Sorry in advance because I'm about to break your heart. There are easier and way cheaper ways. I know because I cast 100 foam skulls from Great Stuff. A surprisingly simple and CHEAP method of making the mold is to use tube silicone caulk - the clear stuff from any big box store. Make sure you have enough on hand. Cover your pumpkin with a light coat of petroleum jelly, squirt the tubes of silicone into a bucket half filled with water. With rubber, latex or nitrile gloves, gather the silicone into a ball and start spreading it on your pumpkin. It'll stay in place. You have a little time to work if you end up needing more tubes and you can make later repairs the same way to your mold if needed. Downside is the silicone mold wll need to cure for a while. Keep washing it until it quits smelling like vinegar. If you cast too soon it can warp the foam. Then - just a spritz of water is all you need for a mold release between it and the spray foam. Finally, it would be life changing, and much much cheaper, to invest in a Great Stuff spray gun and start using the big cans of foam. So easy to keep reusing and the solvent cans work great for cleaning. Give it a try. You won't be disappointed.
Not breaking my heart at all! I was hoping for comments like this, as I plan on making lots more of these for next year! Thanks for watching and for the info! 🙏
tips from a pro: Smooth on "Fast" silicones are meant more for brush-on application and to be applied in layers, rather than the pour up method you used. The particular one you used is made to be tinted so it is not the cheaper version, that one is meant more for silicone prosthetics than mold making. After doing a brush up mold to about 1/4-1/2 inch thickness you can stabilize it with a few layers of plaster bandage, or even just some smooth cement (no gravel). could have likely done it with 1-2 kits, or 1 gallon kit. If you mist the mold and the foam fill with water it cures faster and you would have been able to turn out more per day. Also, great stuff is expensive for what you get, expanding hard foam 2 part costs less when purchased in bulk and can set up way faster and avoid the over-drying of the silicone. You can also condition the mold every 4-5 pulls with a mold release like universal or ease release 200, as long as you are starting with the mold release from the beginning that silicone should last a LOT longer. If you are adamate about using great stuff, there is a metal dispenser you can get that is pretty awesome for reuse of a can. I have a LOT of tips and tricks for this if you need more.
I use this method also for rigid foam skulls. A couple more tips: smooth-on has different foam formulas for different densities. Consider that to get your yield out of the gallon (more porous produces more out of a gallon, but has bigger bubbles). I learned too far along that I didn't have to fill the skulls solid, so consider just rolling the foam around the pumpkin, what sticks to the side as it starts to firm will be thick enough. The rigid foam is much more durable than the greatstuff.
The easier way to make the mold is to paint the pumpkin with the silicone until you build it up to about a centemeter in thickness, then cover it in layers of plaster bandages to form a hard shell. Uses way less silicone.
If you feel like carving pumpkins from scratch in bulk, Make a road trip to either Tractor Supply or Lowe's. In the back of some stores they keep the 12 x 12 x 18 Styrofoam cubes they have left over from their metal trailer shipments. Ask the store's managers about them, sometimes they are more than happy to get rid of them. A little Drylock and paint, you can make anything, cemetery posts, tombstone, pumpkins, etc.
I got similar freebies from a place that sells trailers of different kinds. The styrafoam is used to level the trailer hitch. A turkey carver can work - makes an ungodly mess ! That and a hot knife work well together !
A hot wire is the best method of carving foam. Sure - they make a small battery operated hand-held unit, but I have have people make props for me for big shows. Usually make a frame from PVC (like a bow or rather, a half moon) and use eyehooks on each end attach the wire. No need to worry about the tension as the PVC pipe usually has tension on it when you attach the wire. I always got wire from a foam manufacturer - they discard wire quite often. Run the wire up through framing tubes to each end and then connect the other end to a rheostat. Don't need a lot of juice - just enough to make it nice and hot (a soft red color from the heat). IT melts through the foam with ease and makes straight, concise cuts. This is basically how the manufacturers cut big cubes of foam into sheets 1/4" thick and up to 48". Actually, it's not done by hand, but rather goes through a grid of hot wires and they can cut, for instance, 24 - 2" sheets with ease (the system pushes it through the wires. Anyways, I would opt for some big pieces of uncut foam (48x48x96) and cut whatever we needed out of it, such as big rocks and boulders. And they are almost as light as a feather to move. Would also request sheets that are 4" or 6" thick. to make walls, windows, etc. Anyways, great vid. And I came to the comments to see how other people do these things and find other easier ways and shortcuts, tips and gotchas. What a great community.
