Fall is a great time of the year to take advantage of all the crafting materials nature provides such as leaves. Learn how to make a leaf bats craft, a cool Halloween activity that is suitable for kids of all ages (as well as grown-ups). With a little help, this Halloween activity can be made together with a toddler as well.
So when you are out on a nature walk the next time, be sure to collect a lot of different kinds of leaves, especially maple leaves as their shape is perfect for making leaf bats.
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You can do all kinds of crafts with leaves, if you end up with too many maple leaves or your kids will be done with making their bats, you can also make a cute leaf fox.
How to Make Leaf Bats Craft
What you need:
- dry maple leaves
- black paint (tempera or acrylic is best)
- scissors
- googly eye stickers or googly eyes
- white chalk marker
Step by Step Tutorial
The first thing you need is a great maple leaf. With fall in full swing, chances are you will find perfect ones that are already completely dry outside.
If your leaves aren’t dry, place them between sheets of newspaper, weigh them down with a heavy book, and leave them for a few days (depending on the state of the leaf) to dry completely. This way they will both dry nicely and stay flat.
Once your leaf is ready to go, paint the leaf with black paint. We used acrylic paints which worked out well.
If you are working with younger kids tempera paints or other paints that are specifically marked as non-toxic.
Allow the paint to dry completely before moving on to the next step. Depending on what type of paint you use this will take anywhere from a couple of minutes to dozens but in any case, the paint should be dried fairly quickly.
When the paint is dry, it is time to make the bat’s head. Cut into the top part of the leaf (with most leaves you will just follow its natural shape and shape it out a little). Cut it in a way that you get two pointy triangles for the ears.
This is a somewhat delicate process so sometimes a part of the leaf can potentially break, depending on how dry the leaf is.
For this reason, it’s always a great idea for kids to make more than one bat at a time to avoid any disappointment.
Now let’s finish up this leaf bat. Googly eye stickers are the best and kids love working with them. Let them select just the right pair of eyes to give their leaf bats craft some personality.
Now let’s make a fangy grin! Chalk markers are great for this, but you can also use an acrylic pen marker.
For the especially steady-handed, painting the smile with fans with a paintbrush is also an option.
All done! Now make a bunch of these leafy friends. You can also hang them on a string and make a cool Halloween garland.
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