on the other side. 

6. Tie a black thread around the body just behind the wings and hang for full effect.

You can make a mobile from several bats or make other creatures like mice and spiders to hang with them. Experiment with different shapes and sizes of pine scales as ears to change the look of your bat.

Makes a great spooky decoration for inside or outside the door! Ideal in a window as well!

Purchase a bat kit here! Coming soon!