# Pumpkin Lights



## Pumpkin5 (Aug 8, 2010)

:jol: Hello All! Last year I carved pumpkins (fake ones) for each of my five windows on my porch and I could not find good lights to light them up. I made brackets for each window so that the pumpkins actually sit on the outside of the house rather than have them on the inside of the house where they were harder to see. I could not find good lights for them last year, so I took a piece of wood, painted it orange and used orange Halloween lights and wrapped it around the wood. I didn't like the effect because you could see the black cord from the Halloween lights when you looked inside the pumpkin. This year I am using Funkin electric lights for each of my pumpkins. The look is better all the way around. I tried do buy some last year, but they were sold out, so fyi, if you need some, I would suggest buying them now before they sell out again. I think I am going to carve four large pumpkins for the top railing of my house. Michael's had some large decorative pumpkins last year and when everything went on sale, I scooped up all they had left. I love after Halloween sales! I may end up making three ghosts to "fly" between the pumpkins. Decisions...decisions...


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## octoberist (Apr 3, 2007)

*Two Kinds of Foam*

We carved fake foam pumpkins for Halloween last year. Here's a tip for the newbies or for folks just starting off in the cruel hobby of Halloween prop making. (1.) Buy the polystyrene (commonly known as Styrofoam) ones and not the foam rubber ones. Even if the rubber ones are considerably cheaper. You will thank me in the long run. The foam rubber pumpkins were hellish to carve. By the time we were done the kids were crying and bloody and I was legless on Johnnie Walker Red. (2.) Also don't put real candles in the foam rubber pumpkins as they make a hideous toxic smell when the rubber heats up and starts to burn. It's not a pleasant smell. Nothing like the sweet nostalgic smell of burning polystyrene like I remember from the Halloweens when I was a kid.


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## TheOneAndOnlyKelly (May 7, 2009)

Walls.... of.... text.... Must... read... /gah!


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## kprimm (Mar 14, 2009)

Yep the Funkins are the very best to carve. I make my own lights with a quick trip to lowes. I just buy a light socket, wire that to a cheap extension cord and add a 40 watt bulb. They light up beautifully. and of course for real pumpkins I still use good ol candles.


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## Morticia (Sep 5, 2009)

kprimm said:


> Yep the Funkins are the very best to carve. I make my own lights with a quick trip to lowes. I just buy a light socket, wire that to a cheap extension cord and add a 40 watt bulb. They light up beautifully. and of course for real pumpkins I still use good ol candles.


40 WATT BULB??? The instructions say to use no more than a 5 watt bulb (nightlight)?


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## Howlinmadjack (Jul 20, 2009)

What are y'all using to carve the rubber ones? I use a dremmel to carve out the pattern, then use two types of sandpaper to smooth out the edges. I use a coarse grit to sand away any corners I missed with the dremmel, and the fine grit to gently sand away the edges so they look smooth. I wouldn't recommend letting children carve out the pumpkins with the dremmel though. You can get some really nice effects this way.


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