# "Carvable pumpkins"



## LostboY (Aug 21, 2003)

Hey, has anyone ever bought/used the carvable pumpkins they are selling at Michaels? They look like a really hard plastic...I guess you could carve a permanent jack-o-lantern from them (and they SAY they are carvable)- but I'm not sure I trust the tag....any experiences?

LosT

We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams~


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## sprfly (Oct 19, 2002)

*I was wondering the same thing. I've put a lot of time and energy into carving pumpkins every year, just to have them turn into mush in little or no time...I take pictures, but that ain't like keeping the real thing to display next year. To reiterate Lostboy's question: Are they really able to be carved with any kind of accuracy? Thanks. 

-fly
*


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## wolf65 (Sep 3, 2002)

Here are a couple of the ones my wife made last year. I think she made 7 total. We weighted the pumpkins down with homemade beanbags stuffed with BBs. I put a little hole in back of each one for small white christmas lights. They look great!

<center>







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<center>“by the Pricking of My Thumbs, Something Wicked This Way Comes.”</center>


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## sprfly (Oct 19, 2002)

*Is that skull pumpkin completely carved or is it just surface-carved?

-fly*


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## LostboY (Aug 21, 2003)

And if those are completely carved, did she just have to hand hollow out the pumpkins?

What is the material like INSIDE (ie behind the 'shell')-

LosT


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## Spooky Chuck (Jun 14, 2003)

First it was Spooky Town stuff I couldn't get in my area,,,, Now you are teasing me with carvable pumpkins that I can use year after year!?!?!? This "Michaels" place seems really nice. But I've never seen one. Where would the closest one be to Richmond In.?


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## creepybob (Jul 27, 2003)

Hey Spooky Chuck how's this? These are the closest to your area. Click this link and put in Richmond In and it will show you a map. http://direct.where2getit.com/maptools/geoproc.cgi/michaels
8111 Springboro Pike 
Miamisburg OH 45342-3703 (937) 291-3759 37.83 miles This Store's Events 
9490 Colerain Ave 
Cincinnati OH 45251-2002 (513) 741-4710 43.49 miles This Store's Events 
425 E Kemper Rd 
Cincinnati OH 45246-3228 (513) 671-4644 43.77 miles This Store's Events 
2500 N Fairfield Rd 
Beavercreek OH 45431-1781 (937) 431-8940 44.69 miles This Store's Events 
9851 Waterstone Blvd 
Cincinnati OH 45249-8296 (513) 774-9300 47.45 miles This Store's Events 
5100 Glencrossing Way Ste A 
Cincinnati OH 45238-3361 (513) 347-6217 50.46 miles This Store's Events 
3862 Paxton Ave 
Cincinnati OH 45209-2399 (513) 871-3170 53.21 miles This Store's Events 
7646 Mall Rd 
Florence KY 41042-1404 (859) 371-5720 58.64 miles This Store's Events 


They mostly come out at night........Mostly
Check out my pic's at 
http://www.halloweenforum.com/photo_album_view.asp?cname=2002+home+haunt&mid=416&cid=1013


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## Pugsly (Mar 10, 2003)

Fear not, Spooky Chuck. If you really want carveable pupkins from Michaels, just toss some in your cart, and buy them online.

http://www.michaels.com/art/online/displayArticle?id=66908

Pugsly


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## Pugsly (Mar 10, 2003)

Upon further investigation, it appears these carveable pumpkins are an in-store item only. Sorry about the bum steer above. But, on the plus side, there is a michaels not too far from my house.

Pugsly


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## Spooky Chuck (Jun 14, 2003)

Thanks Bob, and Pugsly!!! I'm going to go shopping for Spooky Town!!! Actually,,,, Beavercreek Ohio is pretty close to me. ROADTRIP!!!!!!


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## wolf65 (Sep 3, 2002)

The foam pumpkins at Michaels are hollow and have very thin shells. These are carved all the way through. They really need to be weighted if used outdoors since they are so light.

Here is another photo from our newscast.
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</center>

<center>“by the Pricking of My Thumbs, Something Wicked This Way Comes.”</center>


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## Atomic Mystery Monster (Jul 29, 2003)

Spooky Chuck,

I feel your pain. I don't have a Michaels in my area, either. However, I do know that A. C. Moore craft stores also sell carvable pumpkins. I don't know if all of the A. C. Moore stores are doing it, but my local one's having a 25% "Moonlight Madness" sale. You can check for stores near you and any specials they have going on here.


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## rod spain (Aug 27, 2002)

Very cool faces.Obviously you don't put candles in them?!

rod spain


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## wolf65 (Sep 3, 2002)

No candles. Just pierce a nail hole near the bottom of the back and one tiny white christmas tree light slid through the hole does the job perfectly. We capped off the extra white lights with plastic ghost and pumpkin covers. I think we also found the light covers at Michaels last year.

<center>“by the Pricking of My Thumbs, Something Wicked This Way Comes.”</center>


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## groovethang (Jul 14, 2003)

*
Hey y'all. I don't know if they are the same brand or not, but the same type of carvable pumpkins can be purchased at Garden Ridge (GR). I believe the brand name of these permanent pumpkins at GR is "Pumpkin Imposters." 

I saw the un-carved versions at GR over Labor Day weekend, and thought about getting some, but they also had pre-carved versions which included lights inside for the same price as the uncarved versions. Seeing as how I have my hands completely full with all the projects I am doing this year, I passed on the uncarved and picked up a bunch of pre-carved ones for $5.97 apiece. The light that comes with the pumpkin is just a plain white one, but I might replace them all with flicker lights instead if I have time!

