Following on the previous Halloween Tree post, let’s tackle another homemade ornament: Shrunken heads!

Apple-head dolls are a common sight at craft fairs, at least partially because they’re so blinkin’ easy to make. You can make your apple heads cute and rosy-cheeked, or you can sew their mouths shut and stick hatpins in ’em. Follow your bliss.

You will need:

• Firm, bruise-free apples


• Vegetable peeler


• Paring knife or other means to cut bits out of the apple


• Solution of lemon juice and salt. Different instructions give different proportions, but 1/2 cup of lemon juice to 3 tablespoons of salt should do it


• Decorative elements such as round beads for eyes, yarn or wool for hair, and so on


• Sealant (optional, but recommended)

1. Peel the apple.


2. Core the apple, if desired. This will make it dry faster, but the edges of the hole have a tendency to “fall in” a bit.


3. Soak in the lemon-salt solution for a minute or two to prevent browning.


4. Use the paring knife to carve features into the apple. Remember that these will shrink pretty dramatically as they dry, so go for broad outlines rather than little fiddly details.


5. Soak again in the solution for at least another few minutes to help prevent mold. Soaking them overnight will help draw the water out of the apple and give you a head-start on the drying process, but if you’re impatient you don’t have to wait that long.


6. Let dry. The ideal way to do this is in a food dehydrator, but if you don’t have access to one just make sure the apple is in a warm, dry place and has good air circulation (put it on a cake rack or impale it on a stick; just do something to let air get to the bottom). Check it every few days and pinch the features back into shape if they start warping. The apple is ready when it’s spongy-dry.


7. If you plan to keep your apple head for more than one season, use craft sealer to help prolong its life.

Now it’s time to decorate. For the classic Jivaro-style head, use a large needle and rough twine to sew the mouth shut (take care that you don’t tear the edges of the mouth). Add some unkempt hair (tease out some craft-store doll’s hair), and maybe thread a big feather through its nasal septum.

Get creative, using paint, beads, or any other decoration that strikes your fancy. Add polymer clay horns and fangs to make evil imp heads. Little pointed hats might turn them into witches.

To hang, insert a loop of strong wire into the top of the apple (under the hair) and attach a ribbon. You can also make a lot of heads and string them together in a macabre garland.

If you need guidance or inspiration, these three sites provide step-by-step pictures of the carving process.

This is a fun bad-weather activity for kids, too (providing they’re old enough to handle a paring knife without undue bloodshed), so turn your little bats loose on a heap of apples and see what they produce.