chrisperez
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2009
Posts: 457
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Post by chrisperez on Oct 31, 2010 21:37:48 GMT -5
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Post by gr on Oct 31, 2010 23:38:52 GMT -5
Chris, Cool, Very cool! and very talented
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Post by Roller on Oct 31, 2010 23:53:15 GMT -5
Holy detail! Heres me n the kiddies pumpkin ... ! I did the eyes , she did the mouth !
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Post by rockrookie on Nov 1, 2010 2:58:13 GMT -5
AWESOME !!!! Chris . --paul
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Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Nov 1, 2010 7:13:41 GMT -5
OMG, Chris those are soooooooooo cooooooooooool! Very talented, both of you!
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Post by beefjello on Nov 1, 2010 8:39:16 GMT -5
Awesome job Chris, I was hoping you'd post this years carvings ;D The Hatter is fantastic!! Here's a poor shot of Jesse's lantern
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Post by NatureNut on Nov 1, 2010 9:08:25 GMT -5
Yeah Chris!!! So happy to see your pumpkins this year!!!!!
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Post by Toad on Nov 1, 2010 9:18:08 GMT -5
Great work, Chris.
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Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Nov 1, 2010 12:04:20 GMT -5
Fantastic jack-o-lanterns! Wow!
Chuck
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Post by tanyafrench on Nov 1, 2010 18:14:50 GMT -5
Hey Chris and Di, I am so glad you posted your jack o lanterns. They are just so wonderful. Chris used to carve all our pumpkins when he was growing up and they were always wonderful.
Love, Mom
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Post by Bikerrandy on Nov 1, 2010 18:53:47 GMT -5
I remember the ones that you posted last year, awesome stuff once again!!
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Post by frane on Nov 1, 2010 19:23:04 GMT -5
I have been wondering if I would see some Chris originals this year and they are fantastic! Sorry to hear about the ankle Diane! The kids and the other pumpkins on this thread look great too! Fran
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Nov 1, 2010 20:46:37 GMT -5
Awesome carvings everyone. I especially like the hatter too.
Nate
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juzwuz
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2010
Posts: 526
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Post by juzwuz on Nov 1, 2010 22:18:39 GMT -5
Chris: cool pumpkins! This is the first year my wife and I tried the "pumpkin skin peeling" technique. Here's the ones that my family did this year: Wife's carving: Mine: Kids:
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Post by tanyafrench on Nov 2, 2010 18:26:22 GMT -5
Oooh those are wonderful. The wife's yours and the kids. I especially like the Black Cat. Looking forward to next year.
Tanya
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Post by Bejewelme on Nov 3, 2010 11:08:51 GMT -5
WOW Chris, that carving is amazing! Roller the kids are so cute, the baby is getting big!
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chrisperez
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2009
Posts: 457
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Post by chrisperez on Nov 3, 2010 14:40:44 GMT -5
Gee, thank you as always everybody.... Heck, you guys might be our biggest audience... we only got 2 kids this year, everyone leaves our neighborhood for trick-or-treating these days. We have plenty of left over candy though, so it's all good . And thanks for posting your pumpkins guys... Roller... Sweet, she must be proud of her creation Beef... Cool pic, you sure got a spooky effect on that one. Juzwuz... I like the playbill pumpkins, cool idea. I haven't tried the "pumpkin skin peeling" technique yet, but on the Bengals jack-o-lantern I was sure tempted. I could have done the logo perfectly if I had ( I had to modify it a little to make it work )... As a side note I have been experementing this year to try to make our pumpkins last a little longer. Normally I just spray them with a little bleach water to fight mold, but the more elaborite ones only last 2 days before they dry out too much. I've tried putting Vasolene on all cut surfaces, but that only helps a little ( maby one more day ) and is really difficult on small cuts, hardly worth the effort. This year we have tried soaking them in cold water for a few hours each day before putting them out. I expected them to get soft and soggy from the water. But, it actually is working very well. After 4 days the Bengals and the Mad Hatter actually look better then when I first carved them , Alice's head has kind of gotten cooked ( the candles are right against the carved side to keep them hidden, but all the heat escapes right through her head ) but other than that she's fine too. The water just keeps perking them right up.... Here's a pic of the Hatter after 4 days... Mad Hatter Jack-o-lantern after 4 days by Who Dey ChrisAnother thing I have been working on for years is taking a good picture... and I think I have finally figured it out. The problem has always been getting enough light inside the jack-o-lantern for the camera to focus without seeing the light source. If the candle ( bulb, flare, etc... ) is exposed to the camera you get a terrible glare, and when I carve out alot of pumpkin ( Alice ) it's hard to hide the light source.... This year I came up with an incredibly simple solution.... move the light out of the pumpkin. I just clamped a work light above the pumpkin, and rested it on the lid ( with the top off of course ). Set the camera on a little tri-pod set to no flash, with a 2 second delay ( for no vibration from pushing the button )....and, Finally some good jack-o-lantern pics..... here's a shot of the setup... really smiple... Photo setup by Who Dey ChrisIf anyone wants more tips or has any other questions, just ask... I learned quite a bit from trial and error through the years.... Thanks again, Chris
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juzwuz
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2010
Posts: 526
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Post by juzwuz on Nov 3, 2010 15:25:05 GMT -5
Chris,
I'll have to try the overhead light to get a better picture.
Just peeling the skin and adjusting the carving depth brings out different levels of shading. On the Glee pumpkin, I didn't cut all the way through on the hand and letters and then realized that I needed vent holes for the candle so I decided to cut the stars in the back and let them project onto the side of the house.
We don't do anything special to make the pumpkins last so sometimes I end up having to use a shovel to scoop a gooey pumpkin mess off the porch.
We ended up with 62 trick-or-treaters but in previous years we usually had around 100.
Justin
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chrisperez
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2009
Posts: 457
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Post by chrisperez on Nov 7, 2010 22:00:50 GMT -5
Thanks Juzwuz, good idea on the stars. By the way, what tools did you use for the sculpting? And if anyone was wondering.... after 7 days of soaking the pumpkins..... they are all pretty much perfect.... even the smallest detail has survived just fine... Next year I'm carving my pumpkins a week early!!!! Woo Hoo... lol Chris
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juzwuz
has rocks in the head
Member since April 2010
Posts: 526
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Post by juzwuz on Nov 8, 2010 15:39:42 GMT -5
I used the pumpkin carving tools from one of those kits/patterns you buy at the store (scooper, hole poker, little saw blade) and a cheap set of exacto knives to peel the skin and carve the layers. The big thing was this year I bought some software that actually lets you read in pictures and then you can adjust a couple of settings and then it prints out the template. The template shows you which areas you need to cut out and which areas you can peel the skin. Kinda cheating I guess but I need all the help I can get..... canucarve.com/The stars were cut out fairly quickly but seemed to work out. They might have worked better if I had made smaller stars but more of them. Our untreated pumpkins are basically a science experiment in decay.....they are definitely on their way to becoming compost.
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