Saturday, October 29, 2011

Gutting Pumpkins

My pumpkin carving skills are limited. Especially since I hate the smell of pumpkin and usually use markers instead. :)

This guy's skills are slightly superior. Check out these samples...

For lots more check out The Pumpkin Gutter site. How are your pumpkin carving skills?

Hope you all have a Halloween weekend - watch out for those goblins!
P.S. Are you ready for NaNo?

58 comments:

Mary said...

Dang. That's impressive. My pumpkins have triangle eyes and crooked teeth. But my toasted seeds are awesome!

storyqueen said...

OMG!! I love the C-3PO and the R2D2!! Wishing I could make something half as cool!

Shelley

Jemi Fraser said...

Mary - I usually draw that kind of pattern out and my hubby carves. My daughter toasts the seeds - I get the easy job :)

Shelley - I know! There's an awesome imperial guard on the site too!

RHYTHM AND RHYME said...

Have a wonderfull Halloween.

Yvonne.

Anonymous said...

There's talent in dem dar hills!

One of our pumpkins was rotten. Oozy, green, pussy seeds that smelled to high heaven. Markers would have been the better choice for sure!

Hope your Halloween is filled with delightful goblins and NaNoAnticipation.

hugs~

Anonymous said...

I'm tempted to say these people have too much time on their hands. But there is some real talent and time that goes into pumpkin art. Now if someone can only carve a wormhole sucking away our sucky politicians!

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

Wow, he way surpasses me. I liked the marker route too. I put candles in ceramic pumpkins.

catherinemjohnson.com said...

Awesome carvings! Hubby did two this morning. Fun, fun, fun! Happy Halloween!

Jemi Fraser said...

Yvonne - thanks! Same to you :)

Cat - ewwwww! Markers would have worked better for that one for sure!!

Stephen - now that's a good idea! :) This guy is an artist (obviously) and a mighty talented one at that!

Susan - it's such a busy time of year, markers is the best way for me! :)

Catherine - they are fun! My kids are too old to get into it as much any more! :)

Old Kitty said...

Now these are truly amazing!! Awww but I have a very soft spot for ye olde pumpkin carved with a smiley face and hallow eyes!! LOL!

Happy halloween! take care
x

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

Those are really cool!
I did the grim reaper one year on a pumpkin.

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

I love how sophisticated pumpkin carving has become. I still love simple ones, too, but it's fantastic what an artist can do with a big squash!
Happy Halloween, Jemi.

Jemi Fraser said...

Old Kitty - they are incredible, aren't they? My pumpkins tend to be friendly and very much as you described :)

Alex - that would be a cool one! My sister does some fun ones like that!

Tricia - exactly! It's beautiful to see - and probably fun to do (if you can stand the smell!) :)

Happy Halloween everyone!

A said...

I just bought two plastic ones. Pathetic, I know.

Anita said...

I'm usually the clean-up crew!

Jemi Fraser said...

Agnes - not in my eyes! Those ones are ready to go! Just my style :)

Anita - I used to be the crew too - now I make sure I'm elsewhere! :)

Golden Eagle said...

Those are amazing!

NaNo? Um . . . ready or not, it's only two days away, so I'm going to have to get in gear. :P

Jemi Fraser said...

Golden Eagle - I know!!! I'm still working manically on my other story and report cards. No where near ready!!! :)

Stephanie Thornton said...

Whoa! Those are some serious carving skills.

Hmmm... That reminds me we still have to carve my daughter's pumpkin...

Jemi Fraser said...

Stephanie - remember - there are always markers floating about! :)

Hope your daughter has a lot of fun trick or treating! :)

BBC said...

LOVE R2D2 and C3PO. Pretty awesome.

I usually go for the good old circle eyes, triangle nose, and caved in mouth.

Jemi Fraser said...

Mindy - and he's got a lot more Star Wars ones on the site - very cool!

I sometimes branch out and make the eyes triangles! :)

Shelli (srjohannes) said...

holy crap these are good!

Talli Roland said...

Now that's talent! I'm with you - I really hate the smell of pumpkin. Yuck.

Jemi Fraser said...

Shelli - I know - they kinda blow my mind! :)

Talli - you're so right - on both counts. :) I wonder if you're using turnips over there in the UK :)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Those are amazing. I'd always mess up the teeth.

Jemi Fraser said...

Diane - me too. I'd have a great plan with crooked and missing teeth and then I'd slice them off by mistake! :)

Nas said...

Impressive! How on earth someone could do this? Thanks for sharing!

Jemi Fraser said...

Nas - I know! It kind of boggles my mind how anyone could create these beauties! :)

KM Nalle said...

I love seeing all the creative ways people carve their pumpkins. It really is an art form of its own.

I don't do pumpkins either - I usually buy a few for decoration (without carving) and cook them up after Halloween.

