Frightfully Fun Halloween Ideas with Bats and Cats

This colorful specimen board is sure to draw attention when hung in your home for Halloween. To make, use a die-cutting tool or a bat punch to make 24 bat shapes from assorted scrapbooking-paper colors and patterns. Bend the wings slightly to create a multidimensional look. Cover a 12-inch cardboard or plywood square with even-weave fabric, taping excess fabric on the back. Stack two adhesive dots on the back of each bat, and press bats onto the fabric-covered square. Remove the backing from the frame, and attach specimen board to the backing with hook-and-loop squares.

Add creepy creatures to your Halloween table with this easy project.

Scattered along a stair landing, cardstock cutouts will make a guest's skin crawl. With a feline in pursuit, a game of cat and mouse ensues.

This shelf-bracket-turned-sconce will shed new light on your nocturnal ways. A poster-board bat supported by a dowel takes flight on the bracket. Dim the lights and let the candlelight glow set a moody vibe.

Light the path to your haunted mansion with these clever milk jug luminarias.

Haunt your house -- or at least your windows -- with paper bats flying every which way. Cut several sizes of bats from black poster board. Tape fishing line at different spots on the backs and heads; hang the lines from a drapery rod or cup hooks.

With his toothy grin and a pumpkin bucket, this cool cat is ready for a night of trick-or-treating! Reminiscent of vintage figures, ours is fashioned from plastic foam, dowels, and painted papier-mache.

Instead of treat bags, dole out these cat-theme goody buckets. Decorate an empty, unused paint can with scrapbooking papers and letters. Adhere a cardstock cat face, then spread glue on the eyes and sprinkle with mini beads.

Wrap pint-size boxes full of Halloween candy with color copies of old letters and journals. They'll look as if they were just pulled from the depths of a dusty attic.

Set pumpkins on their sides to create a cat face on the bottom. Simple triangle ears made from paper can be attached with pins. Learn more about painting pumpkins in the link below.

This simple seasonal doormat adds the perfect amount of spook to your front porch. To make, all you have to do is embellish a plain cocoa mat using tape and spray paint.

Instead of adding more sweets to trick-or-treaters' bags, hand out feline pencil toppers -- the kids will pounce on them!

For a cute, simple way to serve party treats to your goblin guests, add bat wings to a plastic pumpkin bowl.

Add a warm glow to your party by attaching black paper bats to inexpensive glass candleholders with double-stick tape, and then cover the entire unit with orange glassine. The bats appear to be flying right at you!

Created in pieces, this Cheshire cat can be resized to fit on almost any rooftop. Paint the eyes and teeth with glow-in-the-dark acrylics, add a bright bow tie, and you'll have a showstopper cat who's ready to shine on this big night out.

This bat is sure to terrify intruders with its frightening, luminous eyes.

Fun bags full of treats will help keep little guests from getting spooked by the sight of bats and ghosts hanging in tree branches.