Showing posts with label pumpkin carving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pumpkin carving. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Day 152 - I Feel Dirty

I feel dirty. Maybe not for the reasons you may be thinking (People! Get your minds out of the gutter!). Last Sunday family joined us in attending my son's high school's Spring musical. We dropped him off early so he could get ready, and we went out to lunch to pass the time (and yes, we did give Him lunch before we left! Ahem!). Mistake. Big Mistake. Our family wanted to go to a buffet. The greasy home style stuff your face and unbutton your pants til you pop buffet. I didn't want to go....but I thought that surely I could find something to eat? Right?

Now, for those of you who have been following my adventures, you may remember that we've switched to a vegetarian diet. We're not quite 100%, probably closer to 95% at the moment, but we are happily getting there and have been feeling much better for it. We're eating lots of leafies and healthy things....low sodium....healthy fats...lots of plain ole good stuff for ya. Until Sunday. We walked in and I should have thrown some wretched fit and faked the plague to have gotten myself out of there. The restaurant was DIRTY. When you walk in and the place they hand you a drink and the soda area is dirty....don't walk...RUN outta the restaurant! Took forever to find seats...and they were dirty and had to be exchanged with another table. I'm thinking if this is what the front of the place looks like, God help what's in the kitchen!

My hubby and I looked like deer in the car headlights. We meandered around, trying to find things to eat, bumping into each other comparing bare plates and then making another round. He came back to the table with some anemic broccoli, a small piece of meatloaf, and some grilled onions and peppers (though I had wondered if he'd seen that nasty grill!). I came away with shrimp and a piece of fried chicken. I know. Meat. But I literally didn't know what to eat and thought that I could take the skin off and dirty hands couldn't have handled the rest of it and it was the only thing not swimming in extra colored sauce so I could see if it had been cooked all the way through thus killing all the bacteria. I got back to the table, pulled all the breading off the shrimp...and it wasn't cooked. Ew.

Round two....I see my hubby's plate. Grapes. Seriously? Grapes. The best part of the whole day. I went back around the salad bar again and grabbed my own stash. Found some unwilted lettuce (soaked, mind you, but at least it had been rinsed!), some croutons and grated cheddar. Topped it all off with half a piece of nauseatingly sweet carrot cake. On a scale of one to ten this place was a negative 40. The amazing thing is that people were loving it...despite the fact that vats of hand sanitizer were placed around the buffet...and sometimes OVER the food! They were piling mounds of food and sauces on their plates and into their bodies and I felt nauseas...both at the fact of what they were eating and the thought that I used to eat like that too!!! How horrible! And I LIKED it! What was I thinking?

A truly terrifying Halloween type of day! Today's pumpkin carving expresses my feelings perfectly. Even a few days later, I feel like going and getting a jar of Metamucil and downing the whole thing while praying that the fiber combs the nastiness outta me. Oh my. Oh ick. Oh how merciful the barfing Gods would have been if I could have just gotten the little I did eat out of me! I later told my husband that if he ever took us back to that place that I would throw the Queen Mother of Hissy Fits and bodily fling myself into the Butter Bar because God knows that everything will stop if we can't coat it in butter so it will slide more easily through our clogged little veins. I swear by all that is green and leafy that I will never go to a cheap buffet again! ACK!

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Day 117 - Hairy Herbert

Spent all day taking pictures of pumpkins...again! I sooooo want to take a day off - Thanksgiving would be nice - but I can only do that if my brain lets me! When you work from home as an artist, you are definitely at the mercy of your imagination as far as scheduling is concerned!

Today I found a bag of black feathers that looked more like hair than feathers to me! As it was about time to toss out this pumpkin, I thought I could hide a few bad spots and make it useful one last time! Tomorrow, it's going to be pumpkin pie for possums!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Day 115 - They're All In On It!

Since the beginning, The Pumpkin Lady has been a family business...our son was the one who first begged for a carving kit that led us to where we are today! And after eleven years, we've managed to somehow drag everyone into it! Take our little pre-Thankgiving visit to see the in-laws. Upon discovering that our nephew, Jeremy, was back from college for the holiday, we threw him into a little impromptu photo shoot with his cousin. What a good sport! As you can see, they put their own little spin on things...we knew from the beginning that there was no way that we'd ever get a serious shot! But they had fun and that's what pumpkin carving is all about, isn't it?

Thursday, November 19, 2009

Day 111 - Little People

Oddly enough, grown ups stress over carving pumpkins. Adults think, "It has to be perfect!" Our subconcious mind translating that statement into, "This will be my greatest masterpiece!" And they then proceed to freak out over the whole event, making everyone miserable because someone could possibly slightly ever so subtley crash and burn into a big carving mistake. Sad isn't it?

Kids, on the other hand, don't think about failure. About carving it "wrong." Don't worry that every line has to be perfect. Heck, they don't even have to carve the pumpkin to have fun! A stuffed animal- sized wig, chalk or markers, can turn little pumpkins into little people in the blink of a child's eye. Does my Godson look like he's stressing out here? Nope, and neither should you. Pumpkin carving is a perfect experience if you don't worry about carving perfectly. Have fun and, however things turn out, you'll have a perfectly great time that you'll never forget...for all of the RIGHT reasons.

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Day 110 - Go for the Glory

When I carve a pumpkin, about 90% of the time I create and then apply a pattern onto it before I start carving. Granted, it may be the wimpy way out, but it works for me and I make a lot less mistakes! However, there are much braver souls out there than I. People that grab life by the carving saw and just go for it, carving without a pattern, with an idea they grab out of the stratosphere and then just carve for all they're worth. Today's photo is just that...a pumpkin carved by Emma, a dear family friend and a girl who has the guts to just go for it. Carving saw moving like lightening, she whipped out this pumpkin carving of the crest from Hogwarts (all you Harry Potter fans should know this image well!)...and she did a marvelous job!

