Witch Apple Dolls

When we were kids, we used to make these witch apple dolls with Mom.
Something reminded me of them recently, so I set out, with Mom’s help, to make them with the boys.

NOTE: including drying time, these dolls take about a month to make, so start at the beginning of October.

Peel an apple.

Stick 2 whole cloves in the apple to use as eyes.

Take a knife and make a slit for the mouth. You can also carve out a nose if you are ambitious.

NOTE: You might want to make 2 apples each. We found that one of ours did not dry properly, so it would have been good to have a back up!

Place the apple on a stick.

Put it somewhere to dry for the next 3-4 weeks.

As time passes, the apples will shrivel, dry, brown and attract a lot of fruit flies! But it will be worth it.

Making a Witch

We did not have a pattern, but made it up as we went along.
Using black construction paper, cut out a ring.
Cut a circle, and fold it into a cone shape. Glue or tape in place.
Place the cone through the ring. Fold up the bottom of the cone (after making little slits in it) and glue it to the underside of the ring.
Tada! You have a witch hat.

Next, we found a smaller stick and lashed it into place across the stick of the body to create arms.

Cut a piece of black fabric into a rectangle.
Cut slits in the middle to pull over the head of the apple doll.

Use a piece of string to tie around it for a belt.

Glue the hat into place with a hot glue gun.

And there is your apple doll!
The hardest part is remembering to start drying your apple early enough!

These decorations will definitely keep from year to year.