By the end of last week, the apple heads were not as dried out as I had hoped. They had spent a lot of time in the oven and a little time in the sun, but they were still dense and rather squishy, (except mine, but I started with a smaller apple.) I decided to give them just a few more days and this evening I figured they were ready to complete.

Thankfully I had gone to Walmart last week and picked up a few things to decorate them… buttons for eyes, pipe cleaners for arms and legs, and fake fur for the hair. I broke out the remnant fabric scraps and the hot glue gun and we were ready.

To be honest, my expectations were VERY, VERY low. When I pulled them out of the oven, they were not at all what I had envisioned they might be when we started this project.

I began with mine so that I could work all the bugs out before trying them on the kids. I glued on her eyes, added her hair, and then made her body. We attached the heads to wooden sticks, which was much more stable than the pipe cleaners the directions had recommended. I reserved those for the arms and legs. As mine started to come together I was shocked that it was actually turning out kind of adorable. It looked like a little old lady that I imagined baked pies and crocheted blankets back in the day. I loved her immediately.

When the kids saw that mine was cute, they were even more eager to start theirs. Thankfully Tim had gotten home, so we tackled the other three together. The kids did as much work on them as they could, and what they couldn’t do, they directed us. They each took about a half an hour to complete and I think the final products are amazing!

They are quirky, odd, and strangely endearing. I can see how they would have been popular back in the day when buying a doll at a store wasn’t an option. By using what was around them, they were able to make their own toys. They would have used scraps and trinkets they already had, and these dolls wouldn’t have cost a thing.

I think the kids learned some valuable lessons throughout this process, and we certainly laughed a lot. And thankfully it turns out I didn’t have to set them on fire, bury them in the backyard, or call in an exorcist after all!