Making Faux Caramel Apples (For Fall Decor)

Quick and easy instructions for making faux caramel apples. A great addition to your DIY fall decor (how cute would these look sitting on a plate in your kitchen) and great for Halloween party decorations too!

Wow, I'm on an apple thing lately. Apples in the my fall dining room, baked apples. And now fake caramel apples. Just a regular apple-palooza around here.

So if you are an apple hater, just shield your eyes and look away. It will all be over shortly.

A few years ago I bought some real caramel apples to use in a post about vintage Halloween party decor, but since there was no "real" Halloween party going on at all, just a photo session, it seemed like a waste.

I mean there is some kid out there still crying himself to sleep each night over the fact that he didn't get to eat caramel apples for Halloween that year, because some mean lady took the last box just so she could have a pretty table.

So I'm going to show you how to make some faux caramel apples that you can set around the house for quick and easy DIY fall decor. Without scarring any little kids for life.

(This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience. You can read my full disclosure policy here.)

How To Make Faux Caramel Apples

Supplies:

• Fake Apples
• Mod Podge in the glossy finish (8 oz bottle)
• Craft paint in a caramel color - I used Folk Art by Plaid's cinnamon color (2 oz bottle)
• Corn cob guinea pig bedding
• Twigs, popsicle sticks or something similar to be used as a handle
• Ribbon if you want to get all fancy
• Wax paper or paper plate (not pictured)

Instructions:

Take your apple and remove the stem. It should just pull out.

Jam something into the hole and twist it around to make the hole a little bigger for your handle. I used a steak knife.

(I'll just add that me trying to do this one handed with a broken arm with the apple wedged between my knees. Uh, not the best idea I've ever had.)

Push your handle into the hole. I didn't feel it was necessary to use glue since the twigs fit in there very snugly. Snug as a bug in a rug. Or twig in an apple.

Mix your paint and Mod Podge together.

For five apples I used ¼ bottle of Mod Podge (2 oz, since the bottle was an 8 oz bottle) and ½ bottle of paint (1 oz, since the bottle was a 2 oz bottle).

This isn't Chemistry class so you can just eyeball it, no need to get your measuring cups all sticky.

Thoroughly mix the paint and Mod Podge together and paint it on your apple. Leave a rim around the top so you can still see a bit of the apple color.

I used two coats on my apples from Walmart since they were a deep dark red. The lighter ones from Dollar Tree only needed one coat.

Generously apply your "nuts" while the apples are still wet and sticky.

Now the bag of corn cob guinea pig bedding is HUGE. You will use 1/billionth of it, but I could not find it in any smaller size. I think this bag was $3 at Walmart though, so it's not breaking the bank.

And of course, you could make your caramel apples without nuts if you're nutty like that.

You can either make them more fall-ish looking

or more Halloween-ish looking depending on how you accessorize your caramel apples.

Oy vey, at 20 years old sitting in Chemistry class at college, never in the world did I think I'd ever be talking about "accessorizing" apples!

You can see how I used the apples in my Fall Home Decor
View the web story version of this article HERE.

Other posts you may enjoy:

Crockpot Baked Apples

How To Make A Fall Corn Garland

Fall Home Tour