I raise my glass to all you who throw caution to the wind and give it all you got when pumpkin carving! When I grow up, I hope to be just like you!

Sunday, November 8, 2009

Day 100 - Simply Sweet

Day 100! Can you believe it? Only 265 days left of my 365 Days of Halloween Blog! Today's little picture is a great reminder to myself. So many times, we try to create these huge, complicated carvings...and yes, I do like them and hold them dear...but there is still something so wonderful and magical in just the sweet smile of a little Jack O'Lantern. When we think of pumpkin carving, what comes to mind aren't portraits of the Presidents, or intricate Celtic lacework...we think of triangle eyes and nose and a jagged grin...a pumpkin that sums up all the images of Halloween into one simple smile.

It just goes to show that good things come in small packages.

Monday, November 2, 2009

Day 94 - Creepy Tree


People ask me all the time, "Where do you get your inspiration? How can you possibly come up with any more designs?" I say that inspiration is ALL around you. Take today's photo. Isn't that one of the most amazing creepy trees you've ever seen? I could get a hundred designs out of that single photo alone. Anything and everything can become an inspiration if you just keep your mind open and your imagination humming. ( lol and being wide awake on coffee doesn't hurt either!)

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Day 93- Post Your Pumpkins


Well, by now the decorations are coming down and the candy has been half eaten as another Halloween has come and gone. Hopefully the pumpkins will last a few days longer...at least long enough for you to take some pictures to remember all the fun we've had this year! To everyone who took pics of your carved pumpkins, please know that we'd LOVE to see what YOU do! Please post them on our Pumpkin Lady Facebook Fan site where dozens and dozens of other fans have already been showing off their mad carving skills. Whether it's a simple Jack O'Lantern grin, or a leering dragon, post your pics so that we may brag on you a little! You already know what I can do...let's see what YOU can do!

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Day 92 - JACKO Lantern



In honor of his new movie and remembering a great Halloween hit, Thriller, we celebrate our favorite holiday with our JACKO lantern of Michael Jackson! I chose to create a portrait as I remember him best, during his days of Beat It and Thriller. I miss those days and I'm sure you do too. As an artist, I appreciate all that he contributed to the art world. Love him or hate him, he was pretty amazing!

Happy Halloween to all those here and in Spirit!

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Day 90 - High Flyers


It's no secret - cats are my favorite inspiration when designing pumpkin carving patterns! And from the volume of email and Facebook posts, they're yours too! So you should really love today's blog about another free kitty pattern!

Three little cats are flying against the moon in a giant pumpkin hot air balloon in the pattern "High Flyers." And our Pumpkin Lady Facebook Fans may download it for FREE until 8PM EST tonight! After that, we'll place it for sale on www.pumpkinlady.com. Hurry! It's adorable!

Tell your friends!

Happy Carving!

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Day 85 - Free is Good!


Time for some more weekly free patterns! There's two more in our Patterns Categories at www.pumpkinlady.com. Now, I know that is not enough! So tomorrow we'll be uploading several more! Until then, enjoy Twisted and Nick, and look for Shakespeare and several more tomorrow!

Happy Carving!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Day 80 - Free Pattern!


In honor of our new kitten friends we're giving away this kitten pumpkin carving pattern to all of our Pumpkin Lady Facebook Fans. You may download it for free until 8pm EST tonight! Not a fan yet? Go to www.pumpkinlady.com and click on the tombstone that says "Be A Facebook Fan." You may then become a member of Facebook for free! Just browse through the message wall and find "Our New Baby" to download your free pattern.

Happy Carving!

Saturday, October 17, 2009

VA Living Museum

We had an amazing time carving pumpkins at the Virginia Living Museum tonight! Hundreds of families came out despite the cold and misty rain. Creepy crawlies, candy, and kids...what a combination! This was our eleventh year volunteering our carving skills for the event...which goes on tomorrow night from 6-9pm as well. Why do we drive four hours there and back for a three hour event? Because of the museum staff themselves! You couldn't find a nicer, more dedicated bunch! The museum is a beautiful place to visit with animals galore and they do so much to serve Virginia's children - creating a safe educational environment to teach them about the natural world around them. And the event is soooo much fun for families with small children. It's all Happy Halloween - all the candy and fun WITHOUT the fear factor. That's my kind of party! So for all those who missed it, hopefully we'll see you there later today!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Day 74 - Not Just Another Pretty Face


Jack, my techno wonder of a husband, has just uploaded ELEVEN more patterns to www.pumpkinlady.com. Just check out the Pretty Face category on our Patterns Page. And no, I'm not done uploading patterns onto the website! There's plenty more to come if I can just find two spare seconds in the day. HA! Funny! But I'll keep trying if you'll keep checking. And remember, we'll give away several free patterns to our Facebook Fans if we reach our goal of 1000 Pumpkin Lady Fans by midnight this Sunday, Oct. 18th. We're at 444 now...I think we can do it! Sign up, tell your friends, and get free stuff! Free is my favorite flavor!

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Day 69 - More Pattern Goodness


We've added five new patterns to the site tonight: EEK! is my favorite so I've made that my Halloween theme for today. There's also Scarred Stupid, PHHTT!, Chomp, and Cackle. But there's so much more to come! I have more patterns than I can count that will be added between now and Halloween...not to mention all the free patterns and specials just for our Facebook Fans. I also finished editing Sweet Stack today, so the video and directions will be available for free in the Project Gallery by tomorrow afternoon. This weekend we'll add more patterns, projects, and a few other products, too. Where are Santa's elves when I need them?