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 – AND it’s a partner post with The Necro-Nom-Nom-Nomicon’s shrinky dink bat jewelry! (Be sure to click that link to enter the giveaway by June 1, 2017!)
Hellen Die and I teamed up to share some spooky crafts with our readers in celebration of being halfway to Halloween. If you haven’t visited her blog before, well, you’re in for an evil surprise – Hellen is a demon with direct access to the Devil’s cookbook, and she is always whipping up killer recipes in addition to dark crafts. Be sure to stop by her blog and definitely follow her on Instagram.
Today’s DIY might not be quite up to demonic standards, but this little bat terrarium will be making its way to hell to hopefully sit on Hellen’s cookbook shelf.
Here’s how I made it:

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, plus the sources:
- Mason jar – $2.27, purchased 50% off for $1.14 (Hobby Lobby)
- Illusion cord – $3.49, purchased for 40% off at $2.09 (Michaels)
- Fairy lights – $3 (Target – Dollar Spot)
- Black cardstock – $0.49 per page (Hobby Lobby)
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?


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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!
Don’t forget to stop by The Necro Nom-Nom-Nomicon for Hellen’s batty DIY and giveaway. (Closes June 1, 2017)
Happy haunting,



Hellen Die
This is absolutely adorable and I love it! Demon or not, I can always appreciate a clever bat craft…especially when it comes from the heart like This! I am so excited to see it in person and it’s going to go to work where I can see it every day! Yay!!! What a simple and adorable and brilliant project!!
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
Yay! So glad you love it – can’t wait to send it your way.
Chelsea Celaya
So cute! Man, it was driving me crazy what this craft was going to be! So much can be done with adorable little bat cut-outs.
You know what could be a fun addition (and I’m only throwing this out there because I would add this little detail because it’s one of my favorite motifs for bats), is addition one or two bats that hang upside-down from the lid, like giving the illusion of all these bats getting ready to head out for a night of firefly dining. ;)
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
Oooooh! I absolutely LOVE that idea, Chelsea! I’m planning to make another one of my mom, and I’ll have to try that with hers!
Michele Rousselle
Love the simplicity, the out come, and the cost.
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
Thanks, Michele! Glad you enjoyed it. :)
Sue J
You know me, I’m a sucker for a Halloween make and I just LOVE these. I don’t have mason jars, but I do have jam jars and a cloche going begging that would be perfect for this! Sx
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
Jam jars are perfect too – use what you’ve got…then share a photo with me! ;)
Skylyn
May I ask what size mason jar you used? Super cute! Using as center pieces for my wedding!
Miranda | Spooky Little Halloween
Oh, how cool! And what a great question – and a silly thing to leave out of my post.
I used a quart-size mason jar. :)