# Foam Pumpkins....Funkins????



## avery255 (Mar 4, 2012)

New to this site and am very inspired!!!! 
my question is, where does everyone get the foam pumpkin/funkins? I have looked on the funkins website but seems to be a little high on price. Didn't know if anyone had a place that was cheaper....
any input would be a help...

thanks


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## CalgEerie (Aug 30, 2010)

I normally get mine at Micheals but they can be pricey, I check out any major craft store in your area and see if you can find a good price


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## TrickRTreater (Mar 24, 2011)

Hobby Lobby around the special time of year. Usually have them on sale for a pretty decent price.

Michaels always has an awesome stock of them, but yeah, a little expensive.


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## Xane (Oct 13, 2010)

Both Michaels and Hobby Lobby regularly put out 40% off coupons and sometimes rarely a 50% off coupon. Michaels has store-branded pumpkins which people always say are Gemmy but no proof has ever been seen. They also put out 40% off and are more generous with the 50% off ones. The problem is it can't be used on sale merchandise at any stores. Both Michaels and Joann also often have 20% off (the remaining price of) your entire purchase, even sale items, but not Hobby Lobby. So if the pumpkins at either craft store are on sale in-store for 20% off, you're better off waiting for a week when they're not on sale (to use a 40% off coupon), or a week when they're on sale the same time as the additional 20% off coupon (which averages out to about 36% off).

Last year, however, there were several weekends during the season where there was a huge sale + the 20% off coupon for a limited time during the day (usually 10AM-4PM, or 6PM-10PM) at Michaels and Joann. I picked up a lot of pumpkins at 50% off + 20% off which was far better than the clearance was until the very end of it. So keep an eye out for those! Of course, my best deals were the few pumpkins left at 80% off clearance.

The Funkins from Hobby Lobby and Michaels at first look "more realistic" but I actually didn't like the big ones so much. The Michaels ones were more "plastic" and way too evenly colored, but real pumpkins are waxed and glossy too, the Funkins were more matte. I used a toothbrush to splatter-paint a different shade of orange and some green onto the Michaels ones to make them look more realistic. The Funkins are also thicker and more brittle and harder to carve, though both of them are pretty easy with a good hot knife. I bought mostly Michaels large pumpkins and Funkin mini ones from Joann.


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## Ghost of Spookie (Sep 28, 2008)

The pumpkins Michaels sells are not Funkin brand pumpkins BTW but a different brand, probably Michael's own label. There is a difference between the two in how they carve and the crumbs left behind. Joann's Fabric and Crafts and Hobby Lobby (from what I understand) sell Funkins. Both brands of pumpkins have their supporters I suppose and both come in different colors (orange and white for the most part, and each brand has its own shade of orange) and styles (from baby pumpkins to giant, and narrow, tall, squat and short and in between). I've bought both depending on the look I needed and the price at the moment. 

Joann's has a midnight madness/friends and family kind of sale around September/October to watch out for. I don't have a Hobby Lobby in this part of the country but someone here on the forum has found the really supersized Funkins in their store and got a great deal on clearance. Funkins has a website that illustrates the pumpkins they are selling and that might be helpful to you.


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## TrickRTreater (Mar 24, 2011)

Hobby Lobby's, whatever version they are, carve fairly well. You better have a dremel handy though, and not an electric pumpkin carver. Otherwise you'll want to cut your own hand off afterwards.


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## TrickRTreater (Mar 24, 2011)

Oh, and they last FOREVER. I put mine on a scarecrow for my pumpkin patch out in the backyard, through 100 degree weather, intense rain and wind. And then through bitter cold and some snow.

Not a BIT of damage. No sagging, discoloring, no holes. Nothing. If it can go through all that and still come out well on the other side, with actual care and maintenance and only using them once a year? They'll probably last you for your entire life.


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## Pumpkinprincess (Aug 8, 2007)

Joanne Fabrics in my town sell Funkins. There is a BIG difference is quality between Michael pumpkins and Funkins. Funkins are thicker. Funkins can also have detail work like a real pumpkin. You can remove the skin and expose the flesh. Something you can't do with a Michaels pumpkin.

I buy my Funkins after Halloween at Hobby Lobby. Last year I was able to make an awesome score and purchased over a thousand dollars worth of Funkins for 90 percent off! Now I just have to carve them all!

