Pumpkin Project

As I have come to realize and accept, most of the craft and home improvement projects that I take on turn out to be much harder and more stress-inducing than I anticipated. This, however, is one that I can honestly say from first-hand experience is a piece of cake.

You want to start out with a Funkin® which I purchased at Hobby Lobby, but are also available online through the company's website. They range in price from about 15-25 dollars. Funkins® are basically carve-able artificial pumpkins made of a material similar to Styrofoam. The only other tool you will need for this project is a pumpkin carving tool, which you can purchase at any store that sells real pumpkins and carving supplies. It's basically just a very small serrated knife.

Start by carving a small hole, about 4-5 inches in diameter, in the bottom of the Funkin. This will be to insert the light source. You can create any design that you want for the front and free-hand it if you're brave. For mine, I decided to do the "B" monogram, so I chose the font that I wanted and created a template. Just print your template out from the computer and tape it to the front of the pumpkin. Next, use your tool to carve out the design.

Tip: Make sure to look at your design before carving to be sure that it will not "fall out". For example, if you were carving a letter "O", the entire circle would fall out if you carved a complete "O". You would have to be creative with the design so that the ends to not meet. You will see that I had to do this with the "B" as well.

Once you have the design carved just how you like it, all you need is to insert a
light source. The best thing that I have found so far is the small battery-powered LED lights that look like tea lights. They are not quite as bright as I would like, but it's the best I've found. Let me know if you have any ideas for a brighter light source.

Just put the Funkin® on top of the light and enjoy! The best things about this pumpkin are 1) it does not rot, 2) it does not attract ants/bugs, 3) it can be used indoors, and most importantly 4) it can be used year after year.