Thursday, September 21, 2017

My Favorite BIG Halloween Dolls - YIKES! They're Scary! Or Are They?



Second to the Fall season as one of my favorite times to create and decorate is Halloween. I don't know why I like making witches, goblins, Frankenstein's, ghosts, mummies, and Dracula's, but I do. That's surprising as if I really saw one I'd probably have a heart attack. And, I cannot watch scary movies. Go figure! But, I do like to create them and the bigger the better.

So, I thought I'd show you pictures of some of my favorite BIG Halloween dolls and wood crafts that I made to decorate my house during the holiday season.


First, there is "You're Scary? You've Got To Be Kidding, Frankenstein!" I named him this way due to the expression on his face and his general "lack" of scariness. He couldn't scare a mouse let alone a human. But, every Halloween I put him in my hall with his own spotlight focused right on him for all the trick or treater's to see when they come trick or treating.

He stands 48" tall and is one of the BIGGEST dolls that I made. He was made based on a Tattered Treasures design.

He has a 3/4" thick pine wood body, painted green Frankenstein shaped head with bolts sticking out of the sides. He's wearing an old shirt of my husbands, and his wood legs are painted to look like plaid trousers. He has 4x4 cubes for his massive feet and a solid wood base. His vest is painted wood.

He's carrying a painted wood sign that says "Monster Mash! Trick or Treat!" and he's carrying a large rubber bat.

He also has a splattering of red blood everywhere and is adorned with raffia bows and tattered cloth. And, of course, he has the Frankenstein surgery scars everywhere. Maybe the red blood might scare some children, but his face surely wouldn't.


My next scary or should I say non-scary Halloween doll is a Frankenstein that thinks that he is being pledged to a fraternity. He's not, but he thinks he is. I'm not sure what is going on inside his head, but he thinks he's a college student not a Frankenstein. I'm not sure how he gets around campus with his feet the way they are. One facing one direction and the other facing another direction. He definitely can't climb stairs.

He's a 39" Frankenstein made based on a Tenderberry Stitches Design that I named "Pledge Me Frank!"

His body is made of wood and his head is made of cloth. His face is embroidered and he has black bead eyes and curly black hair. Wooden pegs hang out the sides of his head.

Frank is wearing one of my husband's old black sweatshirts and is wearing some of my grandson's old jeans. His thick wool socks were my brothers. That is, until they got holes in them and then became mine. He has the words "My Heart Belongs To You Witchie Poo!" embroidered on the front of his sweatshirt and is carrying a Halloween banner.

There actually is a cute story about Frank. I had decided to take him with me just as a decoration to a local craft show that I was doing at my mother's church one Fall. I had him positioned just outside my table and a little girl about 4 or 5 years old walked by him. He was about her height.

Well, she became fascinated by him and came back a couple of times and just stared and stared at him. She seemed to be fascinated by his feet.

So, I decided to ask her a question. I walked over to her and said, "Do you think there's something wrong with his feet?" She looked at me and shook her head "yes" and then looked at her mother and said, "Mom, can I have my feet like that!" Well, her mother, my mother (who was helping me at the fair) and I all laughed at the same time. Her mother replied, "I don't think so, honey!"


Another one of my favorite BIG Halloween dolls is a 39" mummy that is based on a Tenderberry Stitches design and which I named, "Mummy - Where's My Mummy?" He doesn't reside in our house during the Halloween season, but with my twin grandsons.

Their mother absolutely loved him the minute she saw him and wanted him for a Halloween decoration for the front landing of their house. So, of course, I gave him to her.

She also went home with hundreds of other handmade dolls and wood crafts that day. So much so that they wouldn't all fit in her car. That's another story and one we had a really good laugh over. Suffice to say I just love it when someone loves my handmade dolls & wood crafts enough to want to have them and display them in their homes. That, plus the fact that I was giving them to someone I love makes it all the more special.

In any event, back to "Mummy - Where's My Mummy?" He has a wood dowel body, cloth arms and a cloth head and is carrying a sign that says, "I Want My Mummy!"

His whole body is covered with gauze. Before I made him I figured that two large boxes of gauze would be enough to wrap all of him. Buy, was I wrong. I think my hubby actually bought close to ten boxes of gauze and I used all of it. That became one expensive mummy. Of course, I didn't tell my daughter-in-law that. Her mouth would have dropped at how much he cost to make him.

In any event, after I finished applying all his gauze I added a cloth serpent around his neck, a rubber snake, several patches, and a heart. I also applied several areas of black and gray blush to his whole body as I wanted him to look "dirty." It all had the right effect and I was happy with the way he turned out.


Last, but not least of the BIG Halloween dolls and wood crafts is a woodcraft that is probably one of my all time favorites. I named it "I Just Love The Fall!" and it was made based upon a Rustic Treasures design.

"I Just Love The Fall" is a 25" wide x 30" tall painted 3/4" pine wood craft featuring a large ghost, red barn, cat, fence, stars, and suspended moons.

Both the ghost and cat are wearing bandannas and a mixture of colored raffia is used throughout as decorative accents.

This wood craft usually resides in the dining room fireplace display and stays out for the entire Fall, Halloween, and Thanksgiving season.

I just happen to like it's rustic and primitive appearance which fits in well with all my other Fall, Halloween, or Thanksgiving decorations.

It is definitely one the favorite things I made with my husband. I actually think it's one of his favorites, too.

I hope you've enjoy seeing some of my favorite BIG Halloween Dolls and wood crafts that I use to decorate my home.

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