_YOu Did it

Falling For Fun

Fill your mucs with hot cider or cocoa,
throw on some old sweat shirts and create a whimsical family
out of seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Averill says the dolls can last for
years if you store them in a dry
environment — "not your base-
ment," she warns.

Megan Swoyer
Special to The Appletree

uring this time of year, sand-
boxes, swimming pools and
squirt-gun fights fade from
my memory almost as quickly as the
leaves fail from the maple and
locust trees in our backyard.
That doesn't mean that the door
closes on fun-filled activities. It just
means we have to get more creative.
This month, Tami Averill, acting
director of the Troy Historical
Museum, does just that. She's in
search of the perfect apples for her
upcoming seminar on how to create
apple-head dolls. Also called apple
grannies, the charming dolls are
part of a traditional American craft
that children made centuries ago.
Joella Jarchow, a former elemen-
tary-school teacher, also is a master
at creating something out of some-
thing else. One of her favorite
"— autumn endeavors with Farmington-
district students is creating gourd
people. More on that later.
Apple-head dolls can be made by
children as young as 6, and the craft
is especially appealing to junior-high
boys and girls. Here's how.

/ • DABBLING IN APPLES

-

To make a great apple-head doll,
Averill says to use a round, big,
firm apple for each head.
"The McIntosh variety works
great," she says. "The firmer apples

Megan Swoyer, the mother of

1- and 2-year-old boys, is a free-
lance writer based in Troy.

GOTTA GETTA GOURD

carve better and they hold
Will and Grant the apple core. You can
the facial features better."
with their happy then easily insert the two
ends of the pipe cleaner
Once you've chosen an
gourd families.
through the top of the
apple, peel it and remove
apple, extending it down
the stem.
through
the
bottom. Form a loop at
To carve out facial features, use a
the top and twist ends together. The
plastic knife. Scoop out hollow eye
loop at the top will be used to hang
sockets and make a moderately
the head while it's drying.
deep slash for the mouth. Carve a
Hang the apples in a cool, dry,
bold, broad nose, removing the
dark place for about two weeks.
area around the nose. And don't
Then
place cloves or beads deeply
forget a chin.
in
the
eye sockets. The cloves can
"Be careful not to slip and slice
be touched with a dot of white
off a nose or ear," Averill warns.
paint later to brighten them up. Dry
"The more detailed, the more life-
the apples for an additional two
like. Pay special attention to chin
weeks. Then use pieces of pipe
and cheekbone areas."
cleaners or florist wire to shape the
To keep the face from turning
parts of a body.
brown, dip the apple in a mixture of
Dress your new friend in clothes
50 percent water and 50 percent
made
from cloth scraps, sheets or
lemon juice or vinegar. Fold a pipe
fabric-store remnants. Little hands
cleaner in half. Using an awl or
prefer pre-made doll clothes.
piece of wire, make a hole through

Gourds, also known as pumpkin,
squash and cucumber relatives,
grow in a variety of shapes and
sizes. Multiplying faster than rab-
bits, gourds often are passed on
from neighbor to neighbor, friend to
friend. After all, there's only so
much you can do with a gourd.
My-neighbor gave me at least a
dozen gourds and I arranged them
in a pretty bowl for our dining-table
centerpiece. There they sat, looking
lovely in their various shades of yel-
lowish-golds and earthy greens.
Then that same neighbor, Joella
Jarchow, told me how she and her
grade school students used to make
gourd people.
"Gourd animals or people are
always popular with kids," Jarchow
said. And they can be created by
those as young as 2. "All you need
is paint and brushes...and off you
go."
Now that's something I can do
with my 2-year-old son, Grant, I .
thought. So together we created a
gourd clan, each one representing
a member of our family.
Choose gourds with level bottoms
that sit well. I recommend using
tempera (poster paint). It washes off
of hands and clothing easily. The .
results? Okay, our gourd family is
not as perfect as the $3 ones I saw
at the Franklin Cider Mill. But hey,
we're not selling them. ❑

10/10
1997

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