As a girl, I loved chasing fireflies. When we visited in the summer, I would follow them around my grandparent's upper Midwest yards at dusk, capture them and place them in jars.
They'd spend the night on my nightstand, lighting up the room as I fell asleep.
It felt like magic - that kind of magic I love about Halloween.
These days I don't do much firefly chasing, but I do love the strings of fairy lights that have become popular decor because they remind me of this childhood memory. I've also developed an affinity for bats since starting Spooky Little Halloween.
Today's DIY is inspired by both of these loves:
Isn't this cute? And, like most of my DIYs, it is simple to make. It's also one of my DIYs under $10. Here’s how to make one.
How to make a bat terrarium:
Supplies
Mason jar
Moss
Black cardstock
Fairy lights (battery powered)
Illusion cord (or fishing line)
Tape
Hot glue
Pencil
Scissors
Ruler (not pictured because I always manage to forget one item...)
Cost
I already had the moss, tape, hot glue, pencil and scissors. Here are the costs of the items I purchased:
Mason jar - $2.27, purchased 50% off for $1.14
Illusion cord - $3.49, purchased for 40% off at $2.09
Fairy lights - $3
Black cardstock - $0.49 per page
With local tax, this DIY cost me approximately $7.30.
The moss was purchased at a dollar store a few years ago for, obviously, $1.
Directions
First, we'll start with our mason jar and moss. Take the lid off the mason jar.
Then place some of the moss inside. I used just enough to cover the bottom of the jar from the top view.
Next, I drew a bat by hand. They're a heck of a lot easier to draw than you think. My trick? Keeping the head boxy so it was easier to draw and cut out at small proportions.
Just batty!
We'll use the illusion cord to hang the paper bats from the lid. To figure out how long I needed to make the cord, I measured the height of my mason jar - approximately six inches.
Since I had three bats, I measured three pieces of cord at three different lengths - six inches, five inches and four inches.
Using my hot glue gun, I placed a dab of glue on the back of the bats, the placed the end of the illusion cord into the glue. I let this sit for 10 minutes to dry before I messed with them again.
Once my bats were dry enough to handle - and, let's face it, not burn me - I taped the other end of the illusion cord to the lid of the mason jar.
I made sure they weren't grouped too closely together so they would fill the jar nicely. Once taped, I also bent the cord a bit at the point where the tape and lid meet so they would hang a little straighter.
Perfect!
The final item to add is the fairy lights.
After playing around with the lights a bit, I figured out wrapping the wire wide enough to hug the outer edge of the jar was best so the bats would hang nicely. I found something approximately the width of my jar (my upper arm), wrapped the lights around it and then placed the spiral into the jar.
It worked perfectly!
And here you have the finished product!
I mean...what demon wouldn't want that on their shelf? Plus, I'm sure a few extra bats come in handy for recipes from time to time, right?
What Halloween DIY are you looking for next?
I hope this simple one inspires an idea for your next Halloween party, but I’d also love to hear what you’re looking for. Leave your DIY need in the comments, and you just might see it on the blog later this year!
