Real vs "Funkins" artificial pumpkins.
Funkin Artificial pumpkin "zeppelin"
"Sandy Gauze"
As the uk is bereft of decent pumpkins unless you are one of the few who seek out the pick of the uk crop straight from the field, the season will be short for you, as is Halloween, ..therefore a matter of hours, a supermarket generic pumpkin that offers the worst of carving opportunities bought whilst grabbing a quick ready made, ready to throw Halloween costume for your children or self.
For the strange breed of carvers October onward is our playground...new crop, storage facilities made up, temperature monitoring, carpets wrapped up to avoid frost... you get the idea.
When there are no stocks left we have several other options, squash, part of the Pumpkin family, whole melons for summer carving & bbq parties & finally for theat itchy carving finger the artificial pumpkin, of which my brand of choice is the "Funkin"
Funkins are stiff foam based, hollow pumpkins taken from moulds of real pumpkins in the fields, very popular in America & Canada, as are the other brands abvailable.
For me it's access, you've got to find someone willing to pack & ship the things & lets face it they may be light but they're not small.
These are real size artificial kins, with which we use Howler brand led lights to colour phase, flicker or strobe effect, you cannot use a naked flame on a funkin, & nor should you, this makes them safe for inhouse close to furnishings use, eateries, pub chains & commercial properties who may want a seasonal kin on reception, on general display & so on.
Tools are essential for a funkin, though if you had all the time in the world a simple scalpel would do!
As for my real pumpkin carving a scalpel is an essential, although the main tool is a couple of dedicated Zombiepumpkins.com carving saws, these are durable tools NOT cheap plastic supermarket novelties... yes, my daughter did start using them under supervision for her first pumpkin carving.
"Sandie Gauze" (zombiepumkpkins.com stencil) as seen in the above photo is an artificial funkin pumpkin the "zeppelin" variety due to its length, ..a very tall pumpkin with an oversize carving makes for nice height difference within your overall display.
For the strange breed of carvers October onward is our playground...new crop, storage facilities made up, temperature monitoring, carpets wrapped up to avoid frost... you get the idea.
When there are no stocks left we have several other options, squash, part of the Pumpkin family, whole melons for summer carving & bbq parties & finally for theat itchy carving finger the artificial pumpkin, of which my brand of choice is the "Funkin"
Funkins are stiff foam based, hollow pumpkins taken from moulds of real pumpkins in the fields, very popular in America & Canada, as are the other brands abvailable.
For me it's access, you've got to find someone willing to pack & ship the things & lets face it they may be light but they're not small.
These are real size artificial kins, with which we use Howler brand led lights to colour phase, flicker or strobe effect, you cannot use a naked flame on a funkin, & nor should you, this makes them safe for inhouse close to furnishings use, eateries, pub chains & commercial properties who may want a seasonal kin on reception, on general display & so on.
Tools are essential for a funkin, though if you had all the time in the world a simple scalpel would do!
As for my real pumpkin carving a scalpel is an essential, although the main tool is a couple of dedicated Zombiepumpkins.com carving saws, these are durable tools NOT cheap plastic supermarket novelties... yes, my daughter did start using them under supervision for her first pumpkin carving.
"Sandie Gauze" (zombiepumkpkins.com stencil) as seen in the above photo is an artificial funkin pumpkin the "zeppelin" variety due to its length, ..a very tall pumpkin with an oversize carving makes for nice height difference within your overall display.