Halloween

I wanted to do something different for Halloween this year. I call this "Laughing Snowman". He's laughing since he's the only one who is ready for winter. Since we haven't had real snow here yet, I strapped a milk carton on top of a stool and covered it with a white sheet. Over this is a big white plastic bag. (The sheet was necessary because the bag is somewhat translucent) In one hand is a snow shovel; in the other is a string of lit Christmas lights. The nose is a real carrot.
I carved the pumpkin using a utility knife, a jacknife with a 3" locking blade that I got at on sale at Home Hardware a couple of months ago for just $2. (surprisingly good quality for the price, coming to a nice pumpkin-piercing point at the end), a set of x-acto type knives from the dollar store, an ice pick and a Robertson screwdriver (for pushing out small pieces of pumpkin that I had cut).
My neighbour checked out www.extremepumpkins.com, a site that advocates using power tools to make a jack-o-lantern. He got inspired to cut his with a jig saw. He said it worked well, so I might do that next year.
If you did anything interesting for Halloween, feel free to share it here. Very Happy

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Last edited by BushRat on Wed Nov 15, 2006 4:52 pm; edited 1 time in total

Haha thats too funny

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"There dosen't look like there's much shelter over in those mountains, but that's the only choice I got right now, this is gonna be a long week" - Les Stroud Arctic

lol, thats great Bush Rat. Laughing

Cheers.

_________________
A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
We are Known By The Tracks we Leave Behind
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

Thanks guys. As I had expected, kids liked it and adults found it scary. Laughing

Halloween is coming up again soon and I'm trying to come up with something interesting. Does anyone have an idea - apart from dry ice - on how to get smoke coming out of a pumpkin all evening? Surprised

Are any of you planning something interesting? Twisted Evil

Well you could start off with this screen saver to help you think up some cool goulish things Twisted Evil

.

_________________
A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
We are Known By The Tracks we Leave Behind
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

That pumpkin is so simple, but so mean looking! Shocked

I'm leaning towards carving a skull onto a pumpkin, but not all the way through. Just take the outer orange layer off so it gives a translucent effect. Then carve the eyes and mouth all the way through. I'm going to use a pumpkin that I grew from a seed from last year's pumpkin. Very Happy

Hopefully next summer I can get a seed from this year's pumpkin to produce another one. Cool

Thsi thread was started almost last halloween.

And I just noticed, the 1 year aniversary of this forum has already passed! man time goes by fast

_________________
"There dosen't look like there's much shelter over in those mountains, but that's the only choice I got right now, this is gonna be a long week" - Les Stroud Arctic

	TrooperMax wrote:
	Thsi thread was started almost last halloween. And I just noticed, the 1 year aniversary of this forum has already passed! man time goes by fast

I know, I realized that the other day and was like Dang, didnt post anything!

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-Thou may'st break, but shalt not bend me.
-"Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can"~John Wesley

Survivor Kid 909 wrote:

	TrooperMax wrote:
	Thsi thread was started almost last halloween. And I just noticed, the 1 year aniversary of this forum has already passed! man time goes by fast

I know, I realized that the other day and was like Dang, didnt post anything!

haha ya i totally forgot

_________________
"There dosen't look like there's much shelter over in those mountains, but that's the only choice I got right now, this is gonna be a long week" - Les Stroud Arctic

Well guys/gals, now that the bell has been rung ! Let get Halloweeny with it. Laughing

I like Halloween.

_________________
A Knifeless Man is a Lifeless Man
Canadian To The Core
We are Known By The Tracks we Leave Behind
Carry Less by Knowing More
Knowledge Weighs Nothing

	TrooperMax wrote:
	Thsi thread was started almost last halloween. And I just noticed, the 1 year aniversary of this forum has already passed! man time goes by fast

I'm trying to remember what the internet was like before we had Arctic Cove and it's just not coming to me.........

LOL

I'm not too much of a fan of halloween, but thats cause I dont like anything execpt christmas really.

