makezine.com: TNT, Round 08: Pumpkin Time

TNT Newsletter for October 30, 2006

The extremes of pumpkin carving, how to eat your pumpkin on November 1st, ghostly decorations, and a few last-minute costume ideas.

No, Readers, I'm not talking about Cinderella. I'm talking about tomorrow, that day of ghoulish delights, the ne plus ultra of maker holidays.

I used to hate Halloween. I admit it. I was the Scrooge of orange, the skeleton cynic. I was tired of store-bought costumes and candy hangovers. (Plus, let's be honest--I'd been to a few too many parties where Halloween was just an excuse to wear outfits that no one should really wear in public.) But after seeing the great projects and crafts that people have been posting on Instructables, Etsy, and our own MAKE/CRAFT Halloween contest, I started to see Halloween in a new light. It's an opportunity for creativity and play, a way to test out new skills and explore new uses for old tools. Cinderella was totally missing an opportunity when she walked away from that pumpkin coach.

Happy Halloween!

P.S. It's not too late to enter the MAKE/CRAFT Halloween contest--just upload your project photos to Flickr and tag with "makecrafthalloween" or email them to Phillip Torrone (pt@oreilly.com). More information about the contest here. Or, just check out the entries that have been posted so far.

Arwen O'Reilly
Staff Editor, Make Magazine
http://makezine.com
toolbox@makezine.com

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Extreme Pumpkin Carving

Reviewed by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith
http://extremepumpkins.com

I wrote about ExtremePumpkins.com in our Halloween issue last year, but thought that Tom Nardone's site deserved to be highlighted again.

Covering topics like "fire, light and pyrotechnics," "power tools," and "design strategy," you can be sure that the pumpkins featured here will not look like Martha Stewart's (not that he has anything against her: "Martha is cool as heck in my book," as he puts it). The gallery pages are well worth looking at for inspiration and for laughs, and Tom even has a bang-up good pumpkin seed recipe (I know, I've tried it).

Discussion

Extreme Pumpkin Carving, part II

Reviewed by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith
http://www.villafanestudios.com/pumpkins.htm

These pumpkins are extreme, too, but not in the Tom Nardone sense. Ray shows you how to turn your pumpkin into a gargoyle worthy of Notre Dame. His tips are designed to bring out the inner artist, not the inner pyro, and if you follow his instructions, you'll end up with a truly beautiful relief sculpture. (Or something approximating it, anyway--I suspect that practice and talent have something to do with it to, but we can dream.)

Discussion

Pumpkin Gutter

Reviewed by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith
http://www.getcarvingquicker.com/
$12

MAKE senior editor Phillip Torrone posted about this drill attachment on the blog, and I couldn't resist checking it out. It doesn't seem to work any better than some dedicated hand scraping, but it's faster and easier on the wrist.

Discussion

30 Ways to Eat a Pumpkin

Reviewed by Phillip Torrone
http://buzz.yahoo.com/buzzlog/43189/30-ways-to-eat-a-pumpkin

Yahoo put together 30 ways to eat a pumpkin. These look pretty good:

* Pumpkin Pancakes
* Pumpkin Brownies
* Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll
* Pumpkin Ale
* Pumpkin Crème Brulee
* Pumpkin Ravioli Recipe
* Pumpkin Beer

And that's just the beginning.

Discussion

Easy Costume Idea: Clorox Bot

Reviewed by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith
http://www.instructables.com/id/EKV891KORIEP2876NW/

Stumped for a good costume? Dig through your recycling pile, and with some hot glue and spray paint, you won't recognize yourself. Instructable user Chaintool has a great how-to explaining how to transform old Clorox bottles into robot dreams.

P.S. Check out my interview with the maker himself on the MAKE blog.

Discussion

Easy Costume Idea: Jelly Belly

Reviewed by Arwen O'Reilly Griffith

In need of a last-minute costume that's clever enough to make up for the fact that it's a last-minute costume? Don't have time for the Clorox bot? Shawn Connally, managing editor of MAKE, came up with this great suggestion: a bag of jelly beans.

1. Blow up a bunch of small, colored balloons.

2. Take an old dry cleaning bag and make two leg holes at the top. Step into the bag, and fill it with the balloons. Punch out two holes in the sides of the bag for your arms, and tie the top around your neck with a big ribbon.

3. Avoid being eaten...

Discussion