Hey, what's new with you? Tell us about yourself.
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By Euri
#96781
Hello everyone!

So I've been using ZP patterns since the very first year then joined on the forum a couple of years later, but I"m not sure I've ever done a personal introduction. Hmm, maybe? Anyway...

I've been carving for about 14 years, and every year I try to improve my carving skills. I give about 4-5 carving demos and workshops a year using ZP designs as my front runner. Last year I had a woman from Asia who had NEVER carved a pumpkin before in one of my classes and that was extremely cool to coach her through her first.

When I'm not carving, I work as a literacy teacher in an elementary school teaching at risk children to read, and I also spend my evenings doing theatre work creating and designing props and stage managing local shows. This summer has been an especially challenging one as I lost a very close family member in an extremely tragic way and two of my children (I have 5) have had some very serious trials themselves. I am really looking forward to and needing some good carving this season as my catharsis.
Thank you, Ryan for this wonderful place! :love:

Some of my favorite pumpkins from last year:

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Note the seven apples representing the dwarves:
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One pumpkin lasted until New Years:
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One for my son:
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A Rumplestiltskin (from Once Upon A Time) pumpkin I created but the pumpkin was going soft by the time I was able to carve it. It looks unfinished because I was literally holding the back of the pumpkin together with duct tape where it had started to split. So this is as far as I got.
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Happy carving everyone! :D
User avatar
By pagemaster1993
#96785
I bet carving that last pumpkin came with a price. Didn't it Dearie? Those are some excellent carves.
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By Euri
#96789
Yes, yes it did! Haha! A price I was willing to pay. Thank you.
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By Pumpkinfreak
#96791
Those carves look fantastic, and being a huge Rumpelstiltskin fan on once upon a time, I absolutely love that last one :thumbsup:
Always sad when our pumpkins go soft, but that's a carvers life :wink: And at least you still got a picture taken.
Hoping for a great carving season too, but with Ryan on the job, that's always the case :)=
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By Euri
#96797
True, when it comes down to it, a good picture is the best form of pumpkin preservation. This particular pumpkin for Rumple went soft sooner than I expected. In fact, if you notice the bright spots near the top that's where I had to scoop out mold leaving the shell very thin. I'm lucky I got what I did. Lol
If only I could quit my job and just carve all month I could be sure of having a good year! Don't we all wish that? :wink: Yes, thank heaven Ryan always delivers.
#96801
Great carves Euri, and sorry for your loss. Hopefully things improve for you. I love all the carves! The snowflake has so many thin lines and it looks awesome!
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By Euri
#96820
Thank you, I appreciate that very much. Yeah, a TON of thin lines on the snowflake; it was harder than I expected. Luckily the mistakes don't show much in the picture. :wink: