Inspiration for me comes from the strangest places … this year for Christmas I decided that I would make some lovely felted ornaments, in the shape of gingerbread men. Then I thought how cute it would be if the ornaments had “bite” marks in them; I had seen a set of cookie cutters a year or so ago, in the shape of “half eaten” gingerbread men, and thought they were hilarious.

So on a slow evening I retreated to my sewing room, sat down with a piece of cardboard, some brown felt, and various odds and sods and within two hours I had made my first three “zombie gingerbread” ornaments. (Hmmm … I seemed to have missed a step … OH, did I mention I was watching “The Walking Dead” at the time? No? Well, I was. Great show.) It wasn’t that much of a mental stretch, to be honest … half-eaten gingerbread men … back for revenge … zombie gingerbread.

Supplies needed:

• Cardboard
• Fine tip black marker
• 1-2 yards of brown felt (depending on how many ornaments you decide to make)
• cotton batting for stuffing
• sharp scissors
• sewing machine
• needle for hand sewing (if desired)
• (for decorating) rick rack, ribbon, buttons, fabric paint

The first step is to decide how big you want your half-eaten gingerbread ornament to be … I think up to about 5-6 inches long is good, and about 3-4 inches across…this will make the figure large enough to add enough gory detail, but small enough so that they will not instantly be noticed when visitors come to admire your tree. My little guy below is about 6.5 inches long and about 4.5 inches across.

Figure 1

Trace a basic gingerbread figure, with missing appendages, on a piece of cardboard, (Figure 1). This will allow you to use the pattern over and over again without the pattern getting ripped and torn. Along one of the sides of the figure, make two notches to indicate where you will leave the seam open to lightly stuff the figure with some cotton batting.

Figure 2

Place your pattern onto a piece of brown felt, and trace the pattern with a fine tip black marker, (Figure 2). The outline should be just barely visible on the felt; this will help when you go to sew the felt together. Place the traced felt piece on top of another piece of felt, and pin the two segments together, with the outlined piece on top (Figure 3).

Figure 3

Using your sewing machine, sew the two pieces of felt together, following the outline of the gingerbread figure, (Figure 4).

Figure 4

Take special care around the “bite marks” … lift up the presser foot and adjust the material as needed to get the best bite impression. By the time I did the third ornament it was super easy. Also remember to leave a small opening along the side to stuff … (Figure 5)

Figure 5

Once the felt pieces are sewn together, use a sharp pair of scissors to cut around the outline…try to cut as close as possible to the seam. (Figure 6)

Figure 6

You now have a half-eaten gingerbread figure. Now all it needs is a little stuffing, (Figure 7), and a hook for hanging (Figure 8). When you stuff your zombie ornament with batting, you may also want to leave a little hanging out, like entrails. (Remember, not TOO much stuffing…most gingerbread men are fairly flat when they come out of the oven. Use just enough stuffing to give it a bit of a body).

Figure 7

Figure 8

You now have a blank slate in front of you. It’s time to unleash your inner zombie freak! For my first attempt I stuck with the very simple-to-use 3D paint markers. These are fabric pens that give a great 3D effect, and are SO easy to handle. If you are making zombie gingerbread you will most assuredly need the following colours; red (blood), white, black, green (gangrene), and perhaps a little yellow (gangrene/pus). Just remember to let the paint dry for a day.

If you are more creative, you could also hand-sew scraps of rick rack or ribbon to simulate a zombie gingerbread man’s torn “clothes”, a spare black button for an eye…the possibilities are endless.

One last note…zombies need a victim to chase, so it doesn’t matter how many gingerbread zombies you make…remember to make a terrified looking victim or two!!

Looking for some Halloween decor? We always like to look for materials around the house and make our own. For this project, choose a ceramic or resin figurine with for your makeover – the more innocent looking, the better!

If the piece has a glossy finish, you’ll need to coat it with white spray paint or gesso before you begin. If you don’t have a piece to recycle for this project, you can look for one at the dollar store, thrift shop or at a garage sale.

