Trick or Treat: Ghost Pumpkins

Fake pumpkins. Funkins, as they are called. These things are the single most fantastic invention for Halloween since candy corn. (And I hate candy corn.) Funkins can be picked up at any craft store that has their autumn and Halloween supplies out on display. Michael’s Craft Store carries them and so does Jo Ann’s Fabric Store. Unfortunately, I’ve never seen them anywhere else, even Wal-Mart or Target. You might have to make a special trip or even order them off the internet.

Funkins can be carved just like real pumpkins and last forever. I have about ten in various states of doneness. I call them my pumpkin army. They come in colors, including white and black as well as the usual orange, and are easy to paint. They are a bit hard to carve and really don’t lend themselves to small detailed designs. They are just too tough for that. But regular faces work just fine and you can have many, many grinning and leering faces for your Halloween display. (Do I have to tell everyone not to use a real candle with these? Use a fake candle, a pumpkin light, or Christmas lights.)

For a ghost pumpkin, either purchase a white pumpkin or paint a regular orange pumpkin white. I bought these white ones for this project. Usually, the store will have more sizes of orange pumpkins, so if you want some smaller or larger ghosts you might have to do some painting first. Use acrylic paint and let it dry overnight.

Now that you have your white pumpkin, it’s simply the matter of painting on three circles. Paint a round black circle for the ghostly mouth and then two oval circles for the eyes. Ta da! Pumpkin ghosts! These guys flank my TV like a pair of spectral guards.

 

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