Part II: DIY scarecrow how-to...

So, here's the how-to on the scarecrows. It's pretty simple. You'll need a few items:
-Two pieces of wood for each scarecrow. One for the body (however tall you want the scarecrow, plus 8" to 1' of space to drive into the ground. I use all kinds of wood- fencing, broken broom handles, garden stakes from Home Depot; we use them all.) and one for the arms (shorter than the one you use for the body-  2 feet long will do it).
-Nails and a hammer
-Fabric for the heads (I use felt, myself. Any fabric can be used, though. You can hot glue felt or any other fabric with some nap. If you use muslin or another cotton, you'll need to sew it). We use sort of an off-white felt; you'll also need scraps of other colors or some paint (acrylic or fabric both work fine) for facial features. Any polyester felt you get at the craft store is great and it won't fade or bleed. Do NOT use wool felt; it does bleed. Long story.
-Cast-off clothes (I let each kid pick out what they want, with the reminder that whatever they use will be close to ruined due to rain, sun damage, etc.), hats, scarves, whatever else you want. 
-Stuffing. We've used a variety of materials over the years. Fiberfill (pillow stuffing), leaves, even crumpled newspaper work great, as long as they're encased in something waterproof (I use target plastic bags and tie them, put them in tie side down). You just don't want your stuffing getting soggy...
-Hot glue gun or sewing machine.

How to assemble:

1. Nail the two pieces of wood together in a cross formation. Here's a photo of one scarecrow, with only the skirt attached. I get all the scarecrow frames assembled on the front lawn before I start dressing and putting them in the ground. I always feel a bit self-conscious because it looks like I'm getting ready to burn some crosses on our lawn or something. So I try to do this part as quickly as possible.

2. Dress the bottom half of your scarecrow BEFORE you drive it into the ground. You can get away with dressing the top half once it's in the ground, but the bottom half won't work. I've tried this a lot of different ways, but the simplest is to drive a nail (or use a staple gun) through the pants/skirt; make sure the shirt is long enough to meet the pants where you want it to, before you nail them on. 

3. Dress the top half. Slip one sleeve on (and shirt over the head if you need to) and then it usually takes a bit of forcing to get that second sleeve on.

I used navy blue felt this year for the heads, only because I wanted the shape of the skulls to stand out against the dark background. Most years, I use skin-tone felt...and store the heads from year to year.

4. Make the heads. I trace around dinner plates (cutting a bit inside the circle for kid-sized heads), then leave a bit of skinnier 'neck' space at the bottom to tuck into the shirt and hide your wood cross-piece. I glue them, leaving enough space at the bottom to fit my hand in to stuff the head. I stuff them lightly- just enough to give them shape. If you try to stuff them too much, the facial features get all misshapen. Then do your facial features. There are so many ways you can do this- one suggestion I have is to google 'scarecrow' images  and copy some facial features that you like the looks of. That's what I did for our Day of the Dead ones. Leave the bottom of the head/neck open- that's how you're going to put it on the top of the stake. What works best for me is to feel inside the head and bring the stuffing to the front of the scarecrow, putting the stick part at the back of the head. They usually slip on there pretty easily.

My husband wants it noted: he does not actually have a blue and green sequined mustache. I have taken artistic license, here.

5. Finishing touches: hats, scarves, we've put gardening tools in their 'hands' (usually I just stick random gloves on the ends of the sticks to make hands), fake flowers in their pockets, a parrot on the shoulder? This is where the found object thing comes in- think creatively about the junk you have lying around the house and how it can be used.

For our Day of the Dead scarecrows, if you look closely, you can see that I used dollar store pompoms, leftover Christmas ribbon, fake flowers that have seen better days (I asked around and a friend of mine donated some flowers she was about to throw away. Score!), and even some of the flowery facial features are foam shapes from one of those Michaels' tub-o-foamy shapes. The theme was 'Hawaiian', I believe, and I just didn't punch out the little holes in the hibiscus flowers. And they really were perfect here. My scarecrows are not finished, in fact...some are still missing their headwear, some faces have yet to be embellished with sequins and beads, etc. But I wanted to get this post finished so people who are interested can start working on their scarecrows.

Most years, I can get the scarecrows done in a day or two-maybe two to three hours, total. That includes time for the kids to help get their clothes together, work on their faces if they're old enough, etc. The first year will be the hardest; you can just store the heads and frames year-to-year, which cuts down on the time. This is a project that is so worth it- and I hope that of all the wacky projects we do, my kids really remember this one.

One note- If you have any questions at all about these directions, feel free to leave a comment and I will surely get back to you. Next year I plan to make scarecrow heads in different styles and put them in my etsy and ebay shops. If having me make some for you this year is something that interests you, let me know. I can get them made and in the mail in just a few days.



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