Bats on the Wall (free paper bat template)

I love easy Halloween Crafts, don’t you? This free Paper Bat Template is a perfectly spooky Halloween decorating project that is great for parties or everyday Halloween fun!

These cute bats are such an awesome idea for Halloween and look amazing on walls, hanging from the ceiling, attached to the front door, or even attached to popsicle sticks!

Free Bat Template for Halloween Decor

We’ve Got Bats on the Wall!

Good News! I have got an awesomely fun Halloween Wall Decor project to share.

These paper bats are so easy to make and look like they are just floating on the wall- perfect for your Halloween parties or just everyday spooky fun!

To make it even easier for you, I’ve included a free printable bat template and a free bat cut file (svg) for your cutting machine.

I’ve seen these darling Paper Bats flying all over the walls of Pinterest lately, they seem to multiply every Halloween!

Last Halloween season, I even ripped a page from a magazine with the intention to recreate to look (lost that page of course.)

I just never really got to the project- didn’t have a bat template ready to go, was too tired, too much work, ran out of time, etc… I can go on and on with my excuse list, lol. (How perfect are these paper bats for Decorating for a Halloween Party?)

Which Cutting Machine is Best?

I probably haven’t mentioned it, but last year, I did a bunch of research on the best cutting machine, (by research, I asked a bunch of bloggers in one of my Facebook groups which brand of machine they liked more, the Silhouette or Cricut.)

The poll results were pretty even, but one person mentioned she thought the Silhouette software was easier to use, so I gifted myself a Silhouette Cameo for Christmas.

*Update- I now have the Cricut Maker – Upgraded to that for the fabric cutting ability. But truthfully, I don’t think you can go wrong with either machine. (And the software on both is fairly easy, lol)

The reason I never mentioned the cutting machine? Well… That’s because, even though I set it up on my desk and plugged it in, I had never even TURNED IT ON!

Until today of course… Turns out, it’s not that hard to use!

This paper bat project totally inspired me to learn to use this machine. (I watched this video to get started.) Can’t wait to make a few more projects with fabric and vinyl.

Tools/Materials Needed to make the Paper Bats

Bat Templates (or your own bat stencil, download link to my Halloween bat template can be found at the bottom of the post.)
Silhouette Cameo, plus starter bundle (best deal I’ve seen lately) or printer and scissors.
Glue Dots
65# Black Cardstock or lighter weight construction paper if cutting by hand.

Cutting out the Bat Template

I included a pdf and SVG version of the bat template (Download link found at the bottom of the post) but I will say, it is so much easier to let the machine cut out the bat template than to cut them by hand!

However, you can use the pdf bat shape, lighter weight black construction paper and scissors to cut the bats out by hand.

These little bats make a fun and crafty Halloween project for young children.

To make a cute vampire bat, add a few googly eyes to the bats and the kids will have an awesome diy Halloween decoration.

When printing or setting up the files for cutting, you can resize the bat outlines to a couple of different sizes for a bit of variety.

Hanging the Paper Bats

To hang the bats, I used a bone folder to fold the paper bats down the center and added a glue dot to the middle of the bat on the back. (I tried regular tape first, but the paint finish in this room is too shiny and the bats were falling down. I added a glue dot and they stayed perfectly.)