DIY

DO IT YOURSELF - PUMPKIN CARVING BASICS

CURRENT MOOD: Relaxing, after a long night of pumpkin carving.

 

STEP 1.) CARVING TOOLS 

Begin by picking a pumpkin that will fit the pattern you want to carve. You will need a carving kit or at least a set of tools to get the job done. You can buy them at the store fairly inexpensively or use things around your house. Some things that will double as great pumpkin carving tools are steak knives, metal spoons, and push pins.

STEP 2.) PATTERNS

There are tons of options for pumpkin patterns; you can find them online, in books, in carving kits, or you can even free hand them! After choosing the perfect pumpkin pattern, use push pins to secure it; just make sure the pattern sits flat on the pumpkin. Then using a push pin poke holes along the lines of the pattern. Remove the pattern and put it aside for reference.

STEP 3.) GUTTING

Start by creating a lid in the top of the pumpkin with a knife making sure to cut at an angle so your lid won't fall inside. Remove the pumpkin seeds and strings with your hands. (Save them for snacks, planting, or toss them out!) Then use a scoop tool or metal spoon to scrape the walls down and clean up the interior of the pumpkin. Give it a good rinse out and begin carving!
 

STEP 4.) CARVING

Using a carving saw tool or knife,  push it straight into the pumpkin along one of the lines you transferred, begin sawing in a straight in and out motion following your lines. When you are done carving, poke the pieces out gently, if you did not keep a perfect straight line you may have to poke some pieces out from the inside. Most pumpkin patterns show the areas to be removed in gray, make sure you follow the pattern to get the best results.

STEP 5.) COMPLETION

Once you are done carving your pumpkin give it a rinse, this will help to give it moisture as well as clean out any extra bits that you may have missed. Store your pumpkin in a cool place to aid in preservation and to keep it from drying out and shriveling up. Illuminating your pumpkin can be done several ways some examples are candles, lighters, corded lights, and battery powered LED candles.


Personally I prefer using the battery powered LED candles as they do not tend to dry out the pumpkin as quickly, will not burn or blow out, and are much safer than the other options.

You can use toothpicks to stick pieces back onto the pumpkin in case they had fallen off when you were removing the excess. I had to to do this in my example but I bet you cannot tell which piece it is!

DO IT YOURSELF - WOODEN GRAVEYARD TOMBSTONES

CURRENT MOOD: Devilish! Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to everyone!



A Step by Step Guide - WITH PHOTOS!

WHAT YOU NEED
- A Wooden Board for your Tombstone
- Pencils & an Eraser
- Paint Brushes & Sponges
- Painters Pallet
- Painters Tape
- Acrylic Paints
- Permanent Markers
- Garbage Bag / Drop Cloth

Optional: Matte Clear Coat


DIRECTIONS
Step 1 -  Gather your supplies and lay out your garbage bag or drop cloth in your work space, your project will need time to dry so make sure it is somewhere safe.

In my example to the right I used some remnant cut outs from one of my dads companies jobs. It just so happened they were perfectly formed tombstones! 



Step 2 - Lay out your wooden board that you have picked to be your tombstone. Begin by sketching out how you want your tombstone laid out on a scrap piece of paper or directly on it. Use painters tape to transfer your design.

On your paint pallet begin mixing the colours you want on your tombstone, in other words... start mixing up a lot of grey paint if you don't already have some! You will need to make a good base background for the details that come later.

 Allow your project to sit until it is dry to your touch. (No paint comes off if you touch it.)

Step 4 - Begin the details, if you want an older looking tombstone start by adding some fake cracks and chips, show some depth by adding a bevelled appearance along the edges. Try adding some fake grass or moss to give more depth to the image your creating. Note that if you want it to stick in the ground properly you'll have to leave a few inches at the bottom to accommodate this.

Step 5 - Add words, classic ones that come to mind are R.I.P. but try to think outside of the box. Use historical characters like Edgar Allan Poe, or Shakespeare, add a funny joke or rhyme, the options are endless this is where you need to get creative! 

Step 6 - Once your happy with your finished design, spray a layer of clear matte over top to protect your project from the elements and lock in your design!

DO IT YOURSELF - HALLOWEEN DRINK ADDITIONS

CURRENT MOOD: I'm feeling a little parched.



Impress your guests by incorporating some of these in to your drinks this Halloween!

1.) Shrunken Heads - This little character will look great in a brew of apple cider and it only adds to the flavor! Use your artistic talents and cut some creepy characters out of apples, make sure to core them before you begin, choose which kind depending on the type of flavor you are looking for, once you are happy with your design remember to mist some lemon juice on to them so they do not brown, the apples will float and your guests will get a kick out of the creepy characters you have created.

2.) Frozen Hands - Fill non-latex, non-powdered rubber gloves with water, tie the ends and place them in your freezer. Laying them flat is the easiest way to get the frozen ice out of the gloves, but you can always lay them over objects in your freezer to get a more realistic hand. Once the hands are completely frozen take them out of the freezer and dip them in warm water to remove them from the glove. They will look neat and keep your punch cold! Try using fruit juice instead of water so your punch doesn't become watered down!

3.) Bloody Streaks-  Add this to your punch bowl but do not stir it in, grenadine or pomegranate syrup looks like blood as it sits in the bowl; Perfect for a spooky Halloween party! Try using a tooth pick and "pulling: your lines to give a more blood like appearance.

4.) Bloody Ice Cubes - This is a great idea to add a little color to your favorite punch recipe. Begin by filling a standard ice cube tray with water and allow it to freeze slightly, enough that there are ice
crystals within the tray, next take red food coloring and put a few drops into the tray. Don't go over board with the food coloring as it will slowly disperse throughout the cube, if you add too much you with just be left with a completely red ice cube. You want to give the look of bloody sections in the cube not a fully red one.

5.) Blood Rimmed Glasses - This is geared towards adults, as it could be a little messy for small hands! In a shallow dish  mix honey with red food coloring, dip stemmed wine or martini glasses into the mixture and allow them to dry on paper towel. They will likely remain tacky for a while so make sure to hold your drink by the stem or base.  An alternative to this is mixing honey and red food coloring in a shallow dish and dipping it in red cocktail salt or sugar!

6.) Glow in the Dark Drinks - Try mixing drinks or making ice cubes from tonic water as it glows under a black light due to the quinine used to make it.

7.) Spooky Fog -  Using food grade dry ice pieces you can create and eerie fog that will add a spooky effect to any Halloween punch. Do not put the dry ice pieces into your punch directly as you do not want someone to accidentally consume it, another option is to put your punch bowl into a larger bowl and putting the pieces in the bottom of the larger bowl around the base of your punch bowl. Add some water to activate the dry ice and watch it envelop your punch bowl. It is very simple to do but it will give a lasting impression.