In keeping with the Halloween theme, I wanted to share a banner that I’ve made as a subtle seasonal decoration through our house. When Mini Mug was younger we had a lot of the more colorful, loud, dare I say cheesy decorations, because she was little, and it was fun, and I was excited to decorate. Fast forward a few years and now I’m a little more conscious of the aesthetics of our decor. And a little more receptive to Mr. Mug’s aversion towards those earlier assaults on the eyes.
Step 1: Take a sheet of origami paper and fold it on the diagonal. I purchased my paper at Daiso, but you can easily find it at a craft store or on Amazon.
Step 2: Fold that triangle again in half, and then unfold so you can see the crease in the middle.
Step 3: Fold the bottom of your triangle (the longest side) up but leave about half an inch of the tip showing. The crease from the fold in Step 2 will help you line up the middle of your fold and keep it even.
Step 4: Fold the small triangle left at the top down.
Step 5: Now fold the sides back along the middle crease. The small triangle you folded down in the last step should be on the outside.
Step 6: Fold one of your “wings” up from the corner, leaving about 3/4″ from the folded-down tip.
Step 7: Fold the other wing over to match.
Step 8: Now fold the bottom corner up to meet the top, and the other side to match.
Step 9: Take one of your top points and fold it over and up slightly so your crease it at a 90 degree angle with the bottom.
Step 10: Now take the other point and fold it back to line up with the first.
Step 11: Tugging gently on the wings will help them take shape. Then just pinch the bottom back.
Step 12: Your almost-complete bat!
Step 13: To add the finishing touch, lift up the little tip you folded over in Step 4 and cut with your scissors along the middle crease to form 2 triangle flaps.
Step 14: Fold these triangles down and they become your bats ears. Over-fold them ever so slightly so the tuck under, and…
Voila!
To create the garland you’ll just tape them together. I found it easiest to turn them over (the wings lay flatter that way), and line up the tops, leaving a little room in between:
Place a small piece of tape over, lining it with the tops, and leaving half the height of the tape off:
Then fold that loose tape over, to cover up the sticky side left in the space between the 2 bats. It’s OK if it’s not lined up perfectly, that’s why we use clear tape.
Connect as many bats as you need in order to make your garland the length you want.
I used poster tack because it’s easily repositionable and removable (Remember that sticky putty we used to use, unsuccessfully, in college to keep our dorm decor up?) Tape would work as well, as the garland is so light weight. Just be aware of your surface, as tape may damage some.
Once you get the hang of the folding steps, you can bang out quite a few while watching TV. Then you can have bats all over your home.
Like over the windows:
or on your banister (don’t they look fun with the ghosts?):
what about over your Storm Trooper:
or even here…
Too much? Maybe… or maybe not.
(and yes, I did get into the bathtub to take that picture).
Mug Makes! 
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