I have a dozen of the first generation Funkins purchased about 15 years ago. They still look brand new.


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## Xane (Oct 13, 2010)

Ghost of Spookie said:


> The pumpkins Michaels sells are not Funkin brand pumpkins BTW but a different brand, probably Michael's own label.


I mistyped the stores in my post, it's Joann (and Hobby Lobby) that has the Funkins and Michaels has the in-house brand that lots of people on the board kept saying were Gemmy. Edited my post to fix it.


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## ROCKNRUDE (Apr 13, 2009)

Best time to get them is after the season. i was at Hobby when Halloween was 90% off. I found 4 pristine Funkins. I ended up paying less than 4 bucks a piece for them!


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## CelticWitch24 (Mar 3, 2012)

I've been wondering about the funkins actually..are they hard to carve and put on props and stuff?


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## ROCKNRUDE (Apr 13, 2009)

I've used both Funkins & the Michael's brand. The Michael's are thinner & easier to carve, but the Funkins are sturdier & I think will last longer.


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## TrickRTreater (Mar 24, 2011)

Nope not at all. About the same as a regular pumpkin. Like I said earlier you'll want a dremel, ideally.


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## RCIAG (Jul 19, 2010)

Funkins are pretty thick & have a more realistic appearance on the outside & the color inside IMHO. You can carve them with a hot knife tool but it tends to scorch the thin outside layer of color on the pumpkin & it may not be thick enough to go all the way through. That was my biggest problem with them.

They're more like a standard styrofoam block, you'll get more shavings off of them, with the Michaels pumpkins it's more of a compressed foam, like a foam sheet that's molded. No shavings with them.

Here's the inside of a Funkin:

















I'd suggest buying one of each & testing them out. It really comes down to a personal preference & what you're doing with them.

I generally buy the Michaels pumpkins once they go on sale before Halloween but I buy the most on the after Halloween sale. Like others said, you can wait for the coupons for Michaels & they'll be a little cheaper but Michaels has this way of putting them out & then almost immediately making them "sale" items so you can't use a coupon on them. 

I'm not a fan of the Funkins because I do all my carving with the hot knife & they're just too thick for that. But they really do look more realistic in shape & color. Like I said, it's just a personal preference.


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## VGhoulson (Oct 9, 2011)

I'm having a very hard time finding any sort of foam pumpkin :S I'm almost tempted to start making my own from scratch


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## RCIAG (Jul 19, 2010)

You probably won't find them this time of year in stores, you'll have to go online to find them in March & they're probably overpriced right now.


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## Shadowbat (Sep 27, 2009)

Ive found the ones from Michaels to leave more of a mess than the Funkins brand. The Funkins seem to carve better.

Ive been thinking about making up some paper mache pumpkins this year.


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## avery255 (Mar 4, 2012)

WOW.... sounds like most of you have this down to the science!!! I'm glad I asked. Thanks for all the info and suggestions.

Pumpkinprincess....you wouldn't be willing to pass on a few pumkins would ya??? LOL...just thought i would ask.

Thankks again everyone


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## Pumpkinprincess (Aug 8, 2007)

Wish you were local! I'm sure shipping would be expensive. 

I'm doing a big halloween purge this spring. I have to get rid of some stuff. I have over 30 bluckies alone that I need to sell!


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## avery255 (Mar 4, 2012)

Well that stinks!!! Thanks for the info though....


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## Xane (Oct 13, 2010)

Here's what I did to enhance the Michaels pumpkins:

http://www.halloweenforum.com/halloween-props/111118-quick-gemmy-michaels-pumpkin-enhancement.html

Try using a lighter shade of orange instead of or with the green as well.



Shadowbat said:


> Ive found the ones from Michaels to leave more of a mess than the Funkins brand. The Funkins seem to carve better.
> 
> Ive been thinking about making up some paper mache pumpkins this year.


Did you use a hot knife or a pumpkin carving kit? I used a hot knife and it was quite easy to do. You can get one for $10 (remember to bring a 40% off coupon to get it even lower!) at Michaels or Joann, or the deluxe kit with multiple tips (soldering, woodburning, and hot knives) for $20.


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