| Author |
Stitching & Crafting Room:  dried apple doll heads  |
|
|
Whimsy_girl
True Blue Farmgirl
576 Posts
USA
576 Posts |
 Posted - Jun 28 2006 : 12:00:05 PM
|
I was looking around online at different primitive dolls and I just fell in love with a little gnarly old lady doll I saw... I started out actually looking for kitchen witch ideas because I decided I wanted to make some for a few of my favorite friends, and thats when I ran across my crusty little inspiration..
I want to make one of these but I keep finding suggestions of using a food dehydrator to make it.. is this something that I can do by just letting my apple sit out and wither on a stick? I saw some very vague suggestions on that but no one has said for how long it takes and if I need certain conditions for that or what.
If I can get results that way I don't mind making my kitchen look like a tribe of cannibles live here, but if I am gong to end up with a bunch of moldy slime on a stick I'm not interested in that.
Tips and quips would be appriciated!
B.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
|
|
DaisyFarm
True Blue Farmgirl
1646 Posts
Diane
Victoria
BC
Canada
1646 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2006 : 1:00:55 PM
|
I've made a few apple heads and they are a hoot...you never really know what they'll look like until they're dried. I just carved the apples into faces (really exaggerate the features including wrinkles). Leave the stems on if you can as you can hang them by the stems to dry. I just dipped the apples in straight vinegar and hung them in my very warm and airy plant room. It did take a long time to dry them thoroughly though...a couple months if I remember right. I still have a couple here that I haven't given away and they are almost six years old now and still are okay. I made an old woman and used grey lamb's wool to make her hair into a bun. She's hilarious.
Have fun...each face is different and a surprise.
Di |
 |
|
|
sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2006 : 1:08:51 PM
|
My grandmother made some she dried them hanging in the garage in the middle of summer ( 105 degrees in summer where I grew up it was hotter than than in the garage) and left them. When they were fully dried she shillacked (sp?) them I remember these from before I was 5 years old and they are still around 30 some odd years later. If you leave the stem and alot of the top of the apple peel it can make a really cool little hat on the person. I wish I had one of my grandmothers as there are only 2 left that haven't been given away they are just so cool. Have fun making them don't be afraid to experiment if it doesn't work put it in a tree with peanut butter on it and roll it in bird seed and watch the birds enjoy it as you carve another we did that.
have a lovely day |
Edited by - sunshine on Jun 28 2006 3:26:12 PM |
|
|
|
Whimsy_girl
True Blue Farmgirl
576 Posts
USA
576 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2006 : 2:59:21 PM
|
Ok good tips thanks.. I'll dip them in vinegar... I just looked, neither of my apples have stems so I'll try the wooden skewers.
Would polyurethane do the same job as the shillack (I don't know how to spell it either)?
I'm trying to think of a really hot place to put them where mice wouldn't get to them since I can't hang them up.
How much should I expect them to reduce in size? I hope to work on the bodies and clothes while I am waiting on the heads to dry.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
|
|
|
sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2006 : 3:23:13 PM
|
If they dry fairly quickly they won't shrink to much ( if 1/3 to 1/2 is not to much) I don't know if polyurethae would do the same as shillack (sp?) You could try and see what happens. If it does not have a steam you can still hang itget a real long doll needle thread one piece of cotton crochet yarn ( thread size 10) on it with both tales through the eye forming a loop pass needle through core of apple on oppsite side of apple pass the two ends of thread through two different holes on one button tie knot and hang from loop You do not want this item resting flat while drying as it can rot on that spot or dry crocked all kinds of weird stuff. My grand mothe framed one of hears with no body in a shadow boxs sounds weird but it looks neat it was one that had an apple peal hat.
have a lovely day |
|
|
|
Mumof3
True Blue Farmgirl
3890 Posts
Karin
Ellenwood
GA
USA
3890 Posts |
Posted - Jun 28 2006 : 6:25:37 PM
|
We had a neighbor that taught me how to make apple head dolls when I was a girl. She used shellac to preserve them. I would use a water based poly if you are going that route. Shellac gives a deeper color.
Have fun!!
Karin |
|
|
|
blueroses
True Blue Farmgirl
1323 Posts
Debbie
in the Pandhandle of
Idaho
USA
1323 Posts |
Posted - Jun 29 2006 : 11:22:21 AM
|
Wow Bobbi,
I started trying to make these dolls many years ago, but didn't really know what I was doing. My first daughter was just a baby and I had seen some at an art fair and decided to try and make them. It didn't work well - cuz I really had no clue how to dry the apples properly. Let me know how it goes. Sounds like fun.
"You cannot find peace...by avoiding life."
Virginia Woolfe |
|
|
|
sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
|
|
sunshine
True Blue Farmgirl
4877 Posts
Wendy
Utah
USA
4877 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2006 : 08:51:48 AM
|
please post a picture when you have carved one then again after it has dried so we can all see the change
have a lovely day and may God bless you and keep you safe |
|
|
|
Whimsy_girl
True Blue Farmgirl
576 Posts
USA
576 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2006 : 09:18:02 AM
|
Just carved them last night and the digital camera is already packed in with a bunch of camping gear, but I will be certain to take a picture when we get back!
B.
you can be oh so smart, or you can be oh so positive. I wasted a lot of time being smart I prefer being positive. |
|
|
|
Aunt George
True Blue Farmgirl
1476 Posts
Georgann
Midlothian
VA
1476 Posts |
Posted - Jun 30 2006 : 10:25:08 PM
|
I'd love to see them too. I saw one apple headed doll once and it was wonderful! I would like to try it too, but it is so humid here in VA. Sunshine, I'll go through some of those sites soon too! Thanks farmgirl friends!
Georgann |
|
|
| |
Stitching & Crafting Room: dried apple doll heads |
|
dried apple doll heads
