by Art Institute of Portland

Keep the Spirit of Halloween Alive at Your Party with Halloween Cards

Halloween affords everyone an opportunity to dress like someone else and indulge in the creepy. Adults as well as children want to get together with friends and celebrate the spookiest day of the year. So, with that in mind, they often plan Halloween parties. With Halloween cards, you can let everyone know the details of your party ahead of time so they know what to wear and when to come.

Halloween stems from an old Celtic holiday called Samhain, which was celebrated from sunset to sunrise to mark the shortening of the days and the end of the harvest. It was believed that on this day the barrier between our world and the otherworld thinned in certain places, leaving portals open for a short time through which the Tuatha de Danann (old Celtic gods) and the spirits of the dead could travel.

The holiday has since evolved into the celebration that we know today as Halloween.

Nowadays, Halloween is looked forward to by most people as an excuse to have a party, put pumpkin in everything, and try to scare each other silly with freakish costumes. Some people truly revel in the horror movies and love to wear a bloody mask and creep around without letting anyone know who they are.  Regardless of how you celebrate, though, you’ll need to include some important information on your Halloween cards.

You will have to include the date on your Halloween cards since you may be celebrating on a convenient Saturday instead of the day of the actual holiday. Also, you will want to make sure that your guests know if there is a theme or a contest. A costume competition is a good way to encourage your guests to actually dress up, instead of just showing up for the food.

If you are having a Disney or a Tim Burton theme for your Halloween party, you’ll want your guests to know so that they can pick a good costume.

Halloween is a tradition of spookiness that stretches back thousands of years and the modern version keeps the creepy going. Halloween cards let everyone know about your event so that you can celebrate the holiday in style.  

Filed in Spirit Of Halloween on Thursday, August 18, 2011 · Alive, Art Institute Of Portland, Bloody Mask, Cards, Celtic Gods, Celtic Holiday, Costume Competition, Day Of The Year, halloween, Halloween Cards, Halloween Parties, Halloween Party, Horror Movies, Keep, Otherworld, party, Pumpkin, Samhain, Shortening, Spirit, Spirit Of Halloween, Spirits Of The Dead, Stems, Sunset To Sunrise, Tim Burton, Tuatha De Danann · No Comments »

How to Preserve Your Pumpkin for Display at Your Orlando Home

As Halloween draws closer, celebrators everywhere are beginning to decorate their Orlando homes with pumpkins. Unfortunately, by the time the actual holiday is here, many of the jack-o-lanterns will be rotting away – poor remnants of the original carving.

If you\’d like to keep your carved pumpkin up to par, here are 11 tips:

1. Put your pumpkin in cold water; it will soak up the water and get firm. You can do this after it\’s carved as well; just place it face down and let it fill up with water.

2. Let your pumpkin soak overnight for detailed work. This allows for carving that is more intricate.

3. Dry your pumpkin immediately once you take it out of the water to display it in your Orlando home. Otherwise, mold will take hold and grow.

4. If your pumpkin starts to shrivel, put it back in cold water for one to eight hours.

5. Put a thin coating of petroleum jelly on exposed, cut edges to keep the water from evaporating and to preserve the cuts, as well as the pumpkin.

6. Add a very small amount of unscented bleach to the water to stop premature molding.

7. Spray your pumpkin with a plant mister to keep it from shriveling.

8. Wrap the pumpkin in plastic wrap and put it in the refrigerator, when not in use, to keep it looking fresh.

9. Extinguish the candle inside the pumpkin whenever you\’re not using it for decoration; otherwise, the heat can cook the inside.

10. Spray the pumpkin with Lysol, or another disinfectant, after you\’ve finished carving, to keep off bacteria. (Don\’t do this if you used bleach in the water.)

11. Use a spray on pumpkin preserver, if you prefer not to use bleach or a spray disinfectant.

Following these tips and tricks can help you stretch the lifetime of your jack-o-lanterns from a few days to a week or longer. Decorate your Orlando home with all the pumpkin patterns your heart desires and have a Happy Halloween!

Related Pumpkin Carving Patterns Articles

Filed in Pumpkin Carving Patterns on Thursday, October 28, 2010 · Display, Home, Orlando, Preserve, Pumpkin · No Comments »

Jack-o’-lantern pumpkin making tips

Jack-o’-lantern pumpkin making tips

You Will Need:

·A pumpkin

·A sharp knife

·A crayon or marker

·A large spoon or ice cream scooper

·And a small candle, glow stick, or battery-operated light

·Salt

·Baking sheet

·A carving template

·A thumbtack

·And petroleum jelly

Step 1: Choose pumpkin

Choose a pumpkin that’s large and smooth with a stem of at least 2″. If you plan to put a candle inside, choose a gourd that’s at least 9″ tall.

TIP: Pumpkins with smaller stems rot quickly.

Step 2: Draw circle or hexagon

Draw a circle or hexagon on the top of the pumpkin an inch or two below the stem. Don’t worry if it’s not perfect, but make sure it’s a little bigger than your fist.

Step 3: Carve through pattern

Carve through the pattern with a sharp knife-which requires less force, and is therefore safer. Angle your cut so the top of your circle is wider than the bottom, which will ensure that the top fits snugly in place.

