Thread: Funkins

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Hope I'm putting this in the right place!

At Dollar Tree last night, they had just unloaded tons of new funkins!! I have never seen them there before - just a $1!!! They aren't real big, but not too small either - really a good size for tables and counters, etc.

ANYWAY, I'd love to punch holes in them, to string Christmas lights through the holes - kwim? What is the best tool to use to punch holes in the funkin?? Just a awl and hammer? or is using a heat gun somehow an option?

I bought 8 and I'd really like to do each of them the same way, but with different patterns (ala Martha Stewart!). I'm hoping there's an easy way to do the hole punching!!

TIA - Bev

I saw those too but didn't buy any.

If you just want round holes, a screwdriver would work, if you want patterns the woodburner would work better.

Even those Pumpkin Master kits work, though they do leave ragged edges.

This is what I want to do - took me a few minutes to find a pic of it...

I was looking for those last year, they're still not available here

The Pumpkin Masters tools would work for that as would any screwdriver or an awl as you suggested.

You may wanna test on something else first to make sure the holes that are made by the tool of your choosing isn't going to be larger than your lights.

I am not sure what a funkin is, but there is a conical cutter sold at hobby shops to bore holes in plastic. They work really well and you stop when you get to the right size hole, they look like a cone on a handle, are very sharp so keep away from children, you start by placing the point where you want the hole and screw like a screw driver.

I've seen Martha Stewart do this effect to a real pumpkin and she said she just used a drill. If you do, drill into something else plastic so you can mearue your holes, they should be a tight fit for the light otherwise the lights won't stay put.

Oh, ok, I see what they are, if the plastic is not too thick the cutter will work, but a drill bit would work too. For plastic I would not want to put too much pressure on them like punching would with an awl.

I wanted to spell out "Happy Halloween" with one letter on each funkin. This sounds like the cost effective way to do it. Would you say they are the right size for this? Great find.

The ones from the Dollar Tree are fairly small (half the size of the $8 one at Michael's, I'd say). They also aren't exactly funkins....they are white styrofoam that has been painted. A friend saw them and bought 6 for me to play with. As soon as I got them I carved a triangle in one to see what it was made of. Hollow styrofoam. Could still be useful but I wouldn't plan on carving anything intricate in them!

Agree with Rikki, I picked up one this morning. The drilling of holes will work but I would not try to carve out a face. 1/4" drill bit seems to be the right size.
Cut out the bottom to put the lights through, I used a razor first, then finished all the way through with a sharp knife. This way you don't shatter the delicate coating over the foam.

For mine I made a longer stem using twisted yellow pages and masking tape, then spray painted with light brown and green and put one of my little pumpkin mini skelly's on the stem. This mini pumpkin is sold in mixed bags at dollar tree too there is one regular one, one lumpy one like this and three gourds. I bought one of their vines and used a couple of leaves to finish the look.

I'm going to put it in my witch broom pot out on the front entry. I need to wait, it is still sunny and hot here and this will fade.

Oh, and because they are just regular styrofoam make sure you don't put them out in the rain! They will swell up and get ruined.