Garden Dolls

$10 - $15 (based on 2017 prices)

Makes two dolls

2017’s haunt explored the legend of La Llorona. To expand upon the element of prolicide prevalent in the folklore, I drew inspiration from La Isla de las Muñecas and filled the haunt with dolls to represent the specter’s drowned children. Although the process of transforming dozens of dolls into macabre monsters eventually became rather tiring, the final results were well worth the time and effort.

• Two vinyl dolls roughly twelve inches in height
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat beige*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat black*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in flat brown*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in grasshopper*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in hunter green*
• One 2 oz. bottle of acrylic paint in olive*
• Two or three four-foot garlands of artificial leaves (roughly thirty leaves per garland)
• One to two 0.4 oz. packages of rubber worms (roughly six worms per package)
  

1. Disrobe the dolls and use a sharp knife to mangle their bodies, cutting holes in their chests, removing limbs, and opening up portions of their heads. Where you place the cavities and their size all depend on your chosen aesthetic. For visual interest, create jagged edges. To make this process easier, purchase dolls made from thin vinyl or cheap plastic. If it helps, trace the outline of your cuts with a marker first.

2. On a newspaper-lined surface in a well-ventilated area, give the dolls’ bodies three even coats of beige paint and the recesses of the openings three even coats of black paint. The number of coats, of course, is based on your desired coverage, so you may apply more or less.

3. You want to create the illusion of moss creeping across the surfaces of the dolls. Use a brush with splayed bristles to create a stippling effect around the joints, along the contours of facial features, and the edges of the holes to achieve this. I found that working from dark to light (i.e. hunter green to grasshopper) produces the best results. To further the patina, apply a light stippling of black and brown.

4. Separate the leaves from their garlands. Although you could do this while you glue them to the dolls, I found that performing this step beforehand made the process much easier. Plus, it gives you a clear idea of exactly how many leaves you have. Use hot glue to adhere the leaves into the openings. For visual interest, build up layers and vary the color patterns so that leaves with the same hues and shapes are not concentrated in one area.

5. Adhere rubber worms along the the bodies and cut some in half to glue in the foliage, giving the illusion they are snaking through the leaves. You can even make a few crawl out of eyes and mouths for a creepier effect. NOTE: the particular insects I used were made of a slick rubber which did not stick to hot glue. As a result, I used superglue gel to affix them.

6. To cater the props to your haunt’s theme, you can embellish them with alternate details like swarms of cockroaches or spiders. Likewise, you can substitute the fresh greenery with fall foliage for a more autumnal look. 

*You will not use the entire bottle’s content for this project.