Supplies (to make one figure):

• 1 freestanding collectible or figurine
• Acrylic craft paint in Halloween colors
• Paintbrushes in assorted sizes
• Fine tipped paint markers
• Black paper (optional, for a hat)
• Clear acrylic sealer

Directions:

1. Prepare the figurine: Wash and dry the figurine to get it ready to accept paint. Dry with a paper towel.
2. Basecoat the figure: Use a medium sized brush to coat the figure with white paint. Even if the colors you are planning on using are dark, they will show up better if you base coat it first. Let the figurine dry completely.
3. Paint the clothing: Use a fine paintbrush to add color to the figure’s clothing. Paint each piece a different color. For stripes, paint the clothing a bright color like orange or lime green and let the paint dry. Go over the spot a second time with a fine black paint marker to add stripes if desired.
4. Paint the skin: Paint the face and hands a flesh tone if desired. You can substitute green for a zombie look or white for a “Day of the Dead” sugar skull look.
5. Paint the hair: Paint the hair with your preferred color; depending on the finished look you want, you can use a natural brown or blonde shade or go with a wild red or gothic black.
6. Add the details: Use a fine paint marker to add details to the facial features and clothing. Eyes, buttons and other small details are easier to apply with a fine marker than a brush. Let the piece dry.
7. Protect the paint: Apply a coat of spray sealer or a brush-on sealer to protect the finish.
8. Add details: Make a simple hat or other accessories from Halloween printed fabric or paper and attach to the figure with glue.

Scoop up figurines for a bargain after a holiday has passed. You can make an entire display of matching figurines, or make a single, oversized piece to be the center of a Halloween display.

Cute, innocent figurine … revamped!

Dripping with ghoulish slime, these votive holders add spook to any Halloween setting. Hang from porch rafters or in tree branches in the front yard to help cast a creepy light over trick-or-treaters and party-goers.

Look for inexpensive globe light covers at charity shops and home improvement resale stores like the Habitat Re-store,  or at your local hardware store.

You’ll Need:

• Rimmed glass jar or globe covers (replacement covers for porch lamps)
• Green or black glass paint
• 12 gauge wire
• Wire cutters
• Needle nose pliers
• Votive candles

1. Cut three lengths of wire for each votive to the length you require for hanging, around two feet is ideal. Using the needle nose pliers, form a small hook at the end of each piece.
2. Cut a fourth piece of wire long enough to wrap twice around the neck of the glass globe. Wrap once around the neck, inserting each of the hooked ends of the hanging wires so that they are evenly spaced around the neck. Wrap the wire a second time and twist the ends to secure in place.
3. Twist the tops of the hanging wires together and then form into a larger hook for hanging.
4. Pour a generous amount of glass paint along the top rim of the cover, making sure it coats the whole of the rim. Continue to apply paint so that it drips down the inside of the globe in globby streaks.
5. Hang the glass in a warm place to dry.
6. Once dry, insert a votive candle into the bottom of each globe, light and hang in place.

Looking for a great new Halloween prop that hasn’t been done to death? Don’t lose your head – make this creepy decoration! Making a Head in a Jar prop is so easy, it’s almost scary – and the project won’t bust your Halloween budget. Read on to find out how to create this creepy Halloween decoration.

What You’ll Need

Make sure you have all of your materials ready before starting your project. Here’s what you will need to assemble your Head in a Jar:

• a printed color image of a spread-out face; look here and here for examples
• a jar that your head printout will just fit into when the paper is rolled up (tinted or aged/imperfect glass is preferable, or anything with a cloudy appearance)
• scissors
• school glue
• small amount of wig hair, if desired

Assembling Your Severed Head

(I just had to make the title gory!)

The first and one of the most important steps in this project is to locate a great jar for your “head.” Madhauscreative.com, our inspiration for this hair-raising idea, suggests a colored and/or older jar that has imperfections (for example, bubbles in the glass). This will make the head look as if it’s been preserved in formaldehyde for a while (or maybe in something even more sinister).

