Whatcha watchin right now?

[Murfreesboro]

It was so strange how fast he got it! My older son (no intellectual slouch, believe me) & I had watched it together and enjoyed it. Husband came home and we said, You have to watch this. He looked at the opening scene and, Voila. He just knew. My son & I were stunned. It was like he was psychic or something.

[Jack Skellington]

I started watching the new BBC documentay earlier called 'Frozen Planet' that I recorded last night.

When we go up to bed, i'm gunna watch 'Bettlejuice' led in bed.

[Murfreesboro]

I put Black Death on while I was attempting to carve an acrylic pumpkin. Not doing so well with that,

[Pumpkin56]

I put Black Death on while I was attempting to carve an acrylic pumpkin. Not doing so well with that,

Is it a funkin? Those things are tough!

[Murfreesboro]

I'm not sure. I got it at Michael's back in '09, when my dog died, but I have delayed carving her memorial pumpkin because I remembered how hard it was to carve one for my cat the year before. I am going to continue, but yeah, these acrylic things are not so easy to carve. I'll do what I can.

BTW, I think I'm going to watch Beowulf in a few minutes. It's not technically a horror movie, but it has monsters and can be quite eerie.

[Pumpkin56]

I'm not sure. I got it at Michael's back in '09, when my dog died, but I have delayed carving her memorial pumpkin because I remembered how hard it was to carve one for my cat the year before. I am going to continue, but yeah, these acrylic things are not so easy to carve. I'll do what I can.

BTW, I think I'm going to watch Beowulf in a few minutes. It's not technically a horror movie, but it has monsters and can be quite eerie.

Okay, I've carved a bunch of those. It helps it you punch your design through before you carve. Be sure you cut the top off before you carve too because you will probably need to stick your hand inside to support it in a few places while you carve. Those things tend to have a little more give in them than an actual pumpkin but I've still ripped pieces that weren't supported from inside with my hand. Carve the smallest pieces first and go from the center out (I know you probably already know all this ). Also, if I remember correctly, it seems that year, on the inside of the pumpkin, there's like this line that goes around the middle of the pumpkin that's thicker than the rest of the shell--it's almost like a support barrier or something. It's a little tough to carve through, but if you're using a sharp serrated little saw, you should be able to cut through it. Let me know if you need any more tips--those Michaels pumpkins are all I carve these days!

[Murfreesboro]

Those are great tips, and you are right about that seam! I actually did figure out I needed to punch the outline through first--otherwise I would have been breaking my little saw!

One issue I'm going to have with this pattern is that it is supposed to be "shaded," and I'm doubtful that you can shade an artificial pumpkin. Maybe I'll eventually just paint the shaded parts.

[Pumpkin56]

You can shade those pumpkins! I did two this year. When you get your pattern punched through go back and kind of lightly color the areas that are going to be shaded with a pen. I used a Dremel to shade mine. You have to grind it down to where the shell is almost paper thin for it to work well. I used the needle attachment to outline the shaded areas and grind down tight corners and a pointed, fine sanding attachment to shave it down. Here's one that I did:



It's a little time consuming but it's totally doable. If you use the dremel to shade, you will probably have to stop and check how your pumpkin light is filtering through from time to time. Those little checks will let you know how much more you need to shave off the pumpkin

[Murfreesboro]

Oh, thanks for that advice! I'm thinking this pumpkin might not get finished in time for this Halloween, but I would like to do a good job on it. So I will try to work carefully and see if I can make it look good.

[NeverMore]

I'm watching Grimm, on NBC. Interesting show. Fairly spooky. It's a modern take on the old fairy tales. This pilot episode will be shown again November 1st on SyFy. I like it so far.

[Jack Skellington]

The Formula One is about to start. Can't wait, love that sport!

[Andybev01]

F1 rocks.

I'm watching the simpsons, treehouse of terror XXII.

[NeverMore]

F1 rocks.

I'm watching the simpsons, treehouse of terror XXII.

You got an east coast feed? No fair! I have to wait til 8:00. I have 1408 on in the meantime.

[iHaunt]

Haunted Houses and Attractions on SyFy channel. So awesome!!!

[Jack Skellington]

My son is watching 'Mickey Mouse Club House,' I've just hollowed out the last two Pumpkins as my wife is about to carve Jack Skellington & Dracula into them - she always does those two as hers are better than mine!

We'll be watching 'Scared Shrekless' soon though, we never got round to watching it last night.

Speaking of F1, i'm really looking forward to next year's USA GP in Austin, Texas. The track is going to be awesome!