Also, if you buy some of the un-carved ones, another lighting option is to pick up some of those battery operated reflective pumpkin lights that are dome-shaped. Pumpkin Masters has such a light that strobes. Also, another thing to try would be to get some semi-translucent vellum paper and tape it on the inside of your design (just make sure it doesn't get too hot inside your pumpkin with the light behind the paper, otherwise you'll have a really neat flaming pumpkin!). Another idea would be to use glow in the dark paint on your pumpkin. Coooool. 

I bet a Dremel would work really well for intricate designs, too! Just use one of those Pumpkin Masters pattern books (or your own pattern), tape it on the pumpkin, and go at it with the Dremel!

I am thinking I will check in again at GR after Halloween for the un-carved Pumpkin Imposters, and maybe I can pick up a bunch more for cheap, and spend some of those long winter months intricately carving them. 

Groove Thang!*


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## rweso (Jul 25, 2003)

I was thinking about getting a bunch of them to make a pumpkin costume out of. I would have a dummy in a chair carving pumpkins and a guy in a costume crouched down next to him. When he is crouched down he would look like a pile of jackolanterns, then when a toter walks by he stands up to full hieght and maybe chases them.


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## Spooky Chuck (Jun 14, 2003)

rweso, That pile of jackolanterns costume is a killer idea!!! It may be a lot of work putting the costume together,, but well worth it! If you give it a shot,, please let us know how it works.


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## Nozoki (Jul 27, 2003)

I bought some of these last year after getting bummed about my good carving going to rot. So now I use the fake pumpkins for the really good carvings, and use a few real pumpkins to do some simple traditional Jack O'Lanterns. I like the seeds too. For the fake pumpkins I use a little lighting device I found for Jack O'lanterns that replaces a candle. It has about three or four chrismas light type bulbs and they blink randomly for a flicker effect. I also put a sheet of white paper(might try orange this year) right behind the carving to hide the lights but still get a nice even glow.

***Trick or treat. Smell my feet. Give me something good to eat.***


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## LostboY (Aug 21, 2003)

Yeah, I'm going to get some of these this weekend, start working on them...

20% off right now too...

LosT


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## wicked (Aug 27, 2002)

*Rweso, maybe you could have a Jack-O-Pumpkinhead guy sittin' in a chair carving a human head--making it look like a bloody jack-o-lantern face of flesh--and have a pile of heads beside him that he made a few...'Mistakes' on, LOL---Makes a great creepy picture in my demented little skull.*

"The banshee shrieks with* WICKED* delight, on this, a cold and death filled night!"


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## rweso (Jul 25, 2003)

Oooh, that's good wicked! I might do that this year if I don't have time for the pumpkin costume.


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## wolf65 (Sep 3, 2002)

Good one Wicked!

<center>“by the Pricking of My Thumbs, Something Wicked This Way Comes.”</center>


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## creepybob (Jul 27, 2003)

Wicked I love your style!!!

They mostly come out at night........Mostly
Check out my pic's at 
http://www.halloweenforum.com/photo_album_view.asp?cname=2002+home+haunt&mid=416&cid=1013


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## Spooky Chuck (Jun 14, 2003)

Would it be possible to use a candle if you put some kind of flame retardent material inside? That would give it a nice authentic look.


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## creepybob (Jul 27, 2003)

Spooky you'd be better off putting a flicker flame light inside. It would produce almost the same effect.

They mostly come out at night........Mostly
Check out my pic's at 
http://www.halloweenforum.com/photo_album_view.asp?cname=2002+home+haunt&mid=416&cid=1013


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## Spooky Chuck (Jun 14, 2003)

On the other hand,,,, A Jack-o-lantern bursting into flames sometime during Halloween night might be a cool effect!!! You don't see that everyday!


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## creepybob (Jul 27, 2003)

Hey and you could do the "paper bag on fire" trick but use a pumkin instead!!

They mostly come out at night........Mostly
Check out my pic's at 
http://www.halloweenforum.com/photo_album_view.asp?cname=2002+home+haunt&mid=416&cid=1013


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## Crazybib (Sep 7, 2003)

I bought and carved 2 of the pumpkins from Michael's last year. I used Pumpkin Masters patterns that I have used for the past 10 years or so on real pumpkins. I used an exacto knife to carve them. It was very time consuming and tedious, a Dremel tool would probably be easier. I lit them with a pumpkin light that I purchased at Wal-Mart. They turned out pretty well. I have seen the same pumpkins at Party City for around $11


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## kerrygeneric (Oct 27, 2003)

I purchased 3 carvable pumpkins this year from Michael's. I was hoping to find brand name ones called Funkins (http://www.funkins.com), but found a generic brand there. This was my first time using these instead of organic pumpkins. I thought I'd be avoiding a lot of the mess that pumpkin guts make. I ended up trading one mess for another! Firstly, carving these took a LOT longer than carving a real pumpkin, in my experience. Secondly, the tool one uses to carve should be very sharp - the serrated Pumpkin-Master tools I usually use on real pumpkins made messy, uneven edges and caused a LOT of polyurethane foam bits to get EVERYWHERE. My advice is to use an apron or larger piece of coverage before you begin. Have a vacuum handy, or carve outside. Once I switched to an Xacto knife, things got better. Freehand carving leaves much smoother edges, while pre-poking a pattern tended to leave uneven, jagged, crumbly ones, even after cutting with an Xacto.

While these pumpkins will last for years, and not attract fruit flies in the warm California sun, I think I'll go back to the fun of carving real pumpkins the night before Halloween and keep fake ones for display, uncarved, on the front step.


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## Isis (Oct 16, 2003)

Hmm...I'll have to check out the Michaels.... Yipes! Another project! Oh well must start working...

Greetings, salutations and all that jazz.


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