pumpkins.

Pumpkin Carving 2021

Posted on by Josef Havelka

My daughter and I finally got around to carving a couple of pumpkins today. We were both going to do very detailed ones, yet our printer wasn’t working. So this threw us off a bit.

It meant I had to trace and freehand my designs today. Which was not perfect by any means. But I am still happy with the outcome of the pumpkins. They are okay-ish by my standards, but I was also trying something different and it didn’t work.

I tried to create flames for one pumpkin. This is how it turned out. I know where I could’ve improved. Doing smooth curves is difficult to cut. But since I was unable to do my original design, this was my backup.

My other design was a bit less detailed than previous years (2018 was my best one to date). Loki was a fantastic Marvel tv series, so I had to share my love of the fandom. I am happy with how this pumpkin turned out considering I had to draw it out myself. Usually I edit an image online to create a stencil.

Our middle child is still working on her pumpkin. She’s been at it for about five hours now. Her attention to detail is amazing. She also had to trace an image instead of printing one off. Our oldest daughter had to work today, so I am hoping that she creates a beautiful work of art tomorrow. If not, I’m sure my wife will make a Hello Kitty pumpkin.

I can’t wait to see the final results of our daughters’ designs and hard work. I love that they take after me in wanting to be better each year.

How did your pumpkin carving go this year? Are you getting better at it as each year goes on?

Early Morning At The Pumpkin Patch

Posted on by Josef Havelka

This morning my daughter and I headed out early to visit Eagle Acres dairy farm and pumpkin patch. We were invited for an event put on by Thrive Mortgage, similar to the Little Touches they did for us a few months ago.

We had a great time petting and feeding the farm animals to start. We wandered around as my daughter made a few videos for herself. We also took a bunch of pictures for fun.

Before we left, my daughter and I went on a hay ride on the back of a trailer pulled by a large tractor. They took us out to the pumpkin patch where we chose a couple pumpkins to take home.

I’d never been to a pumpkin patch before. I enjoyed having a chance to pick out my own pumpkin from a field. I can’t wait to carve them up for Halloween.

I enjoyed the early morning with my daughter. She chose to dress like Coraline which was perfect for the rainy weather. A raincoat and boots to tromp through the fields. Dressing up is always fun.

First Attempt At Foam Pumpkin Carving

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I love to carve pumpkins for Halloween. I often spend hours searching for designs and creating my pumpkins. I have been doing it for years now. Check out the links below to view some:

Pumpkins 2020

Stranger Things

Pumpkins 2018

Pumpkins 2017

Pumpkins pre-2016

I recently carved my first craft foam pumpkin. I always wanted to do a more permanent pumpkin that I can display yearly. Since I can spend anywhere from 3 to 8 hours carving a live pumpkin, why not have it last longer than a single season?

My wife requested that I do not do a “Fan Art” pumpkin. She wanted me to try and do something more classic and still a bit detailed. So I chose to make an owl- my favorite one as well. The Burrowing Owl. Owls are Halloween, right?

I used a black and white image online as the basis for my owl. I’m about 85% satisfied with the results. I can see what I can do differently next time. But since I have not worked with this style of pumpkin before, I’d say not bad for a first attempt. Next will be to see how it looks with a small LED light inside.

Have you worked with foam pumpkins before? Or do you prefer the real thing? Let me know in the comments or feel free to share pictures of your detailed pumpkins. I love to see what others create.

Carving Pumpkins 2020

Posted on by Josef Havelka

This year I bought some pumpkins for carving. My two daughters and I try and push the limits on our skills as well. Both of them are getting much better at pumpkin carving all thanks to my advice and assistance.

Although I will say, our oldest is getting to a point of almost surprising my skills. Take a look at the detail in her “Audrey 2” carving.

The leaves and the lips have definition and realism added! This took her about five hours to complete. I am truly impressed.

Our other daughter has been at her carving for hours. She even took a break and started working on it again today. She still isn’t finished, but I have faith in her. She’ll get her meme completed by Halloween!

I did one of my favorite fandoms- “Firefly”. In my carving, I love the way the light shines through the title. My spaceship isn’t quite as detailed as my daughter’s pumpkin. It still took my nearly four hours to complete. Of course, immediately after I took my photos of the pumpkin lit up, I dropped it and it broke in half.

I was a bit upset. But not angry. Pumpkins get thrown away after as it is. So for me, the carving is the therapeutic exercise that I enjoy. I’m glad I got the pictures at least.

How are your pumpkins looking this year? Ever have a failure like I did after hours of hard work?

Let me know in the comments.

Happy Halloween!

Posted on by Josef Havelka

I love Halloween.  Always have.  We don’t have any Halloween traditions, so every year is something different.  Since having kids, locations for trick or treating has changed yearly.  We’ve been through local neighborhoods, Disneyland a few times, and even a couple of Comic Conventions in Los Angeles.  Each and every one of these times has been so much fun.

Stranger Things pumpkin. My last minute decision to carve yesterday.


The only thing that stays the same is dressing up.  Since my childhood I think there has only been once that I didn’t dress up for Halloween.  I was really sick and more cowbell couldn’t cure my fever. Every year I put on a different costume.

This year is no different.  My kids love dressing up as well.  We dress up in our cosplay because we take the time and effort to really play the part as well.  This year, my kids enjoyed dressing up and going to school with their friends.  It’s the first time in about five years that they have been able to do that.

I’ve loved seeing all the fun costumes at their school today.  I’ve also enjoyed all the great costumes that my friends and their children have shared on social media this past weekend.

As the night draws towards an end, I hope everyone out there had a safe and fun Halloween!