For this tutorial, we used an old, blue-tinted fruit preserves jar.

Now find a great face image by Googling the words “3D face texture map.” The face should be realistic; a Photoshopped image of a real person’s mug is ideal. A tortured appearance adds to the effect, so look for squinty eyes, puffiness, an open mouth or other evidence that the donor was less than willing.

Print out the image you’ve chosen and make sure it fits your jar once it’s rolled up and inserted. Enlarge or reduce the size if necessary. (We cut around the top portion of a wonderful rendering by artist Ravinder Sembi).

Adding a 3-D Look to the Face

Now cut small pieces of the wig and glue them to the face image. This step is not absolutely necessary, but definitely adds a touch of three-dimensional realism if done subtly.

Place the hair randomly across the forehead/hairline, trying to make it appear natural and in disarray. (We pasted tiny bits of hair to the eyes of our face image to make them look sunken and more dimensional, and then added a few wayward curls at the forehead.)

Allow the glue beneath the hair to dry completely, then roll up the face and insert it inside the jar. Spread it out from the inside with your fingers if it remains too tightly rolled. Rearrange the hair with a finger inserted between the face image and the jar if you need to.

Now screw the top on your jar. If you’d like, go ahead and get creative with some dripped-on candle wax (so that it looks as if the jar was hastily sealed) or a length of rattan or rope tied around the jar’s neck.

You’re done – display your creepy cranium among the gristly goods of a Witch’s Kitchen, in some wads of red-dyed “bloody” cotton as a sinister centerpiece or on a shelf where party guests will least expect it. They’ll never believe you were the “brains” behind the experiment – or how easy it was to put it all together!

Halloween coloring pages offer a fun, simple and inexpensive way to keep children entertained for a few hours. Whimsical ghosts, goblins, and jack-o’-lantern grins can be fun to color or paint, and kids always love coloring activities and craft projects.  It’s possible to find free Halloween-themed coloring pages online, which you can download and print, or you can purchase cheap coloring books from your local dollar store. There are several different ways of using coloring pages at Halloween.   Here are a few ideas of things your kids can create.

1.       Yard Decorations

It’s actually quite easy to print a coloring page to any size that you need. If you will like a six-foot tall black cat guarding your house after dark on October 31st, it is fairly straightforward to create. Many stained-glass or quilt pattern websites offer free pattern enlargers that can send your choice of coloring page to the printer in pieces, which can later be taped together into a very large design. Children can decorate these separate sheets, glue them to poster board, and add a stick to plant in the yard.

2.       Invitations

Halloween party invitations are always fun to make. You could get your kids involved by getting them to color your invites.  Another idea is to ask each guest to decorate their own invite for judging at the party. With each Halloween invitation you send, you can include a coloring page for a mask, a pumpkin, or other Halloween-themed items. When guests arrive with their decorated invitations, they can be displayed as decorations at the party for everybody to enjoy.  You then can ask your guests to vote for their favorite.  Make sure you have some candy or some sort of treat available to give to the winner.

3.       Party Favors

Halloween coloring pages can be made into fun party favors. For instance, there are paper baskets that can be colored and folded into shape to hold fruit or candy treats, which kids will love making. The baskets will hold their shape better if the sheet of paper is glued to a lightweight cardboard backing first.

4.       Fabric Stencils

If you are looking for imaginative ideas for Halloween crafts, many craft stores sell crayons that color in lines that will work as an iron-on transfer for fabric. Children will love the idea of coloring their own Halloween pictures that can then be ironed onto an old T-shirt.

5.       Window-Painting Templates

Coloring pages can be taped to the outside of a window for a child to copy onto the inside of the glass with washable poster paints. This is a fun way to decorate your home for the exciting Halloween season.

6.       Moving Pictures

Young children will enjoy coloring a very simple shape that can be glued to a cardboard backing. This shape can then be cut apart and put together with an office brad that will allow parts to move.