I dont like birthdays personally, but when it comes to christmas I go nutts I love that time of year

_________________
"There dosen't look like there's much shelter over in those mountains, but that's the only choice I got right now, this is gonna be a long week" - Les Stroud Arctic

BushRat wrote:

That pumpkin is so simple, but so mean looking! Shocked

I'm leaning towards carving a skull onto a pumpkin, but not all the way through. Just take the outer orange layer off so it gives a translucent effect. Then carve the eyes and mouth all the way through. I'm going to use a pumpkin that I grew from a seed from last year's pumpkin. Very Happy

Hopefully next summer I can get a seed from this year's pumpkin to produce another one. Cool

hay I've don that but with a cat face! it is really cool but you have yo put holes on the back for ventilation or the candle goes out Confused

_________________
quote of the week: "Missed it by that much,"- Get Smart.

wildthing wrote:

BushRat wrote:

That pumpkin is so simple, but so mean looking! Shocked

I'm leaning towards carving a skull onto a pumpkin, but not all the way through. Just take the outer orange layer off so it gives a translucent effect. Then carve the eyes and mouth all the way through. I'm going to use a pumpkin that I grew from a seed from last year's pumpkin. Very Happy

Hopefully next summer I can get a seed from this year's pumpkin to produce another one. Cool

hay I've don that but with a cat face! it is really cool but you have yo put holes on the back for ventilation or the candle goes out Confused

What did you use to take just the outer layer off the pumpkin with? I would cut the eyes, nose and mouth all the way through. I think that should provide enough ventilation, but I'll remember your tip about cutting holes in the back in case the candle won't stay lit. That's if I use a candle. There are lots of ways to light a jack-o-lantern. Wink

	BushRat wrote:
	What did you use to take just the outer layer off the pumpkin with? I would cut the eyes, nose and mouth all the way through. I think that should provide enough ventilation, but I'll remember your tip about cutting holes in the back in case the candle won't stay lit. That's if I use a candle. There are lots of ways to light a jack-o-lantern.

Get a pumpkin carving kit. It should have a hoop knife (kind of a triangular shaped thing) with it. The deeper you cut through the brighter that area will be.
Here's a web page about it:

http://www.jack-o-lantern.com/

_________________
How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?

BushRat wrote:

wildthing wrote:

BushRat wrote:

That pumpkin is so simple, but so mean looking! Shocked

I'm leaning towards carving a skull onto a pumpkin, but not all the way through. Just take the outer orange layer off so it gives a translucent effect. Then carve the eyes and mouth all the way through. I'm going to use a pumpkin that I grew from a seed from last year's pumpkin. Very Happy

Hopefully next summer I can get a seed from this year's pumpkin to produce another one. Cool

hay I've don that but with a cat face! it is really cool but you have yo put holes on the back for ventilation or the candle goes out Confused

What did you use to take just the outer layer off the pumpkin with? I would cut the eyes, nose and mouth all the way through. I think that should provide enough ventilation, but I'll remember your tip about cutting holes in the back in case the candle won't stay lit. That's if I use a candle. There are lots of ways to light a jack-o-lantern. Wink

this is the kit I used but I couldnt find it for sale only a pic of the package. this is what it looked like. a good brand i must say.

_________________
quote of the week: "Missed it by that much,"- Get Smart.

I hate halloween. People and their spider loving. Makes me sick. Actually it just makes me freak out. No seriously right before halloween, when people are putting up decorations, I'm like a kid who just had a sugar rush after drinking espresso. I'm constantly looking around because anything that reminds me of a spider, even cobwebs, will make me jump. Plus there's nothing for me to do.

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Thanks for the tips. I'll check out that site and also see what kind of tools are in the carving kits in stores near me. (Maybe in the dollar store. Rolling Eyes

) Be sure to check out www.extremepumpkins.com sometime, too, everyone.
Bobo, I guess everything has a down side for someone. I don't know what you could do other than lay low during October. It must be hard when so many stores have Halloween decorations.

I've done "engraved" type pumpkins for a few years now and have some tips if you want. If you're going from a paper copy, dont make it so big that the curvature of the pumpkin distorts the design/ find a pumpkin with a nice big even face to put the design on. Tape the paper on very well or draw the face on in grease pen. I do all my carving with an exacto knife which is generally not long enough to cut all the way through. If you've gone with a paper copy, use a pushpin or hefty needle to piece fairly close holes along all the lines you will be cutting on. This way, when you remove the paper, you will still be able to see what you're doing. Go slowly with the knife and don't try to force it. One bad slip and you remove a chunk of your pattern or a chunk of your finger. Cut the outlines first then carve off the skin inside the lines. After you finish carving off everything you want, put a candle or flashlight in it and observe in a dark room. Note where the glow is dimmer and use a hefty spoon to shave down the inside wall, checking periodically until the glow is bright and even. Oh, and cut an airhole so the candle will stay lit...