Halloween Apple People - How to Make Shrunken Heads

This Halloween craft lets you design your own shrunken head decorations. Make these fun apple head people with these easy directions.

To make your shrunken head, first choose an apple to work with. It doesn't matter what brand or variety of apple you use, or what color it starts as, because the first thing you're going to do is remove all the peel.

You can use an apple peeling tool or a regular kitchen knife; whatever you find comfortable. It doesn't matter if you get it perfectly smooth or not, and the imperfections in the peeling will just come out as character when it's finished later on.

Using a pointed knife, cut out two cone shaped hollows for your apple person's eyes. Make them quite deep because later, as your apple dries, it's going to close in a bit as it shrinks.

For the nose of your shrunken head, carve out a bit along the cheek lines so that the nose area seems to protrude. Keep in mind that your nose will shrink as the apple dries. So you want to make its representation larger when you're cutting it, to allow for that shrinkage.

To make the mouth on your shrunken head start by making a slit for the mouth and then carve any details into the lips that you would like. As your apple dries that slit will open up even more, parting your apple person's lips and pulling them back into a Halloween grimace.

On the sides of your apple, carve away indentations to give the suggestion of ears. Your apple person's ears don't have to match exactly; even real people's ears don't match exactly. Do your best to have them level with each other and about the same size. Unless of course, you decide to take the artistic decision to make one of them larger or higher than the other.

Once you're done cutting, set your apple person in a cool dry place to allow it to dry for several days. Depending on the humidity where you are, it may take a while for it to dry out completely, but as it dries you'll see that it's shrinking down and shriveling.

Once your shrunken head has dried completely you can add any additional decorations to it that you would like. You might like to glue small beads in the back of the eye wells to give them some definition, or add some yarn hair to your shrunken head. Your shrunken heads can be used as center pieces on the table or as decorations on your mantle or coffee table where guests can enjoy them.

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