Now that my girls are older (ages 15 & 17), we don’t carve pumpkins anymore for Halloween. They’re too busy doing other things, and they just aren’t interested, so it’s been a few years since we’ve gone to a pumpkin patch and they picked out their own pumpkins to carve. But that doesn’t stop me from admiring other people’s Jack-O-Laterns while I’m driving through the neighborhood at night. I’m truly amazed at just how talented so many people are when it comes to designing (and carving!) pumpkin faces! Ours were always the traditional triangle eyes and nose, and jagged mouths, but when the girls were younger and did the carving themselves, they loved it. :pumpkin:
Recently I came across a few pictures of some awesome Jack-O-Lanterns and thought I’d share them here since Halloween is coming up next week (already!?!). Some of them are simple and cute, while others are really intricate and couldn’t have been easy to carve!
Okay, that last picture wasn’t carved from a pumpkin. Just checking to see if you all are paying attention! 
So, how about you? Are you a simple pumpkin carver, or do you like to carve elaborate designs? Or are you more like me and have one of those plastic light up pumpkins you can sit in the window every year — no mess, no fuss? :giggle:
Janelle Denison finds it hard to believe that it’s been nearly 20 years since she first started writing romance novels. At first, it was a way to pass idle time while her husband worked swing shift, but before long it became an obsession to get published. Luckily, she kept at it (it took her over 5 years to get that first book published!) and is now a Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, and USA Today Bestselling author! Now, after selling over 40 plus novels, she finds that her Plotmonkey pals help to keep her stories fresh and unique, and she can’t imagine writing a story without their input. Janelle lives in Oregon with her husband, Don, along with two teenage daughters that keep life interesting.
3 Seductions and a Wedding
COLD SIGHT
Kiss Me If You Can
Wild For Him
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:pumpkin: :pumpkin: :pumpkin: :pumpkin: :pumpkin: :pumpkin:
Wowza! I want the “pumpkin” in that last picture – that is my idea of art :wub:
I’ve seen this before – some of these are just wonderfully creative. It’s amazing what some people will come up with.
:pumpkin: :pumpkin: :pumpkin: :pumpkin: :pumpkin: :pumpkin:
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Wow, those are some great pumpkins! Especially the last one. :giggle:
We used to carve out a pumpkin but it seems we always have rain or snow on Halloween and everything freezes, the candle goes out…so we just use the plug in now.
Hope everyone has a great day,
Cher
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Oh I could definitely deal with the last pumpkin! That would be so worth the effort…to do!
We always have good intentions but we usually stick with the basic carvings. Which reminds me, I have 3 or 4 pumpkins out on the vine I need to go cut!
OFF TOPIC: It’s raining! :banana: I wish I could send some your way, Janelle, but we need it here too. The paper said Raleigh needs 2′ of rain to not have a water shortage in the next 90 days. I don’t know about that happening, but the 2″ we’ve gotten so far over night is wonderful!!! Hope things are getting better your way.
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I’ll take the last pumpkin!
We always carved pumpkins growing up, but now I have the plug in pumpkin. I love all the major designs that you can carve into pumpkins now. I was babysitting several years ago and had to use the different patterns to carve 3 pumpkins in one night. Since we always just did the triangle eyes and nose and funny mouth, it was way more detail than I would have planned. :pumpkin:
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Great collection of jack’o lanterns. My kids and I are carving our pumpkins today. :pumpkin:
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:pumpkin: :pumpkin:I love to decorate with uncarved pumpkins. I am probably just lazy.
On a random note, my 2 1/2 year old (he’ll be three in January), they gutted a pumpkin on Tuesday and, of course, he didn’t like touching the pumpkin guts, but LOVED the toasted pumpkin seeds. Who would have thunk it.?
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I am a very simple pumpkin carver..lopsided grins and uneven eyes.
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I think it is fabulous how creative people have gotten with their pumpkin carving. Personally, I think it’s messy and gunky to do. I like mine on the meaner side. The big one eating the other ones is fabulous! My 3-year-old and I paint them. Much easier option with a toddler.
The last pic gave me a good giggle this morning.
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Wow Janelle, these are SO cool! We’ve always gone pretty basic…my youngest did a throwing-up pumpkin last year and totally amused herself.
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I love to carve pumpkins and I usually get carried away. But I wouldn’t mind trying my hand at that last pecture, uh, I mean picture.
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Wow, love those :pumpkin: pictures (ALL OF THEM)!!!
My hubby used to carve a pumpkin (very simple) when our son was young. He’s 18 now and we haven’t done one in a few years. We do have the plastic light up pumpkin in the front window.