I would have used plaster of paris to make the base mold. Put sheet plastic in a big bowl, make a batch of plaster, put plastic on top and squish the pumpkin in to get a hard shell minus the details. Then grease the pumpkin, fill the plaster bowl with either your expensive silicone or cheaper caulk silicone, and squish the pumpkin down into it again. No need to cut the first pumpkin. When your mold started failing, another batch of the silicone and mash the first pumpkin back in to give it a whole new face. :)
I enjoyed this video sooo much! The combo of real talking and over dubbing, the mess, the trial and error. This video was the real deal and I loved it! New sub
I think your ‘mistakes’ made the pumpkins look more unique and scary. Your experimenting paid off as far as I’m concerned. And you helped your brother out with his Halloween venture. Great job! P.S. TH-camr ‘Hollywood Haunter’ has awesome videos on makings all kinds of stuff from all kinds of foam. His props are high quality but his videos are DIY friendly. I think you’ll like his and his wife’s style and I think they would find your pumpkins way cool for a first timer. Enjoy!
Hey, day late and a dollar short, but my 2C: I would set up on a smooth sheet with a clay border around the pumpkin instead of the cardboard. Spray mold release on your pumpkin. Brush some silicone over your pumpkin, then Mix thyvex in your silicone to make it thicker, brush on the first couple layers to build up the walls. After mold is made use molding epoxy or plaster cast (I use plaster bandages) to make a hard shell to hold the shape. Make a flat top on the cast layer so it sits flat when you flip it over. MOLD RELEASE IN YOUR MOLD, then your foam. Should help the silicone last longer. Either way, it was really cool and I want to try spray foam for casting now!
This is exactly the comment I was hoping for! I’m definitely going to do this again for more pumpkins for the haunted house next year, so pumpkin mold 2.0 will come and this feedback will definitely help! Thanks a bunch! 🙏
@@dadcrafted Check out Smooth On's tutorial for brush-on silicone molds with Rebound 25. It may take a bit longer because you put it on in layers, but you would have likely only used one kit and the mold would have been stronger.
What a labor of love! Yeah, you learned a great deal! Thanks for sharing your "tuition" with us and thanks to all the commenters who made great suggestions. I love that your kids were involved. That daddy/son time is irreplaceable.
Thanks Brian! It was a pretty big relief for sure! And I definitely hoped to get more out of the mold, but next year I will make a better (and cheaper) version!
In my experience of using mold making silicones, is that the best ones are the ones that usually have a longer cure time. I know we want things to be fast but usually in this case slower is better with the initial mold due to it's size. Also, so you don't have any guess work in how much silicone you need, poor rice in the mold to completely cover the object. It will help with knowing how much you will need in the long run. When you were making the box mold, reenforce all the seems inside and out. Smooth-on also has a special brush on hardening agent that you can put over the mold once it's done so you don't worry about keeping it in the box. It will help with pulling out stubborn molded pieces because you can separate the shell from the mold, and it'll save you from have to pull to hard on the mold and avoid damaging it. Overall you did an awesome job and this is trial and error most of the time.
PumpkinFreak posted a video on his process for making foam pumpkins. In addition to the mold making he dusted the silicone mold with baby powder then sprayed the mold with acrylic spray paint before putting in liquid foam. Then when he unmolded the pumpkin was already painted. Not sure if it would work the same if using the spray foam but maybe you can try it.
It doesn't matter what everyone says. All that matters is you deserve Daddy of the year for every minute you spend doing the pumpkins. They all looked great and a job well done Sir. The things we do for our family and friends and put a smile on someone's face is priceless. You are for sure my hero! God bless!
Great video! Your trial and error make the comments so much more valuable. If I didn't see the hard way I might be tempted to ignore the advice and do exactly what you did. Thanks for sharing.
Yeah, there are a lot of people on here with really good ideas for better molds, and I was going to post a few pointers as well, but the more I watched the video, the more I realized your way is better. As he said, all those inconsistencies make these look way cooler!! They look like proper super scary and creepy pumpkins!! Nice job!!
I just found your channel and I'm more than impressed with your diligence and patience with this pumpkin project. They look really great and, despite the setbacks, you made it all work. Thanks for the video and I'll be watching for more!
You can use cooking spray to release the foam from the mold. Your foam is crackling because it’s iso-rich. The mold was breaking from the heat of the foam. The end display is pretty cool, though!
A really fun way to make carve-able pumpkins is to use a beachball, spray foam, mold release, water and gloves. One beachball can make hundreds of pumpkins...if you're careful. Spray the outside of the beachball with mold release. Spray the foam all over the beachball leaving the inflate nub and about 3 inches around it foam-free. Here's the important part...USE A SPRAY BOTTLE TO MIST WATER ALL OVER THE WET FOAM AND LET IT SIT FOR 5 MINUTES (really soak it thoroughly). Use gloves (wet down with water, too) to lightly press the foam to form the outer pumpkin skin. Use more water if it sticks to gloves. Let the foam cure, then deflate the beachball and pull it out through the opening in the foam.
I believe that’s how my brother made his giant pumpkin head. I just thought it would be expensive to buy a bunch of beach balls. But maybe cheaper than how I went about this?? 🤣
So trying this - in Australia we don't get the foam pumpkins at all and to buy the real ones is ludicrously expensive - you guys have pumpkin patches we have a pumpkin bin at woollies -$30-40 each
@@helenmoon625 omg...expensive! I've been making my own for a few years now. I get 1 or 2 real ones to carve but, I love making them. You can also use balloons instead of beach balls.