Jemi Fraser said...

Kari - it certainly is an art form. These are gorgeous! :) My son loves pumpkin pie, but I've never made one from scratch!

klahanie said...

Jumping Jack-O-Lanterns! How neat.
See you at the pumpkin carving workshop..nose plugs and super duper markers are provided :)

Jemi Fraser said...

Gary - awesome! With those amenities, I'll be there! Hope you have a great Halloween - do they trick or treat in your neck of the woods, or is that still a North American tradition?

klahanie said...

Very clever Jemi :) Ask me a question and you get another hit and comment on your site. Why didn't I think of that, eh:)
Halloween is becoming bigger in Britain. Plenty of Halloween stuff in the stores. However, treat or treating is hardly done at all. In Vancouver, I would probably get about 200 kids knocking at my door. Here in England, I have never had a trick or treater visit.

Jemi Fraser said...

Gary - too funny! :)

My parents grew up in Scotland & had never heard of trick or treating until they came here and kids banged on their door one night. I wondered if it had changed at all - but it seems it hasn't much. :)

Trisha said...

Those pumpkins are amazing. Wow!

We carved faces out of apples in high school art class. That was pretty cool.

Jemi Fraser said...

Trisha - they are! I was completely wowed by them!

That would be cool! I'm pretty sure my attempt would NOT resemble a face though... :)

Tanya Reimer said...

Gee. Now that's talent, makes me feel like I'm wasting mine.

Jemi Fraser said...

Tanya - it really is. I don't think I could achieve that level of skill even with a LOT of practice!

Stina said...

Wow!!!! Um, my skill level involves the printing out of a pattern, marking it on the pumpkin, then cutting it out. And we're talking the simplist pattern my kids can find online.

Maybe I'll quit writing and spent the next year learning to carve pumpkins like these. Okay, maybe not. :D

VR Barkowski said...

Wow! These are awesome!

My jack-o-lantern is plastic with an electric light. *hangs head in shame*

Unlike my xmas tree, which I insist smell like pine and be willing to drop needles all over my floor, I'm fine with a fake pumpkin. :)

LTM said...

wow. I LOVE those star wars pumpkins! I've never carved a pumpkin... *gasp*!... I know.

Maybe next year. Hey, Happy Halloween!!! <3

Lola Sharp said...

Wowza! Those are art.

Ours are more your typical jacks, but we have fun.

Also, I love the smell and gooeyness of carving pumpkins, but roasting the seeds is my favorite part. Yummy.

Happy Halloween...and Happy Nano!

Love,
Lola

Lisa Gail Green said...

SOOOO not ready - but that's good right? *nods* Cool pumpkins.

Dawn Simon said...

Wow, those are cool! I do very basic jack-o-lanterns when I cut them, but my husband gets pretty creative!

Happy Halloween to everyone, and good luck to the NaNoWriMo participants!

Romance Reader said...

Wow! This is talent! Impressive artwork! Thanks for showcasing.

LD Masterson said...

I'm always impressed by pumpkin sculptures. My skills in this area hover between poor and non-existent.

Jemi Fraser said...

Stina - I know! It would take me that long as well. I never thought of printing out a pattern - I always freehand - with markers! :)

VR - we all have our favourite parts! I don't see anything wrong with having a fake pumpkin!!

Leigh - Happy Halloween to you too! I personally don't think you've missed a lot - especially the smell! :)

Lola - I just can't stand the smell - the gooey stuff doesn't bother me at all. Hope your family has a great Halloween! :)

Lisa - I hope it's good - I'm not in the least bit prepared. Not even a little bit. I'm scared though!

Dawn - thanks! Sounds like your hubby has fun with it. It amazes me how intense some people get - they have great results!

Riya - you're welcome! The man is certainly very talented - his site is loaded with great photos!

Linda - you're skills are right up there (or down there) with mine! Glad to be not alone :)

Crazy Life of a Writing Mom said...

WOW! That is just awesome! :0)

Jemi Fraser said...

Elisabeth - I agree - this is one talented man! :)

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

Wow...Those are awesome! Hope you have a happy Halloween. (insert creepy laugh)

Jemi Fraser said...

Sharon - creepy laugh appreciated! :) Hope your day was good and spooky!

Anonymous said...

I love looking at pumpkin carvings. People get so creative.

I had a rainy Halloween, unfortunately.

Jemi Fraser said...

Medeia - some people are SO creative! Love it. We didn't have rain, but we still didn't get too many little goblins.

Anonymous said...

Very impressive. I wonder if this is the guy who was on one of Marths Stewart's Halloween shows?

Jemi Fraser said...

Susanne - I don't know, I've never watched that. He's sure good enough to be featured though! :)

Leslie S. Rose said...

The Chewie pumpkin is pure awesomeness.

Jemi Fraser said...

Leslie - I agree - love Chewie!! :)