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Archive for November 2nd, 2008

So I went back and checked my work and I carved 18 different pumpkin carvings this year. I had several pumpkins with multiple carvings in them, especially my final Halloween pumpkin which had 4 patterns carved into it.

The total number of pumpkins used for the year was actually 9. That would also be the same number of toilet paper rolls I used. I did make one addition and use a paper towel roll, but it didn’t last very long so I had a back toilet paper roll at the ready. Side note for all of you out there playing the home version, while the paper towel roll looks pretty cool and does shoot a pretty good flame, it doesn’t last very long at all and you will either need a second roll or the toilet paper if you want to get the full experience.

Around 4 gallons of gasoline were used to soak the paper rolls and propel the flames up to the Gods I used a 5 gallon gas can and went through most of my supply. One thing to note here, while gasoline is a fair bit cheaper it stinks to high heaven while you’re working with it. And there is also that nagging back of your mind idea that a spark is going to ignite the fumes while the whole thing is sitting in your garage. So while lamp oil doesn’t anywhere near as bad and the fumes aren’t going to go off unexpectedly, it costs nearly 2-3 times as much. We’ll have to see what gas prices are like next year. You never know, gas may be 5 times more expensive than lamp oil next go round.

Some people suggested I use the Coleman fuel for the pumpkins since it’s supposed to burn white and look really cool. That might be amusing to try once, but since that costs around $12 a gallon, I don’t think I could afford to do it too many times. It sounds pretty neat though.

There was also the idea of combining boric acid and methanol to create a green flame. Either I’m looking in the wrong place or this stuff just isn’t that readily available. I couldn’t find of these materials at all. Of course this gives me the idea of trying to make colored flames for next year. I will have to look into that and see what I can come up with. It sounds like a pretty fun experiment and now I have a full year to find my materials. I’m sure Homeland Security will have no problem with me ordering some of those chemicals.

It was a heck of a month, but I shudder to think how much I actually spent on all this stuff. Quite frankly if I have my way for next year, the bill is going to go up astronomically. I might end up in some sort of rehab if I keep this sort of behavior up.

All the carvings were pretty impressive and I believe I have now mastered the art of pumpkin lighting. But, out of all of them, I think this one is the most impressive visually. It has some wicked flames coming out of it and it had some great height. There is just something about that trident of fire that looks really cool!

I have plenty of ideas for next year so while Halloween has just passed, I need to start asking around on how I can pull off some of my plans for next year. And I have to figure out how to pay for it all.

Once again, a big tip of the hat to Zombiepumpkins.com for the great carving patterns and to Extremepumpkins.com for the wild ideas and getting the big kids involved in Halloween.

Don’t forget, you can see the entire 2008 pumpkin collection by clicking the link.

Or you can click to go to Webshots and see the collection with larger image sizes.

I know you’re anxious to hear about my Halloween so let’s get on with all the juicy details and then you can see the spectacular display that my award winning pumpkin put on.

First off, I work for a company that thinks Halloween is a great holiday. In fact, they reward you for wearing costumes and getting into the spirit of things by letting you go home early. Everyone who got dressed up went into the back parking lot and had their picture taken. It was by department and then by grouping of costumes such as Angels and Devils, Villains and Heroes, Thugs and Badasses. Just the comic relief of that alone was worth getting into a costume. My costume was very simplistic – a chef; a chef who served up flaming pumpkin pie, but a chef none-the-less. It was simple and straightforward, but I needed something I could wear and still take pictures with as well as light pumpkins on fire. I was stylish yet fully functional.

There was also a pumpkin carving contest. Clearly this had my name all over it. My offering was a 30lbs behemoth with 4 different faces carved into it – Jason, Scream, Michael Meyers and the Reaching Hands. Yeah I know I should have carved Freddie, but there simply wasn’t room.

In a surprising turn of events, I won the contest. A big thank you to Zombiepumpkins.com for the templates I used to take home the prize. So I get bragging rights for winning the first pumpkin carving contest the company held.

After getting out of work early (2:30pm) I got my son and we carved some more pumpkins for the night’s festivities. You can’t really have a Halloween without carving a pumpkin on the day now can you? We hacked and slashed our way through two more carvings and prepared for the little treaters.

The night was going to get hot as I planned on setting my winning pumpkin ablaze with a new idea of using a paper towel roll. There was also the added excitement of fireworks. The big crackers are legal in this state and we had several on hand to raise the dead and test the structural integrity of the pumpkin walls.

We did manage to light up the night with my pumpkin and it was a stunning display. The flame was massive with flames shooting out the side. I actually did this one for a crowd of friends and it left them speechless and looking for cover.

We only managed to get a few of the fireworks off before some lameass called the cops who told us we needed to knock it off. It was 11pm on Halloween! Who the hell calls the cops? Needless to say we were extremely disappointed. We had well over $150 worth of gunpowder at the ready and now we were being told to stop. Strangely the officer said nothing about the cauldron of fire in the middle of the backyard so I guess it’s all good.

It’s been one heck of a month. I’ve lost count of the number of pumpkins I’ve carved so far. It’s probably pretty close to 20, but I will need to count to find out. I have pictures of all of them so I can go back and see what I’ve done.

So anyway, enjoy the photos and let me know what you think. I already have new ideas for next year. It’s my goal to combine pumpkin burning with the chemistry of fireworks. We’ll see what I can put together before next year.

If you want to see larger versions of the photos which can be used for desktop wallpaper and the like, you check out my Halloween gallery at Webshots.