Sunday, October 27, 2013

Sunday inspiration

Happy Sunday, friends. ☺

Halloween is almost upon us. When I was a kid, it was one of my favorite holidays. I loved carving pumpkins and dressing up to go trick or treating—even though I grew up in Michigan's cold Upper Peninsula and that meant that most years my costume ended up being hidden by a heavy winter coat! My kids, Iron Man and Rapunzel, can't wait for the day to arrive, and I have to admit that I'm looking forward to it too. How about you? Do you have any favorite Halloween memories?

In honor of the holiday, here are two inspiring videos showcasing the amazing creations of pumpkin sculptor Ray Villafane. Enjoy!






Wishing you all a creative and inspirational Sunday. ☺

41 comments:

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    1. I know! I can't even imagine having his talent!

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  2. Wow this is some amazing talent at work here. I am carving tomorrow night :) won't be quite this exquisite though lol

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    1. We're going to do our carving tonight, but ours will definitely be pretty basic. ☺

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  3. I could never do anything like that

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    1. Neither could I—not even on my best day!

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  4. Beautiful pumpkin carvings ...! Interesting and scary faces!

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  5. very cool and clever carvings- wowee! Enjoy your day!

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  6. Those are some incredible carvings! I always loved Halloween, too. I used to like going out when it was totally dark, and seeing and hearing all the spooky decorations!

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    1. Same here. I loved the houses that went all out with their decorations!

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  7. Could not watch the first one but the second was great. Happy Sunday

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    1. Glad you enjoyed it, Bill! Have a great Monday. ☺

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  8. I love Halloween...it is the highlight of fall because I do not like fall.
    The pumpkin carvings are awesome!
    Happy Sunday!

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  9. Never thought of sculpting a pumpkin, Dana, but boy he does great work with them! Your two kids have great costumes, I'm sure they'll have lots of fun come Halloween. Things have changed so much with trick or treating since I went out years ago; I was of the era that it was still okay to get and eat handmade goodies that people used to hand out as treats, so I remember the candied apples, cupcakes we got, etc. Those were fun days :) (and gosh I'm old :)

    betty

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    1. You're not old. :)

      One of my favorite memories is of helping my grandma organize all the treat bags each year. She always packaged up the goodies in little baggies, and I loved to help. :)

      Have a great Monday!

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  10. Wow... amazing what talented hands can do with a simple vegetable! Halloween holds wonderful childhood memories for me, and for my kids too. Life was indeed so much simpler and safer back then... and we brought home candy and home-made goodies by the bagful. Living out in the country now, I miss having little trick-or-treaters at my door!

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    1. We didn't get many trick-or-treaters when I was growing up either; we also lived out in the country. My grandma lived in town, however, so we went there to trick or treat and help hand out the goodies. Those were fun days. ☺

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  11. We never did much for Halloween when I was a kid, so as an adult I'm not real into it. I do have some humorous memories of my children carving pumpkins. Really, really not like those above.

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    1. LOL Believe me, ours are nothing like those either!

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  12. Wow! Those were amazing!

    Every year in our area, there's a giant sand sculpting competition, and it always blows my mind to see what people can create!

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    1. If I'm not mistaken, Villafane does sand sculpting too. (I'll have to check my facts.) The intricacy of the designs people create blows my mind, too!

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  13. Holy crow! That was fantastic! I need someone to carve my pumpkin like that. I let my little guy dictate how the faces would look this year.

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    1. We do the same thing. We also get requests for a happy face (from our daughter) and a scary face (from our son). ☺

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  14. Man, that guy is amazing! I loved H-ween as a kid, but not so much these days. It's taken a different turn, seems to draw out the weirdos, and it's not as safe as it used to be. :-( I'd love to see of pic of your kiddos in their costumes!!

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    1. I agree. Halloween does feel a lot less safe now.

      I'm still not comfortable posting pics of my kids online. Maybe someday, though. :)

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  15. I also LOVE Halloween...and have the same memories as you with the big winter coats.

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    1. Didn't you feel sad/mad? I always wished I lived somewhere warmer!

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  16. Replies
    1. Are they great? I wish I had Villafane's talent. ☺

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  17. Those are the scariest pumpkins I've ever seen!

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    1. Yes! I find the realistic-looking faces the most frightening.

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  18. My mom never took me trick-or-treating. My first time going was when I had my own little one. :) I always take mine, they love it. Just a couple of days now!

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    1. I bet they can't wait! I know mine are excited. :)

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  19. I remember a bunch of silly toys that my mom had. I don't remember much besides trick or treating, besides the toys. I haven't celebrated in a couple years, but my friend and I are supposed to do something this year.

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  20. My favorite Halloween memory was the year that my dad helped me sew a Lord of the Ring's elf costume. We even made a matching cloak! And wow, I can barely make slightly matching triangle eyes. Cool!

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    1. That costume sounds fantastic! How cool!

      I'm with you on the pumpkin carving. That's definitely a talent I don't possess. ☺

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  21. We didn't celebrate Halloween (my parents have odd religious ideas) when I was a kid, so I really, really get into the holidays now. My bff and I have a pumpkin carving night every year (this year we did a minion, a South Carolina pumpkin, and a Jack-O-Lantern) and I always buy way too much candy. I think I'm more excited about the little trick-or-treaters that come to our door than they are about the candy. I hope you guys have a great Halloween!

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    1. I love seeing the trick-or-treaters as well—although I miss most of them now that I'm taking my kids door-to-door. I hope you have a great holiday too!

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