After a bit of a break, I have a reason to blog again : ).
WHOOT!!!
Last night our youth group held a pumpkin carving contest. We had not done this before. I grabbed the idea from another youth pastor I know. Beg, borrow, and steal is the youth ministry motto : ). More or less.
It all started with a trip to a pumpkin patch to pick the best-sized pumpkins for our evening.
As you can see from the picture above, the pumpkins here are pretty dirty.
So, I took them home and gave them all a bath before bringing them to the church.
Here they are, all clean and ready to be selected by their new owner : )
Upon arrival, each person picked a pumpkin, introduced themselves to it, and relaxed as we waited for everyone to arrive.
I drew a circle around each pumpkin so everyone could carve the lid and get the guts out.
Here is Ethan getting that done.
People were asked to bring their own knives.
Shannon brought a very BIG one : ).
Emma brought pumpkin carving tools.
Serious stuff.
Ethan starting to take the seeds out.
At the beginning of the night, I suggested everyone give their pumpkin a name and create a sort of back story to their pumpkin.
Scott really got into it.
He named his pumpkin "Humphrey"
and proceeded to tell us alllllllll about him during the evening : ).
Lennea and Shannon getting into it.
Ryne getting the seeds out.
Adele and Marika doing the same, AND gathering up all the seeds for Marika's family. Apparently, they are really good roasted or something like that.
Ashlyn starting her creation.
Miranda, a graphic artist puts her skills to the test.
A short clip of her work.
After taking "some" time to ponder what she wanted her pumpkin to look like, Lennea finally began carving. : )
Things taking shape.
The group is hard at work.
Lennea's creation completed.
Yes, Marika collected a lot of seeds : )
Ashlyn's final creation. Spooky, but well done. : )
We put candles in them and then took some time to appreciate the talent of the group.
Very well done.
We then took a few moments to introduce our pumpkins to the rest of the other pumpkins, and group.
Some interesting names and stories. All of which I cannot remember.
But I'll at least show you each pumpkin more up close and personal.
This is Adele's creation.
An owl and moon.
Very well done Adele.
Won a prize even : ) Whoot!
Emma's creation.
The bottom part is transparent so you can see the light of the candle there as well. Very creative.
Ethan's one-eyed cyclops???
Miranda's creation.
A mountainscape with the sun above.
Marika's creation.
Intricate carving.
Scott's Creation.
Humphrey finally completed.
Shannon's senior citizen pumpkin.
She forgot to put her dentures in. : )
Ashlyn's creation.
Well done. I like the eyebrows.
Lennea's Creation.
A smirky pumpkin.
Lewis' creation.
I think he's winking???
Naomi's creation.
Interesting : )
Ryne's final creation.
I think there is a spyder in there?
And last, but not least, Leanne's Creation.
She too forgot her dentures today.
A trend of sorts. : )
BUT she did win the youth leader's contest.
WELL DONE everyone.
Great artwork.
First time carving for some of you.
You'd never know it : ).
Enjoy displaying your pumpkins on your front doorsteps this week!
