Carving that jack-o-lantern!

One of my favorite things about Halloween is the carving of the jack-o-lantern! I used to love to do just the traditional type of design, with the triangle eyes, nose and mouth. I still love almost nothing more than a really sinister expression on a glowing pumpkin, but I've also become very fond of non-traditional designs that you get from, say, Pumpkin Masters. I've seen some really awesome works of art, and have done some pretty darn good ones myself, if I may say so! ;) I'm always on the look out for something new that's super spooky. Some time ago, I was doing an online search for just this sort of thing when I came across Zombie Pumpkins. (www.zombiepumpkins.com) It's dedicated to practically any kind of carving design you can think of (movies, musicians, actors, TV, etc.). They not only have Halloween-style designs, but also ones for summer and other events. Seeing as how I love scarecrows, one of my favorites is Patch Master. I believe you are asked to pay a very small fee for some of the more elaborate designs, but I think it's worth it. They have some free ones as well. What I also like about the site is that you can add your own photo of your special Zombie Pumpkins creation to the customers' gallery. One of these years I am going to add one of mine.

If you love carving pumpkins as much as I do, I recommend that you check out this site! It has a lot of cool stuff to look at, and if nothing else, it's a fun way to kill some time if you need to!

It's starting to look like Halloween! :)

Ok, so I'm still far from having everything up that I was hoping to have up this year, but at least parts of the house are starting to look Halloween-ish. I put up my hanging jack lantern the other night, and am very happy with it (although I was a little disappointed that it wasn't as big as I thought it would be). Nonetheless, it's a great little addition, and I'd love to have about four or five more of them. There is also a white ghost that I hope to get. I'd like to alternate the jack-0-lanterns and the ghosts along the deck. These are perfect for lighting a walkway, or for hanging around a room or patio if you're having a party. Last night, I finally got out some of my decorations and started to go to work on my decorating. I hung a wooden skeleton with wobbly legs, and holding a sign that says 'Happy Halloween', in front of our doorway. But I was most pleased with the table that I decorated! First, I found a Fall-colored table runner with scarecrows and cornstalks on it and put it on the table. I then put a fake pumpkin that I carved the other night on one end of the table, and a jack-o-lantern with a straw-filled hat and fiber optic lights at the other end. I also found my 'Peanuts' 'Great Pumpkin' collectibles and placed them in the center of the table between the jack-o-lanterns. (I'm a big 'Peanuts' fan, so I was very happy when I found these at a Target store a few years ago!) Unfortunately, the 'Peanuts' characters, with their Halloween costumes on, weren't in the box with the pumpkin patch set, so I'm going to have to look for them. A few weeks ago I had bought two scarecrow figurines at TJ Maxx, and I added them to my little scene as well. I will probably do what I did last year and add a strand of either orange or purple lights around the whole table. I just really love lights. I can go nuts with them at Halloween and Christmas. I will be putting some along the deck some time this week. I always wish I could leave them up year round. I saw so many great little things at Walmart the last time I was there! I have not even been to a Halloween store yet, but that's next on my list. I happened to see a Spirit Halloween store just the other day, and I simply can't pass up on going this year.

So, finally, it is looking more and more like a Halloween fanatic lives here. I always have tons of ideas for what I want to do, but it never seems like I can manage to do even half of them. Someday, when I don't have tons of homework to do, or tests to study for, I can devote much more time to creating something really fantastic. Oh, how I long for that day.