No need to bait your home with bugs to attract a scary swarm of bats like these; all that's required is tissue paper and a pair of scissors. Cutting the strings of shapes won't drive you batty, since the paper comes accordion-folded in its package. With black tissue paper you can craft bats, cats, rats, or witches; orange makes great pumpkins; and white is perfect for skulls and ghosts.
Trace or draw desired design across full width of a package of folded tissue paper; we used a cookie cutter as our guide. Cut along the outline, leaving a bit of uncut fold at both sides so figures connect to one another. You'll end up with several strings of five or six shapes each; tape together for a garland.
I adapted this idea into an outdoor decoration by using black trashbags cut in the same way that the tissue paper would be cut. The garland looks fabulous hanging along the porch of my white house, the trashbags are cheap and easy to get, and because it's plastic the garland has held up just fine in the rain. Just wanted to share for anyone searching for a cheap, quick, black garland to use outside.
I don't know about pumpkins but bats and cats work fine. You just need to leave the sides connected. If you cut the designs out then you will have to tape them together, which would be a pain.
I've made this for the past two years and it's SIMPLE! I did the bat with black tissue paper and just left a bit on the sides...ended up with several strands like it said and just taped them together with scotch tape. My little boy loved it!
I've made this for the past two years and it's SIMPLE! I did the bat with black tissue paper and just left a bit on the sides...ended up with several strands like it said and just taped them together with scotch tape. My little boy loved it!
I tried this, and it didn't work. I was so disapointed because it sounded so easy. It isn't. I tried it with orange tissue paper and a template for a pumpkin. It just didn't work. The tissue paper was too thin to look like a good pumpkin. Maybe I'm dim but it also only made about three or four pumpkins, which would have looked stupid taped together. Maybe a different paper??
Cheated and bought this item from Martha Stewart crafts at Michaels. Super cute around the chandelier.
Cheated and bought this item from Martha Stewart crafts at Michaels. Super cute around the chandelier.