Halloween coloring pages are a great resource to remember for all types of holiday needs. These handy lined drawings can be used with crayons, paint or markers. With our modern printers able to enlarge or shrink these coloring page shapes, they can be used in a wide variety of ways that can add to your yearly Halloween fun.

This article is courtesy of HalloweenPartyIdeas.org, which offers lots more Halloween party ideas for kids, including games, crafts and food.

Ever wonder how they made the costumes for Darth Vader and the Storm Troopers in Star Wars? Basically they did it the same way car bodies are made… in a mold with fiberglass, or a similar resin. In fact, so many things are made with plastics and resins today that it’s not likely you have any device that doesn’t have a molded part on it. I have seen some really complicated, and convincing, costumes made entirely from molded fiberglass, including whole suits of armor!

With the basic knowledge of how to do this, you can make almost anything you’d like. Below I will describe how to make a simple body part, but these concepts can be extended to almost any level to make extravagant costumes, monsters or even sets (think of the Jet in the opening scene of Mission Impossible II. That was made as a fiberglass model a bit larger than a minivan).

For this project I have decided to make a body part, a hand. Not just any hand, but a mummy hand. I also chose materials that you can buy locally:

• plaster of Paris which you can buy at any hardware store
• cheese cloth which you can get anywhere cloth is sold, or where canning supplies are sold (Walmart carries it in their fabric section)
• fiberglass resin and fiberglass cloth or spun fiberglass, which you can get at an auto supply store
• plastic cups and spoons, and cheap (a.k.a. disposable) “chip” brushes

The Mold

I wanted my body part to look like a mummy’s hand, so I needed to make a mold that would give it mottled skin. I could have taken modeling clay and sculpted the part that I wanted, which is how most parts start, but I decided to use my own hand and arm, since I’m not so good at sculpting.

I mixed up some plaster of Paris as per instructions, and dipped strips of cheese cloth in it. I then coated my arm with Vaseline petroleum jelly so the plaster wouldn’t stick, and then layered the plaster infused cheese cloth onto my arm.

I pushed the cheese cloth into the spaces between my fingers, but made sure I had no convolutions (where the mold folds under itself – when you try to take the finished product out, you will have to break the mold in order to get it out – bad if you want to make another, identical part). I let the cheese cloth hang over the end of my fingers to make sure I covered the tips of my fingers.

I used a canned vegetable can to rest my hand on so it would have the right bend to it. I made sure I had a tall cup of coffee, good music on, and then I waited the requisite time of about 45 minutes for the plaster to harden, trying not to move my hand or arm during that time.

After hardening, I carefully pulled the “cast” off (Ouch! Not enough Vaseline, too many arm hairs), pushing and pulling at my skin to get it to break away from the mold.

Casting the Fiberglass hand

I coated the inside of the mold with Vaseline to keep the resin from sticking to the mold. Unfortunately, one of the problems with plaster is that it is porous, and it takes a lot of Vaseline. I did have some trouble getting the resin hand out of the mold, ultimately breaking the mold. There are commercial anti-stick materials that work really well, which I’ll tell you more about later.

I wanted the skin to have a mottled look to it, so I made up a small amount (about two ounces – see below on how to do this) of resin and coated the inside of the mold, not getting rid of any air bubbles (that helps create the mottled look) and let that harden before making the main cast.

Next I cut a piece of fiberglass mat material to fit inside the mold. I also pulled some individual fibers out to fit into where the fingers are.

I then mixed up about 8 ounces of the resin with the hardener as instructed on the can of resin, and stirred it. Then I poured the resin into the mold.

…and spread it out with a chip brush.

