[Hilda]

I did a search and did not see that anyone had already posted this...

Allen Hopps has done it again. He posted a tutorial last month on how to make your own 24 inch pumpkins (for haunt filler) by using a beach ball and Great Stuff spray foam insulation for about $10.

Other folks have certainly made GS pumpkins, but this is a new 'fast and easy' tip!

Dude is a haunt genius! Here are the links. He did an extended version and a quickie.

Here is my first attempt at same. Now I had some issues with an old can of Great Stuff giving me grief while I was doing this (nothing to do with the tutorial) and chose to rasp off a few boogered places (that is why the surface its rough in spots)... but I am in LOVE with this method. I love the storybook feel to the pumpkin. I think with a little practice you could knock out a pumpkin patch if you wanted to!

I hope someone else is as excited with this as I am. Come on back and show us your pumpkin(s) when you are done!

 

[ice456789]

Love stiltbeast vids. I've watched every single one. A few times.

 

[UnOrthodOx]

Saw the same technique ages ago though I can't remember who's it was.

Just wanted to point out that if you attempt to carve these, the great stuff won't hold it's shape and the face will tend to collapse (if you have a big mouth area). Not always a BAD thing, just something to be aware of.

(note the mouth fell to where it's touching off to the right side.)

 

[punkineater]

Also a HUGE fan of Mr. Hopps work! He's the first Halloween person I started following on youtube. Great ideas, funny too.

Thanks for posting his videos, Hilda! Surprisingly, there are people in the Halloween community that *gasp!* are not familiar
with his work.
...it's youtube Wednesday

 

[allears22]

I need to try this out after I finish the billion other projects I have going. I love his work and have made a couple of items after watching his tutorials

 

[ooojen]

Nice work, Hilda! Your pumpkin is cute, and I really like the creature-like look to the stem!
I'd love to try a few of these, but I suppose I should get the pirate party out of the way first.

 

[Paint It Black]

This is one of the coolest DIYs I have seen lately. My track record with Great Stuff is questionable, but your pumpkin turned out nice! Very storybook looking. Thanks for sharing the videos. Allen Hopps does a good job of sharing directions with a sense of humor. He is so creative and darned good at creating something from practically nothing. He is a valuable resource.

 

[A Little Odd]

I will need more practice on this. My first attempt did not have enough foam at the top and it peeled away with the fabric. The bottom half looked great. I will be trying again.

 

[allears22]

For those who have made these are they at all heavy or will we need to somehow secure them on the ground? Guessing we will but just curious as I haven't played around much with this type of foam.

 

[Jenn&MattFromPA]

Wow, what a great tutorial! This is something I really can see my kiddos enjoying as they get a little older, and I can enjoy it NOW! Ha ha! Hmm... I can just imagine a pumpkin patch area in our yard haunt now! Thanks for sharing this video!

 

[Grey Lady]

Nice job Hilda. Did anyone else notice the 'face' in the stem??? Creepy.
BTW tomorrow is 'youtube Wednesday!'

 

[Hilda]

I will need more practice on this. My first attempt did not have enough foam at the top and it peeled away with the fabric. The bottom half looked great. I will be trying again.

I did the same thing on my first trial!! I kind of refilled and did it right over the first. Then I had too much. Hence, why I had to 'take the rasp' to it. I think, with practice, we can get it down to making pretty good pumpkins. Just need a little practice.
Come back and show us when you make another!

For those who have made these are they at all heavy or will we need to somehow secure them on the ground? Guessing we will but just curious as I haven't played around much with this type of foam.

My husband and I were wondering the same thing. I drill a small hole in the bottom of my craft store foam funkin pumpkins and place them over a short piece of rebar. They sit nice and tight. I think we will just do the same to these.

 

[Hilda]

Nice job Hilda. Did anyone else notice the 'face' in the stem??? Creepy.
BTW tomorrow is 'youtube Wednesday!'

Oh myyyyy... I see the 'face' now. Eek! LOL
Oh yes!! I look forward to Wednesdays so much!!

 

[dudeamis]

Well I tried it, and I had the same results as everyone else. The top is crap the bottom was good. The cloth really stuck to the great stuff. I used an old sheet, I don't know if it was the fabric, the regular great stuff or the amount of water I used.

 

[Hilda]

Oh that's too bad dudamis. I am planning to make more soon. Mine was not that bad at the top. I didn't have a real problem with it sticking to the fabric. I did make sure the fabric was pretty wet. Sorry to hear you had a problem.

 

[Kitty Fuller]

Whew ...took a break from the gov't paperwork to check I this thread! Grrrreat pumpkins and I know Punkineater that you are shocked, but as m Ch as I love Halloween, no I haven't seen these vids . Wish I had now, would've saved me some hair! Believe me, I'm going to start!

Now tell me Dearies...and don't laugh.......what is YouTube Wednesday? I know, I know. It's really sad, isn't it?

 

[Hilda]

Now tell me Dearies...and don't laugh.......what is YouTube Wednesday? I know, I know. It's really sad, isn't it?

Allen Hopps is a pro haunter and prop builder extraordinaire who is kind enough to make fun videos when he is building props for his haunts. Then he posts them (usually on a Wednesday)... hence 'Youtube Wednesday'. Check out his youtube channel, Stiltbeast Studio (in my original post).

 

[Kitty Fuller]

Allen Hopps is a pro haunter and prop builder extraordinaire who is kind enough to make fun videos when he is building props for his haunts. Then he posts them (usually on a Wednesday)... hence 'Youtube Wednesday'. Check out his youtube channel, Stiltbeast Studio (in my original post).

Cool! Thanks Hilda. I saw the video at the bottom but haven't had time to look at it yet.

 

[Jenn&MattFromPA]

I tried my hand at making a couple this year using this tutorial, and I have at least 2 more inflatable balls to work with if I manage to get them done before Halloween. I set them out with a fall display I currently have up, and I am really pleased with both the fairy-tale look as well as the very bumpy texture and irregular shapes. I definitely did a quick & dirty version on the day I made them - it was hot and buggy out! My son, age 7, wanted the smaller pumpkin to have a LOT of vines... and he helped!

Starting in early October, they'll be hanging out in our cornfield area!

 

[PRO5OHHO]

I experimented with this a little bit yesterday, except I just draped the cloth over spray foam instead of wrapping it around spray foam, since the objects I'm spraying aren't round. I sprayed the foam in vertical lines from right to left and immediately misted the foam then added the fabric. This photo shows the effect timing has. Since I started foaming on the right, that foam had time to develop a skin, whereas the foam on the left didn't have time to develop the skin. Results:

Right: More bulbous, but easiest to remove the cloth from. Looked the best w/ the skin carved off.
Center: Less bulbous, still easy to remove the cloth but not AS easy.
Left: Very smooth, but very hard to remove the cloth, and it tore the skin away in places leaving large voids underneath. Looked the worst with the skin carved off.

I guess I would shoot for the center option when using this method, wait until JUST after the skin forms and then immediately apply the fabric.