Besides the last picture I love the pirate pumpkin :arrr: – too cute!
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I’m so glad I’m not someone who quits in the middle of a story – always read to the end – gotta love those surprise endings! Though I wouldn’t mind molding my hands around those abs for awhile!! I’m a ceramic light up pumpking kind of gal. No muss no fuss. :pumpkin:
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Last year was the first time I ever craved a pumpkin. It was messy but I had so much fun. I can’t wait to do it again this year. Since it’s warm in Florida I have to wait until just a couple of days prior to Halloween.
:pumpkin:
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I found that last picture quite yummy!
I’m like you when it comes to pumpkins anymore. 
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Those are amazing! (Especially that last picture…
)
We’re mostly uncarved pumpkin folks… too lazy, I guess
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I want the pirate one!!! :arrr: :arrr: :arrr:
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Now that our daughter is in college (3rd year) leaving our son, who’s 14 now, we’re still into carving pumpkins – we still got four to represent each of us and are still deciding what parts of our personality we want them to exhibit . My son could still pass for 12, so he’s going trick or treating again this year with some other friends of his that are his age and can pass for 12 as well. His one friend that’s a year older will not be going because he says he’s outgrown that phase although he just went trick-or-treating with my son last year – my how just one year makes all the difference in the world! haha I’d really like to duplicate the abs of that last pumpkin onto my own ab-stractedly designed pumpkin, but I don’t think others will know that’s what the pumpkin represents…LOL
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:pumpkin:I most liked the pumpkin that resembled a hamburger, I have never seen one like that! I also thought the pirate pumpkin was fun!Arg!!! :arrr:
)as well as a bunch of others.
My guys made my 3 layer chocolate chocolate cake last night( no I did not peek at it!!!) as
My husband LOVES to carve pumpkins and he and our now 16 year old son have been carving together forever.
My job is to scrape out the insides and roast the pumpkin seeds. I used to save the pulp and steam it and puree it for Pumpkin Breads but that just got exhausting .For the past 10 years or so we have been using patterns from Pumpkin Masters kits. We have 9 books at this point!!!
So in the past we have done jack-o-lanterns for home, school and for the past few years my husband does one for his office.(hence the exhaustion!!!) We have done ghosts, witches, werewolves, vampires,a bat trio, and a fantastic haunted house one that was very difficult( the book calls it challenging- in our house that means lots of creative cussin’.
On another note tomorrow is my 45th birthday!!!
they are going out tonight. Take Care everyone!
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That last “pumpkin” is adorable!!! :pumpkin:
Since I am the only one here I don’t carve a pumpkin, to messy & I’m very good at it. When my girls were little their Dad always helped them with the pumpkin carving. I do have two pumpkins sitting on my front steps for decoration and some more mini’s in the house along with a few other Fall accents! I’ve been gone most of the month dog/cat/house sitting so haven’t been here to do much of anything! :pumpkin:
:ghost: :pumpkin: :vampire:
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Whoops! That is suppose to be I’m NOT very good at it! Pumpkin carving, that is!
:pumpkin: :bat:
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Hi all,
We are back from vacation and absolutely exhausted. :banana:
Had a wonderful time will get Digger’s pictures developed soon.
Think they will give you a chuckle.
My favorite is but of course the last one.
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I have a plastic light up pumpkin, but I also decorate the porch with uncarved pumpkins.
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Mine’s ceramic. I made it years ago. :pumpkin:
I grew up on a farm. Our big cash produce- pumpkins. :pumpkin: :pumpkin:
I haven’t carved one in years, but the one I remember most was the one I had in 1966. It weighed 150lbs and had my name carved into it while it was growing. This was before all the rage of the huge things they pass off as pumpkins nowadays.
BTW, Sue Brockmann’s All Through the Night is great!!!
Heather wanted me to do this :darth:
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cool, yes hot man.
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Those are great pumkins. Especially the last one!
We usually do a simple pumkin, but haven’t this year.
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We carve pumpkins every year and different family members attend but my nephew and I started it when my kids were small – yesterday we had my youngest (20) and her boyfriend, my sister and her son and wife, me and my 85 year old mom (she won’t carve but critiques lol). This year we had a spooky tree, skeleton face, bat, alien, pirate and funny face.
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We (I) don’t have the patience for the fancy pumpkins anymore (ever?). My kids helped their half-brother (who was 3) carve one last year, but the 17 year old had more fun than the 13 year old. He was bored after about 5 minutes.
I could really enjoy the artistry behind that last one though! oo la la