I let this harden for about 2 hours, and then began pulling the mold from the “hand”:

This, it turns out, was not so easy. The Vaseline had been absorbed into the plaster, and the resin was stuck in many places on the mold. I ultimately destroyed the mold getting the hand out. That’s ok; I can always make another one. Great way to sit and pity the folks with broken arms set in casts…

Painting Your Body Part

I trimmed this with a jig saw and with “nippers” to cut away the excess, and then painted the hand using acrylic paints (modeling paints would have been better, but this is what I had on hand). I painted it with yellow ochre:

After drying, the molting looks like a mummy’s hand:

I added some red and black paint to make a “wound”:

…and did the same for the fingers:

…and, viola, a mummy’s hand!

Going Further With Your Newly Acquired Casting Skills

This ain’t nothin’, folks. The sky’s the limit, literally. There are airplane kits you can buy to build a whole airplane out of fiberglass! But that’s a different article. Let’s stick to costumes, sets, body parts, weapons… and the list goes on.

I said above that there are better materials out there. You betcha… there is a company that specializes in moldings and castings called Smooth-on, and you can visit their web site at http://www.smooth-on.com/

They have every material imaginable for making molds for casting, anti-stick material, casting resins, silicon rubber (like for a mask), etc. They have training videos you can watch, and videos that introduce each of their materials. Even Martha Stewart has a video on this web site!

There are also hundreds of “How To” videos on YouTube that will lead you step by step in molding and casting. When you become the resident expert, then make your own video and post it on YouTube…

Ok, now, get started on that seven foot monster, and Happy Haunting!

Each year I think I’ll add new items to my yard display, but every year the same thing happens: I‘m broke and have no time! Let’s face it, the two most important things we all need if we want to add something really great to our Halloween display is time and money. Both always seems to slip though my fingers like grains of sand in an evil inspired hour-glass.

But no matter how short on time and money you are, you’ll have most of the things to make a few fast scarecrows. The only thing you need to have is a few old clothes, garden stakes, and an hour or so and you’ve got instant decorations for little or no money!

Supply list:

• Tall poles or PVC pipes
• Trick-or-treat Buckets
• Yarn, wigs and/or old hats
• Wire
• Duct tape
• Plastic shopping bags or garbage bags
• Newspapers and/or Leaves
• Cutters
• Clothes
• Old gloves
• Shoes

Step One–Scarecrows (SC)

Before we dive in, I want show you the three scarecrows I made once and talk about making a twist to the basic SC. How about making them in poses so that they do something rather than just standing there? Look at the photo of my family of scarecrows as if you’ve caught them in the act of adoring their daughter. I’ll describe how I made these so you can get ideas of how to branch out and pose your own SCs.

Step Two–Construction

Mommy Scarecrow

I drove one long bean pole into the ground for the standing mom. I held up the housecoat to the pole and measured where the neck needed to be and then measured a wooden garden stake to make her shoulders. I then wired the garden stake and then wound a strip of duct tape around the wire for stability. I grabbed a hand full of the plastic bags and stuffed another bag fairly full of newspaper (also try leaves) and taped it to the neck and chest for her body. Then I slipped her housecoat on and let it drag on the ground since I didn’t have any shoes for her.

Daddy Scarecrow

Now it was time to make the dad SC, and this is going to be fun since I wanted to make him sitting down. I stuffed an old pair of sweat pants with newspaper inside garbage bags and filled the pants until they looked like legs. Between the picnic table top and seat, I drove into the ground a shorter bean pole until it was the right height for his head and shoulders. I attached the cross piece the same for him as I did for the mom. Now I ran some wire through part of the waistband of the pants and attached it to the stake so the legs wouldn’t fall off in high wind. I slipped on the sweatshirt without stuffing him and started the child SC.

Child Scarecrow

The child SC I assembled differently. I drove two short garden stakes though a pair of old shoes, dropped her pants on over the stakes and stuffed her pants before I wired on the stake for her shoulders. I lightly stuffed her sweatshirt with more plastic bags, and then I was ready to attach all their heads.