Step 4: Remove top & clean out

Remove the top and clean out the pumpkin’s seeds and stringy membranes with the scooper. Continue scraping the inside until the walls are about half an inch thick-otherwise it will be hard to carve.

TIP: For a delicious-and healthy-treat, wash and sprinkle the seeds with salt, and then toast them in the oven on a baking sheet.

Step 5: Draw face

Draw the eyes, nose, and mouth-or any other pattern you want, like perhaps Van Gogh’s famous painting “The Starry Night.”

TIP: If you’re not good at drawing, find a carving template online or at a store. Fasten it to the pumpkin and use a thumbtack to poke holes along the lines.

Step 6: Cut through pattern

Use your knife to cut through the pattern you’ve just drawn. Remember that cuts that connect to each other will remove the entire piece in between, so cut around anything you want to stay intact, like teeth or a wart on the nose.

Step 7: Make cuts & scrapes

Make disconnected cuts and scrapes to allow the light from inside the pumpkin to shine through without removing whole pieces, a good technique for drawing outlines or scenes, or for creating more definition in a face-like glowing pupils.

TIP: To keep the edges from browning before the big night, dab on a little petroleum jelly to lock in moisture.

Step 8: Place candle

Place a small candle and light it when you’re ready to show off your work. If there’s a large opening level with the candle, like a mouth, light the flame through it so you don’t burn your hand.

TIP: If your flame is weak or keeps going out, it’s not getting enough oxygen-cut a small opening in the top of the pumpkin, hidden from sight behind the stem.

Step 9: Use glow stick or battery-powered light

If you’re not keen on having a real flame, use a glow stick or battery-powered light.

“Trick or treat”  tips

Tell you how to Makeup for Halloween

Find More Pumpkin Carving Patterns Articles

Filed in Pumpkin Carving Patterns on · Jackolantern, Making, Pumpkin, Tips · No Comments »

The way to Carve A Pumpkin In 7 Simple steps

So how do you carve a pumpkin? The answer is suprisingly easy and I will show you how in just a few simple steps.

Step 1. Select a fresh pumpkin. With this you need to find a shape you like. Some like it round and others oval shaped. In the event you neglect this or do not do it, you should expect .

Step 2. Draw a hexagon or circle around the top of the pumpkin and cut through with a knife. This step can be very important because you will need to take all the seeds out and clean the inside.

Step 3. Remove the cap(the part you just cut through). This will probably mean that the seeds will be attached to the cap. Additionally, it means that you will need to scrape off all the seeds from the cap.

Step 4. Now scoop out the rest of the seeds and pulp from the pumpkin. This is going to involve a large spoon to reach all the way inside.

Step 5. Now comes the fun part. Draw a face or other pattern on the pumpkin. An important point to keep in mind here is make sure the pattern is not too detailed. The reason that this is important is because you will be cutting around this pattern.

Step 6. Now follow the pattern around cutting all the way through with your knife.

Step 7. Discard the pieces and place a candle inside the pumpkin for an eerie glow. Great! Now you’re almost there! Always remember, be safe and have fun this halloween.

Once you continue with the steps established above, step-by-step the enormous elephant-challenge you were facing will be “consumed”, conquered and finished off. You’ll complete your project, succeed and be able to benefit from the benefits and fruits of accomplishment and victory! Congratulations for your victory! You took on a big challenge, conquered it and won, one step at a time!

Filed in Pumpkin Carving Patterns on · Carve, Pumpkin, Simple, Steps · No Comments »

Easy Ways of Choosing and Carving Your Pumpkin For Halloween

An attractive accessory to your Halloween costume this year, would be a well designed pumpkin. Select one with no bruises or spots, because it will last longer. The difficulty when selecting, is we usually see a pumpkin as a large face. So for example, you might pick one that a family member always bought and carved out in to a grinner. Maybe you go for the oddly shaped one that needs looking after. You can see how they start to take on a life of their own.

Skilled carvers use utility knives and all sizes of small saws to make their life easier. You may have a double edged serrated knife which is particularly good for small areas because you can cut in both directions.

An apple corer is excellent for making holes to represent freckles. Cookie cutters can be tapped through the pumpkin to punch out the design. As a guide, cut open the top of your pumpkin in a five sided shape and angle the cut inwards so the top does not fall inside.

Scoop out all the insides so you leave a shell no more than one inch thick. Before you start, sketch out on paper what you want it to look like. This will serve as a good guide to the finished article. You can paste your drawing on the pumpkin to help guide you. Always try to make your mistakes on paper first. It is far easier to ditch it and start again before you have even started cutting.

If you have been to a Halloween festival you know that no two pumpkins look the same. You can experiment with winking eyes, teeth, freckles and angry eyebrows. If you do make a mistake in your carving you can re attach a piece with toothpicks.

Finally, you can preserve your pumpkin longer if you keep it cool and do not start cutting until nearer Halloween. This is because they retain moisture and will last longer. After you have cut it you can still retain it longer by dipping it into water. Cover all cut surfaces with petroleum, jelly or vegetable oil. All these steps seal the moisture into the pumpkin and keep it in good condition for Halloween’s eve.

More Pumpkin Carving Designs Articles

Filed in Pumpkin Carving Designs on Wednesday, October 27, 2010 · Carving, Choosing, Easy, halloween, Pumpkin, Ways · No Comments »