Spooky Halloween Bowling Pin Craft with Dasani and Fanta

This Dasani and Fanta #SpookySnacks shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions and experiences are mine alone. #CollectiveBias

This time of year is so busy! Trips to the pumpkin patch, school carnivals, parties and apple picking. Don't get me wrong, I love Fall, but it seems like we are out go-go-going more than we are home. With all those activities I try to keep a stash of water and Halloween snacks handy in the car, my bag or stroller. It never hurts to be prepared! 

And is it just me, or do kids get thirsty at the most inopportune times? Like when there isn't a store around for miles?

My kids primarily drink water, so having the smaller bottles of Dasani water on hand are convenient for us to take on our adventures. In fact, I will be packing the little 12 oz. bottles so we can stay hydrated while out Trick or Treating this year. All that walking makes us thirsty! 

Did you know  Dasani bottles are shaped so they won't fall over in the fridge. So, yeah... go ahead and stock the fridge so you have cold water bottles to grab when you leave the house.

This last trip to Walmart my daughter helped me stock up on Dasani water in various sizes. Of course, all those water bottles means we need to be conscious of recycling, or at least re-purposing them for something fun.

I like that Dasani bottles are made from plant resin so they are good for the environment, unlike some other plastic water bottles. So go ahead and craft with them, everything can benefit from being used a little longer, but know you area already starting with a good choice.


And all those bottles are crafting possibilities just waiting to happen. We like to craft and any day I get to break out the hot glue gun and creativity is a good one.

All these bottles in the kitchen got me to thinking. My in-laws have an adorable monster bowling set the kids love to use. Well, I thought with a few simple items including my used Dasani water bottles, felt and embroidery thread I could make my own. 

If you really want to create a memorable set, use the large 2 liter Fanta bottles for your bowling pins instead. Orange Fanta is a favorite of mine, especially this time of year the orange color works well for fun #SpookySnacks and party punch.

I started by creating a template to use for cutting out my felt. I used the 16.9 fl oz. Dasani bottles for my bowling pins. If you use a larger or smaller bottle, you might need to adjust yours. Just print off this Monster Bowling Pin Template and pin it to your felt for cutting.

I like to cut two pieces of felt at a time so they match up perfectly. I just used the inexpensive acrylic felt found in the Walmart craft section.

Then I used the blanket stitch to attach my felt front and back. I chose this stitch because it is more flexible when stretched out over a water bottle. If you want to use craft glue, give yourself an added margin around the template.

Then I used crochet thread and large embroidery needles to make my stitches. I like the homemade look the blanket stitch gives felt toys.

Then comes the fun part! Grab some wiggly eyes, pom-poms, felt scraps, pipe cleaners and a hot glue gun. Or go all out with glitter or sequins if you want.

I hot glued the wiggly eyes to each cover.

Then I started customizing each monster. It was easiest for me to hot glue on my felt and then cut around the cover to fit. It also saved me a fair amount of time. 

To help my monsters stand up, I stuffed the heads with just a little polyfill stuffing. I stuffed it down with a wooden spoon and then slipped the cover over my water bottles.

Then grab a ball and start rolling! My kids didn't need any prompting to start knocking down our little monsters. 

So there you go. We are going to stay busy all month long, so I had better come up with some other creative ways to re-purpose our used water bottles. 

How does Dasani and Fanta fit into your Halloween?