Scarecrow Heads

As you can see, their heads are two sizes of old trick-or-treat buckets that I cut x’s in the bottom of so they’d fit on the poles. The treat buckets are perfect for this purpose because they’re weather resistant, have ready made faces, and we all have scads of them lying around the house. I finished off the heads with some yarn hair and old hats. I then safety pinned the gloves to the sleeves, and I was finished.

I can’t tell you how many people stopped by and talked about how much they loved my scarecrows. Some families stopped and as asked if they could have their picture taken with them. Others had the kids do some silly poses by them.

To this day, my family of scarecrows are the hit of the neighborhood, and now they have lots of other scarecrows to play with in my neighbors’ yards. So gather your family, a pile of old duds, a few garden stakes, and makes memories as well as decorations this Halloween season without spending a dime!

Your child is dressed up all adorable, proudly ready to go out trick or treating! The Halloween costume is fantastic, scary and cute at the same time. However, something’s not quite right … something ruins the whole ensemble. Perhaps it’s the ugly plastic bag being used to hold the mountains of candy?

Never fear, you won’t have to worry about that, because you’re reading this article and will now make your own gorgeous masterpiece of a trick or treat bag! Or, at least, something better than a grocery bag or pillow case.

Materials

• At least ½ yard of Halloween themed fabric or pre-made canvas bag
• Sewing machine and thread
• Fabric glue/needles
• Interfacing (optional)
• Decorations to match the fabric
• Buttons, sequins, foam shapes and beads
• An iron

Sewing Your Trick or Treat Bag

The Bag

Cut a rectangle of fabric that measures 16.5” x 25”. Fold the 25” side of the fabric in half so that the wrong side is showing. Stitch the bottom first and then the side. Turn the bag right side out and press the seams with an iron. At the opening turn down ¼” and press. Then turn it down again 1-1/2 inches. Press and stitch.

Safety pin placed in the center (Click for larger image)

inside out handle

placement matching and X seam

The handles

Cut fabric for the handles that measures 3” x 19”. You will need to cut two of these. Fold the fabric in half with the wrong side showing. Put a safety pin in the very center of one end with the head towards the other end. This will make turning it right side out much easier. Take a ¼” seam allowance and stitch the strip of fabric. Turn it inside out by pushing the safety pin through the tube; press under ¼” on each end.

Pin the handles to the bag before stitching to make sure that you like the placement. Use the sewing machine to sew them on with a large ‘X’. This will attach them securely so that no trick or treat candy gets lost.

Now you can turn the bag over to the kids to have fun with. With fabric glue, beads, sequins, plastic confetti, and anything else you can think of, your kids will make and have their own personalized trick or treat bag!

]]> http://halloweenalliance.com/howto/how-to-make-your-own-trick-or-treat-bags.htm/feed 0 http://halloweenalliance.com/howto/advanced-pumpkin-carving-techniques.htm http://halloweenalliance.com/howto/advanced-pumpkin-carving-techniques.htm#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:27:25 +0000 Liz Bradley http://halloweenalliance.com/?p=1251

Are you tired of seeing the same old scary faces on every Jack O’ Lantern you see? Are you obsessed with carving and looking for a way to bring your passion from “craft” to “work of art”? Or do you just have a few hours on your hands to try something totally different? Forget the triangle eyes and pointy, crooked teeth – a Jack O’ Lantern can be so much more than a face, and is not always black and white!

Beginning carvers only see two options when it comes to carving a pumpkin. We can see the orange of the pumpkin’s skin, or we can see a candle through holes in the skin. But we really do have more options than that. If we peel away the pumpkin’s skin, but do not cut all the way through the flesh, we are given the option of a yellowish white – the exposed flesh of the pumpkin. And if we’re really determined, we can scrape away only part of the orange, leaving a lighter orange which can be used for shadowing.

With these new options we can start to create some really unique Jack O’ Lanterns. So if you’ve got the time and the inclination, pull up a pumpkin and make a statement!

