Sharing knowledge for the art of artificial craft pumpkins.
#86282
I searched the forum and came up dry so I thought I'd ask.

Has anyone had luck painting and then carving a Gemmy or Funkin? If so, what paint would you recommend. Someone wants a Vader themed carve and I thought I'd seen 13" black pumpkins at Michaels. I was mistaken....as they just have the smaller ones.

Anyhoo...I'm wanting to do a shaded carve on a black Gemmy or Funkin. Any tips would be GREATLY appreciated.
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By sloaner
#86283
I have 4 pumpkins that I have painted and then carved. All were done with spray paint and cut out with the versa tool. I did a Vader with a flat black spray paint. The shiny paint doesn’t look as good in my opinion. I haven’t painted and then shaded a pumpkin but I would assume it works just as well.
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By St0ney
#86288
You have other Options...

1) AC Moore Carries Black Funkins. They have the Nice Med Classic #8 in Black

2) That New Carvers Choice Pumpkin also comes in Black.
I'm not Slinging my Wears, But it is only Available on my website...

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User avatar
By pumpkinautopsy
#86289
St0ney wrote:You have other Options...

1) AC Moore Carries Black Funkins. They have the Nice Med Classic #8 in Black

2) That New Carvers Choice Pumpkin also comes in Black.
I'm not Slinging my Wears, But it is only Available on my website...

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Oh man.... Stoney, you ROCK!!!
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By St0ney
#86342
The issues I have with the target pumpkins that are made by Gemmy is.

They are Narrow, and they also have tons of Lines inside (Extra foam for support)
That Cast Black shadows on the carve if not removed...

Or if a full cut-out Pattern, you see these lines through the carving on the back inside wall...
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By sloaner
#86344
Seeing as foam pumpkins are like $36 (plus tax) at Michaels I might have to buy some target ones this year. They are most likely cheaper.
#86347
I had good results spray painting my Michaels pumpkins black. I used a Liquitex matte black spray paint (it was the only option Michaels had in their paint section). I suspended the pumpkin with a Floating Pumpkin Hanger, so I could spray all angles without having to touch the pumpkin. This also allowed me to hang it up to dry.

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Here's a photo of the dried pumpkin. Nice even coat, with a matte finish. I like the look. I'll reveal the final carved result of this project soon... it's going to be a several step process for me. But at least you can get a good idea of how it looks once the orange pumpkin is turned black:

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I sprayed it before I carved it, because I wanted the cut edges to show the light foam color. Spray painting it after carving could be tricky since the paint would go inside, unless you somehow mask off the inside of the holes well.

I carved it with a Versa-tool heat blade, and was able to slice through the black paint just fine. Only in a few small areas could you see a hint of the orange skin that was underneath (where the black coating pulled back by a sliver due to the heated blade).

Most people wouldn't care, but if you're a perfectionist you can retouch any edges with a black Sharpie marker. I can't say from experience if a saw blade or Dremel bit would mess up the edge of the black spray paint coating, but again I'm sure you can touch up with a Sharpie. Or black acrylic paint.
#86348
Oh, and about the support lines that are inside the Gemmy foam pumpkins at Michaels and Target... I use a piece of translucent paper from the craft store (such as vellum paper) to hide what's inside.

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Here's my "Simply Meant to Be" carving from Valentine's Day. In the left photo you can see the thicker bands of foam if you look closely (under Jack's nose). At certain angles, you can also see the bulb inside. But on the right photo you can see that with the vellum paper taped inside (right behind the front facing surface) everything inside is hidden and you also get a softer, more even glow.

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You can use any translucent paper you find, even wax paper. Just be careful not to crinkle it too much when you place it inside. From the legal department: And of course, don't use this technique in real pumpkins if using a real candle flame. Fire hazard!
#86349
Pretty Cool Ryan !

Look forward to seeing the finished Carve / results.

I'm on the fence, with Black Pumpkins....

I think ALL Carves will pop More being that the background is Black.
On the Other Hand it's a Black Pumpkin - LOL Don't See many of those in the pumpkin patches..

I carved My First Black Kin this year, and Like how it turned out,
And I think a Fully Shaded Design would look great Both Day and Night on it..

I am curious - what a cut-out will look during the day, on a black kin..
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By St0ney
#86350
sloaner wrote:Seeing as foam pumpkins are like $36 (plus tax) at Michaels I might have to buy some target ones this year. They are most likely cheaper.
Use Store Coupons, that $36.00 could cost $16 or $17 with Coupon...

Never pay Retail / Sticker Price :thumbsup:
#86354
St0ney wrote:
sloaner wrote:Seeing as foam pumpkins are like $36 (plus tax) at Michaels I might have to buy some target ones this year. They are most likely cheaper.
Use Store Coupons, that $36.00 could cost $16 or $17 with Coupon...

Never pay Retail / Sticker Price :thumbsup:
I always bring coupons but it's still like $22 each and I used to buy 10 a year. People look at you funny when they find out you spend $200 on pumpkins :lol: I just dislike how the cost of them goes up a few dollars each year and I'm not getting anything different from the year before. Maybe I should buy all the foam pumpkins and then sell them next year on the black market for profit, muahahahaha.