Sharing knowledge for the art of artificial craft pumpkins.
#75599
Hiya everyone. I've been reading various threads about carving gemmy pumpkins, either from Target or Michaels. However, last November, I bought 2 rather large realistic pumpkins from Michaels. I bought a white one and orange one. They are huge and very realistic. They were normally $49.99, but I got them for about $12bucks. They are made by Ashland, and measure 22 inches across the top and 12 top to bottom. Has anyone ever carved one of these? I have a dremmel and exacto knives, thinking about buying one of those heated knives. I have no idea how to even attempt this. Any advice would be much appreciated. ( I intend to get started now, and I want to do two sleepy hollow kinda pumpkin scarecrow guardians. :twisted:
#75602
12 bucks?!?! WHAT A DEAL!! I've only ever done the gemmies from Michaels, and the Funkin brand stuff... dont think ive seen the Ashland brand you're talking about unless it's a sub company of the funkins, cause i haven't found anything more realistic that the funkins. If you find them again this year, PLEASE let us know about it. I dont recall seeing anything other than gemmies in the Michaels stores around me. I see this is your first post as well.... WELCOMe TO THE PATCH!!! You're gonna love it!

PS - Might wanna remember to post in the correct section to make sure you get the right kind of traffic for any questions and answers you have/need. Ryan might go ahead and bump this over to the artificial pumpkin carving section for you :)
Last edited by chuckwagon on Sat Apr 27, 2013 12:11 am, edited 1 time in total.
#75603
WOW, sorry, I didn't even answer your question, lol... You'll find that everyone has different feelings about different methods. It's whatever you feel most comfortable with, and easy for you. Personally, I like my Dremel, and all my carving attachments, but alot of people like the Versa-Tool (hot knife) method because they say it seems to help with making straighter lines, and cuts like butter. All I can tell you is what I like for me, but the best advice I can give is to try a few foamies and use different methods on each to find what you like the best.
#75605
Welcome to the forum!

I will agree with Chuckwagon about trying different methods and finding which you like best. My favorite would have to be the Versa Tool but it can be difficult with small areas or lots of curves. Also, depending on the 'kin it could make the coloring peel so you want to test a small area first. The Dremel would be my next choice and probably the best choice if you are doing any shading.

We would love to see the pumpkins you have, and really like to see them carved, so if you can post pictures please do!
#75607
First, welcome to the forum, autumnsraine! You found the right site to seek pumpkin carving advice. There may not be a lot of activity here in the spring, but I hope you'll be around in the fall when things heat up. If you still have questions then, there will be more people here to help out. And don't ever worry about posting in the wrong area. Even the regulars do it sometimes. ;) I can always move, merge, and split topics to keep this organized.

As for your question - I've never carved that particular type of artificial pumpkin, so I can't tell you what works best. For the "gemmy" pumpkins I use the Versa Tool rather than the Dremel because I like the silky smooth lines and dust-free carving. But those two tools seem to be the go-to implements for slicing and dicing. Traditional carving saws are always an option too, although they may give you a rough edge.

Depends on how thick and dense the foam/plastic is and how it's painted. When I'm testing on a new type of fake 'kin I like to practice by making small cutouts on the bottom the the pumpkin, since that won't show when it's on display. This way you can see how the surface reacts to the tools you're using.

For tips on how to use the various carving tools, you can browse around the Artificial Pumpkin Carving Tips topics, and if you have specific questions about anything and can't seem to easily locate the answers, don't hesitate to pick our brains some more. :)