Pick and Prepare Your Pumpkin

Think about what kind of design you want to do, and how intricate it is. Use your best judgment to select the pumpkin size that’s best for you. Then try to find the smoothest pumpkin possible. Most pumpkins have ridges running from top to bottom, and that’s okay. But try to find one with the least amount of scratches and scars. At the very least, find one with one perfect side to carve on, even if the rest is a bit damaged. If you want a pumpkin without those vertical ridges, go for a bigger one, as they tend to smooth out as they fatten up. Once you’ve found your perfect pumpkin, it’s time to prepare it for carving.

Even if you only plan to carve on the surface of your pumpkin, you should prepare it the same way you would a normal Jack O’ Lantern, as this will help you protect it from rotting. Using a pumpkin knife from a carving kit, cut a circular hole around the stem and pop the top off. Scoop out all the seeds and save for roasting (yummy!). Scrape the insides to get rid of as much pumpkin goo as possible (bugs and bacteria love this stuff).

Pick and Prepare Your Picture

You can put pretty much anything on your pumpkin. One of my favorite things to carve is iconic images from classic horror movies. This time I chose a picture of Lon Chaney from the lost silent film, London After Midnight. A famous image, I think it would look perfect on my pumpkin.

When choosing your image, pick something that’s easily recognizable. If it’s a photo with a background, it’s probably best to omit it, and just focus on the characters or main figures so you don’t distract they eye with unnecessary detail. It’s best to find a picture with a lot of contrast – extreme darks and extreme lights working together well. If your design is in color, you will have to change it to gray scale. All photo editing programs can do this. Once your pic is in black and white, it’s wise to turn up the contrast. This will make the blacks blacker and the whites whiter. It will help simplify the image so you don’t have too much detail to worry about.

Print the Page and Puncture Your Pumpkin

Print your image out on a piece of paper. You may have to play with your settings to get it to the right size to fit your pumpkin. Once you have it printed, position it over the best side of your pumpkin and decide exactly where you want it to go. Next, use a few pins, needles, or thumb tacks to stick the photo in place.

With another pin (I suggest push pins, as they are easiest to hold) trace every line of your photo by stabbing into the pumpkin. Any line you want to make note of should be perforated this way. This may take a while but you’ll see the outcome is worth it. Take a break once in a while to munch some pumpkin seeds or candy corn. Keep your paper as still as possible to avoid warping your image.

When you’ve perforated the entire image, and while the lines are still fresh in your mind, remove the paper and connect the dots by slicing with a craft knife or box cutters. Keep the slices as straight as possible. They do not have to be too deep, but you do need to be able to use them as trustworthy guides.

Pick Your Pumpkin Pigments

You’re almost ready to carve, but first you need to decide what parts of the pumpkin represent white, black and gray. Once you decide, stick with it unless you absolutely have to change. You might run into this problem when you get to two shapes next to each other that are similar in color, but need to be separate. This is why it is wise to carve from the outside, toward the center. This will help you coordinate and will leave more possibilities to switch if you later find you need to.

I decided that for my picture, the black of his hat, hair and coat would be represented by the solid orange of the pumpkin skin. That means that the black lines of his face should also be solid orange. I chose never to carve all the way through my pumpkin, but instead to use the white meat of the pumpkin for the color of his skin and the whites of his eyes and teeth. I also knew that for subtler shadows (gray) I could gently scrape only the very top of the orange skin away and leave a light orange.

You may choose to do it the way I did, or you may have a better idea for your project. You may find a neat way to incorporate the black of cutting all the way into the pumpkin flesh to the other side. Do whatever you think is best for your design.

Pare and Peel Your Pumpkin’s Pelt

It is finally time to carve your pumpkin! After all this preparation you must be dying to get started, right? But first – Safety Tips!

• Children should not do this without adult supervision.
• Cut away from yourself, not toward. If you need the blade at a different angle, just rotate the pumpkin!
• Always just BE CAREFUL!

Whew, now that that’s out of the way…

I started from the outside and worked inward. The first thing I did was make a little halo around the outside of my image in white. I did this by stripping away the orange flesh all the way around to distinguish the black hat, hair and coat from the rest of the pumpkin. It also just looks cool.

