I showed you the adorable DIY Ghost Garland Hubby and I made and today I’m sharing the black acrylic DIY bat garland photographed alongside it!  This is another project we made using our xTool M1 Laser Engraver and Laser Cutter.  I don’t have the same detailed tutorial for this project that I have for the ghost garland project, but keep reading to snag my designs (free for your personal use) and also the material thickness and cut settings we used.  Click the link if you’d like my more detailed review of how to use the xTool M1.

Supplies:

• xTool M1 Laser Engraver and Laser Cutter
• xTool smoke purifier (optional if working outside)
• xTool M1 air assist
• 1/16″ Black Acrylic 12 12 Sheets
• Fine tip marker
• Paper
• Cord for Stringing

Get My Bat Cut Files Here:

How to Make Acrylic DIY Bat Garland:

• Like with the DIY ghosts, I started by drawing a few different bat shapes on paper with a fine tip marker (if you’d like to use mine, sign up for my monthly newsletter above).
• I used PNG SVG Converter by Adobe (it’s free) to turn it into an SVG file to import into xTool’s Creative Space.
• In xTool Creative Space, we added holes along the wings for each bat to be hung.
• I placed my sheet of acrylic inside, on risers, and closed the lid.
• Then we let the xTool M1 do all the work and cut out the shapes!
• Once the shapes we cut, I simply slid them onto some cord from my craft stash.
• Design-wise, I did a center bat facing forward and then did a mirror image with two other designs on either side:

Cut Settings for 1/16″ Black Acrylic 12 12 Sheets:

• 90% Power
• 3 mm/s speed
• 2 passes

Cutting Acrylic with the xTool M1 Laser Engraver and Laser Cutter:

I will be very honest and say that using the xTool M1 Laser Engraver and Laser Cutter to cut acrylic indoors is not something I recommend!  Even with the xTool smoke purifier, I find the fumes are too strong.  If you have a well ventilated workspace, you may be able to do this more comfortably.  However, I LOVED using my xTool on my deck this summer for crafting.  In fact, we were able to sit it outside and send over our designs from inside the house (although you should always supervised this machine in case of fire, etc).

How to Turn a Drawing into an SVG File:

I used PNG SVG Converter by Adobe (it’s free) to turn a photo of my drawings into an SVG file to import into xTool’s Creative Space.  It was very easy!  BUT I will share some tips: be careful designing too detailed a silhouette because it is cut with a laser and too fine details can be lost if the laser moves off course a mm.  Plus, very tiny thin details can snap.  If you’d like to create more details, scale up your design for best results.  I really wanted to capture the tiny feet of bats but this was really as detailed as I could get cut out nicely.

Not sure what happened to the little bat’s footsie below, but you can see in the photo after it that his matching pair is perfect so every now and then there can be a little glitch cutting if the design is too small or detailed or intricate.  Just something to keep in mind!  And always make sure you’re watching your xTool as it works its magic…

Finished DIY Acrylic Bat Garland:

Unlike the laser cut plywood ghosts, which required cleaning, staining, sealing, etc., the acrylic is ready to use out of the machine!  All I did was string the bat shapes onto some cord and hung it on the fireplace.  They are very light and the cord is textured so I did not need to add any knots to keep the bats positioned a certain way.  You can, of course, add knots to secure them or even fill out the garland with DIY felt balls.

I love how the DIY Bat Garland looks with the DIY Ghost Garland, DIY Concrete Skulls and DIY Ghost Painting!  My Mom’s Halloween mantel looks so cute now and it’s packed with Halloween DIY crafts.  Even the whimsical candelabra was made by my grandpa!  I think the end result looks chic and just slightly spooky.