Thread: Pumpkin carving?

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I like to be able to do at least one pumpkin every year. (ie... the basic/simple eyes, nose, mouth ones you see everywhere). Then last year a freind challanged me to carve something more complicated. So I tried, and I've been hooked ever since.

This year my little cousin wanted me to do Fready. What do you guys think? I used a template to get the basic hat and fingers into place, but I did the rest of it all freehand. I got a new powered blade/saw this year that made it easier to cut the pumpkin. I wouldn't have been able to do it with my old hand powered saw. The new saw was $7. It runes on 4 AA batteries.

Here's the finished pumpkin.



The light I used inside was an el cheapo dollar store led colour changer base. The kind you place under those little crystal dolls/ornaments..ect. I bought one last year and tried using it in the pumpking I cut. I was surprised at how well it lit up the inside. People were asking me what I used, and I told them. This year I see that Wall Mart has a led base simular to the one I got from the $ store last year, but it costs 3 times more. (I need to get one more colour changer so I can get my crystal ball/witch set up. The idea came from here.... thanks guys).

Anyway, does anyone else like carving?

Btw, this is only my 2nd pumpkin that is more than just the basic triangle eyes and nose with scary mouth. I don't think I did that bad. It took me around 2 hours to complete.

Awesome job! You have lots of great ideas. I hope to post some of my husband's carvings soon.
Have you ever tried rubbing a small about of vaseline to the edges? It seems to make the carvings last longer. Maybe just keep it in the fridge until Halloween!

I used to, but now I don't really do anything to them. If I do start to see the pattern/edges start to curl due to it starting to dry out (like I saw last night around the mouth area... after two days), I simply bring the pumpkin in and fill the wash tub in the basement with water. I then gently put the pumpkin and lid into the water to let it soak for a few hours. I have found that this method works better than the vaseline method. After it rehydrates, I place the patted dry pumpkin in the cold cellar over night (the cold cellar is actually cold this time of year instead of coolish.. lol ). I then place it back out the next day. Some people might think that bringing it in and out everyday is alot of work, but I don't want to take the chance of someone stealing or smashing them considering all the time I put into them. This year I'm going to look into buying one of those Fun-Kins (?) foam pumpkins. I'm kinda sad thinking about tossing out the real ones after the work/time I put into them, but I guess there's something about cleaning out a real ones (complete with the with stringy gooey mess), and then seasoning and roasting the seeds that I like.

Oh, I was thinking of adding in some flames on the back side, so I can have them project on the wall when the pumpkin is lit. What do you guys think?

Btw, thanks for the compliment ICKYVICKI. : )

Very nice!