Halloween Zombie Dolls Made with Apples

You will need to start this project a few weeks ahead of time unless you have a dehydrator. For each doll, you will need 1 large apple, 1 coat hanger, 1 fashion doll suit for male or female doll, some discarded rags, a few snips of pet fur, hair, string, or faux fur, craft paints and brushes, glue, pliers, wire cutters, a paring knife and peeler. Optional: Use cinnamon, rubbed sage, turmeric, chili powder instead of paint.

Start by peeling your apple completely and remove the stem. Use the paring knife to carve out eyes of two slightly different sizes, leaving a solid portion for the iris, much as you would when carving a pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern. Next cut away bits of apple in the middle of the face, until a triangular nose remains. Again like a pumpkin, cut an open mouth, with crooked, gapped teeth. Any laugh lines or wrinkles that you want to carve will add to the finished product. Cut a slice from the back of the apple and carve this into 2 hands. Place the carved apple in a cool, dry place on some newspaper for 1-3 weeks, or until the shrinkage has reduced the apple to about 2/3 its original size and it is no longer wet to the touch.

Use paints or spices to add color to the lips, a greenish pallor to the face, shadowing around the eyes, blush on the cheeks, et cetera. Attach the fur to the top of the head with glue.

Unbend the hanger. Cut one piece long enough to reach from the cuff of one sleeve of the suit jacket to the other to create the arms. Cut another long enough to create the legs. Use the pliers to bend the top of the wire into a loop, for hanging. Slide the apple head onto the wire and up to the edge of the loop. Just below the apple, use a rag to tie the arm wire in place. Wrap each side with additional rag to flesh out the arms. Put the suit jacket on the doll carefully, then glue an apple hand to each end of the wire. Loop the bottom of the hanger up with the pliers, then slide the leg piece through it and bend to the right angle wrap the torso and legs with wire. Put on the pants, glue the shoes to the wire ends.