Then I moved in for the details. And you thought the perforating thing was hard work! This will probably actually feel more like whittling than carving. Have fun!

The main tip I can give you about doing the details is to slice down at an angle toward the part you are cutting out. If there is a piece of skin you need to keep, always push the blade away from it, or you weaken it underneath and risk loosing it. That’s how I lost the right side of Lon Chaey’s lower lip.

The hardest part of my design was probably the teeth because they were so close together, it was hard to take pieces out without damaging the others.

As I went, I found places where I wanted to leave a shadow. So before cutting all the skin away, I lightly scraped only the top off in these places. The main places I did this were along the length of his nose and on his jaw near his mouth. I thought this would give more depth and realism to his face, even though I did not follow the shadows in the picture exactly.

For a finishing touch, you can scoop out most of the flesh on the inside to make the wall very thin. Then put a candle inside and you’ll get a nice glow through the flesh. Just leave the top open so oxygen can get in.

When you are all done, sit back and admire your work. Looks pretty awesome, doesn’t it? If it’s not perfect, don’t worry – neither is mine. Nothing can ever be perfect. But you did something that’s totally you, and it’s sure to turn a few heads.

To help your pumpkin last longer, cover the inside and outside with vegetable oil or Vaseline (warning: flammable) and consider keeping it in the fridge until the big day.

Congratulations! You are an advanced pumpkin carver!

]]> http://halloweenalliance.com/howto/advanced-pumpkin-carving-techniques.htm/feed 1 http://halloweenalliance.com/howto/halloween-mobiles.htm http://halloweenalliance.com/howto/halloween-mobiles.htm#comments Thu, 22 Oct 2009 03:21:52 +0000 Ruth Randall http://halloweenalliance.com/?p=997

Constructing Halloween Mobiles are a fun way to spend an afternoon. There are so many different ways to be creative and make fun mobiles for the season. Let’s get started!

Halloween clip art images are an easy way to get a lot of pictures for coloring. Cookie cutters are also great for making cute shapes out of construction paper. The shapes can be colored and decorated anyway you want. Also, you could make a mobile with just one shape, like bats, or use all the different seasonal icons you can imagine.

Materials

• Cookie cutters or clip art
• Crayons, permanent markers, colored pencils
• Glue
• Fishing line or thread
• Small diameter dowels
• Construction paper

Optional Items

• Needle
• Hot glue gun
• Glitter, sparkling beads, feathers, etc.

Building Your Halloween Mobile

Any craft or home improvement store will have 3/8″ dowels available for purchase. I was able to find a package of small dowels cut to 12″ in length for about $1. Very handy. We first painted our dowels black.

Trace the cookie cutter shapes onto paper. Cut them out and have fun decorating. If you use clipart you may want to print a mirror image as well so the pictures are double sided.

Enjoy the decorating/coloring and talking with the kids about Halloween and what they are most excited about. Take your time during this step, because the hanging step could be difficult with little helpers.

When you are ready to assemble the mobile, cut the fishing line or thread to anywhere between 6″ and 10″ lengths. This will allow for a nice length once a knot is tied and glued, etc.

Use a 12″ dowel for the top. Cut another dowel into 6″ lengths and hang them from the ends of the top dowel. You can stop there or hang another 12” dowel from the center of the top so that it hangs below the 6” dowels, and so on. It just depends on how large you want the mobile to be and how many different shapes you want to add.(Don’t make it too heavy! Mine broke when I got too ambitious!)

We painted the dowels black and used fishing line to hang the Halloween shapes. We also bought some 1″ wooden letters to spell out “trick or treat”. They were not very expensive but you could do the same thing with scrapbook paper by gluing two pieces together so you have the back and front decorated, or use a two-sided piece.

The complete Halloween Mobile

Have fun! I’d love to hear of others who tried this project. Please comment below.

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