Halloween Shrunken Heads Craft
I was talking with Dan Jon Jr the other night about why people like being scared. We decided in the end that it was the rush of adrenaline and the excitement that people liked, and in some cases get slightly addicted to. We then talked about the different things that scared us, but in a nice way and I didn't then spend ages with my feet in the air because I was convinced there was a snake slithering around...
Something that did scare me when I was little, but in that delicious shiver down the spine way, were Shrunken Heads and when I saw a Halloween Craft that turned a humble apple into a Shrunken Head, I wanted to carve some. If you'd like to make some too, then you need to start work now or they won't shrink in time for Halloween!
You need the following items to create these ghoulish heads.
A Bowl, large enough to dunk the apples in, a lemon or lemon juice, table salt, baking tray, apples, water, a fillet knife, a peeler, a paring knife and some toothpicks. Not pictured, but also super handy is an apple corer and a teaspoon so you can scoop out some of the flesh!
After washing and peeling the apples, I set to work using a toothpick to create a fairly simple design in what I had determined to be the front of the apple.
The bigger the feature the better, so think large noses, deep sunken eyes and mouths that are probably screaming in terror, rather than intricate designs. I do suggest that you core the apple, as it will help with the drying out process and hopefully enable you to have these on display on Halloween. Leaving the core in as I did meant that it took a few days to dry out and even now, they still aren't quite done.
Once the apple was carved, I placed them in a solution of Lemon Juice, Water and Salt. This stops the apple from going brown and helps draw out the moisture from the apple (the salt does at least). I then started work on the other apple, before putting that into the mixture. I patted dry the apples before putting on a tray in the bottom of the oven on the lowest temperature setting.
I left them for a few hours (I forgot about them again) and then just left them in there when I was finished cooking other things, so the heat would draw out the moisture.
And then a couple of days later, this was my prize for the hard work I'd invested in carving the apple faces. I can't wait to give someone a scare with them!
Let me know if you make any, and if you do show me your pictures so I can get ideas for next year!
Something that did scare me when I was little, but in that delicious shiver down the spine way, were Shrunken Heads and when I saw a Halloween Craft that turned a humble apple into a Shrunken Head, I wanted to carve some. If you'd like to make some too, then you need to start work now or they won't shrink in time for Halloween!
You need the following items to create these ghoulish heads.
A Bowl, large enough to dunk the apples in, a lemon or lemon juice, table salt, baking tray, apples, water, a fillet knife, a peeler, a paring knife and some toothpicks. Not pictured, but also super handy is an apple corer and a teaspoon so you can scoop out some of the flesh!
After washing and peeling the apples, I set to work using a toothpick to create a fairly simple design in what I had determined to be the front of the apple.
Once the apple was carved, I placed them in a solution of Lemon Juice, Water and Salt. This stops the apple from going brown and helps draw out the moisture from the apple (the salt does at least). I then started work on the other apple, before putting that into the mixture. I patted dry the apples before putting on a tray in the bottom of the oven on the lowest temperature setting.
I left them for a few hours (I forgot about them again) and then just left them in there when I was finished cooking other things, so the heat would draw out the moisture.
And then a couple of days later, this was my prize for the hard work I'd invested in carving the apple faces. I can't wait to give someone a scare with them!
Let me know if you make any, and if you do show me your pictures so I can get ideas for next year!