Plaster of paris mold with an epoxy coating. Cheap, easy and fast. Just make sure to use a jelly or wax as mold release to separate halves easily and get the pumpkin out. Once the mold release covers the surface, mist the lot for the foam to cure faster.
@@dadcrafted that’s what the petroleum jelly or wax mold release is there for. Use a decent amount. Of course, you’re losing surface details, but a pumpkin doesn’t have much of that apart from bumps and pits and those you get from the mold release too ;-)
I had to make a horses head and did it with cardboard lol. But to be honest the cost of one can of spray foam you could have bought a pumpkin. We buy them in bulk at the store for 2.00 or 5 for 7.00. Cause we use 100+ a year for our display. I use spray foam and loc tite that can be sprayed with water and shaped. We make most of our own halloween stuff. Over 7 years going.
@dadcrafted it's a farm . But contact a local farm to you that grows pumpkins and other produce and tell them you want to buy a bulk box order . Usually, 50 come in a box . Like the large cardboard you see at the grocery stores. If you tell me state your in I can look in the start farm register and try to hunt down a farm for you. Also a good youtube channel to follow and glance in that uses alot of spray foam is ** Isaac Alexander DIY** And **stillbeaststudios** the second one is a Hollywood film maker we know who teaches masks and spray foam masks and silicone. There's a few others as well but I tend to use them for inspiration for most of our set ups.
I think you did well. Men like to think things through, plan, experiment, maybe alter adjust, improvise, succeed. Tesla drew electronic circuits in his head and then built things.
My thoughts exactly from the start! Then says It's just occurred to me... Seems like I should have thought about this... Well that's unfortunate! 😂 Guy could be the more censored, male version of me! 😂 ❤
Great work! I think the mould deteriorated because of the heat that comes off the foam during its cure. Maybe extend the mould life by blowing cool air across the outside of the mould?
That was a great “test”, yielding close to 200 pumpkins! I’m definitely going to try this. I have a few other ideas that I’m planning to try, incorporating this method. DIY Foam is definitely a cheaper option than the retail versions are sold. Thanks for the idea!
You did well for limited skill. Near the end the mold was dying. A brush on mold with a hard shell may work better for next time also called a mother mold. punished props has a series on molding.
What a good brother you are. I think that was a lot of work, but they came out really super cool. I don’t think people realize people that make things by hand or DIY or crafters how much work really goes into their projects. You did a great job and it was cool that you included your kids
If you spray the inside of the mold lightly with Pam or something similar before you add the foam the finished shell should pull out much easier. Cool project, used to do a haunted theme with my mom, she would have loved seeing this!
DUDE I HATETO TELL YOU THAT YOU NEVER HAD TO CUT PUMPKIN IN HALF YOU COULD HAVE DRAWN AN ERASABLE LINE ON PUMPKIN FILLED THE SPACE INSIDE BOX YOU MADE WITH JUST A LITTLE SILICONE THEN PUT THE PUMPKIN IN BOX AND FILLED TO ERASABLE LINE LET IT DRY AND PULL PUMPKIN OUT WHEN DRY. THEN PUT THE OTHER HALF OF THE PUMPKIN IN TO LINE TAKE PUMPKIN OUT GIVE IT A LIGHT CLEANING AND RETURN $50 PUMPKIN. OH WELL
I think it turned out amazingly. If they were perfect, it wouldn't have looked the same. They had a decaying look that works for a hauntingly good time!
Hope you have a place, other than the county landfill, to store these things. Real pumpkins are easier, cheaper, and you can toss them into the woods when done. (The critters will thank you.)
Man that was so good making the mould made me laugh out loud Soz. I admire your determination to make all those pumpkins and they look amazing well done Grant 🎃
BTW you can also heavily customize your sculpts with Loctite foam (now GE foam). Loctite uses a slightly different formulation that forms a "skin" when misted with water. You spray out loctite foam and then wait about ~60-90 seconds for it to expand. Then you mist it with water, wat about 2-4 minutes. Once the skin forms (the moment it doesn't stick to your fingers anymore) you can sculpt and use tools to press the foam into any shape you want. It'll start to stiffen in about 5-7 more minutes. You can add on multiple incremental bits of foam as you go as it adheres to itself. Oh also great stuff also cures with moisture, it just doesn't form the same moldable skin effect as loctite. However if you sprits the mold before putting in the loctite (just a single spray bottle spray) and then do the same after you line the mold, you can cure it in about 1 hour or less. Another great cheap material you can use for the inside layer (if you want something) is cling film. Spray foam and cling film can be used to make TONS of things (ropes, vines, tentacles, fake peeling skin, modify masks, etc). Non-Stick PAM cooking spray is also a big go to, or wipe it down with mineral oil. Oh also acetone eats foam. They make cans of acetone that you can clean out the nozzels with. They are designed for the pro foam gun, but they also come with a spray nozzle to use by themselves (the other option is Brake Clean or Carb Cleaner...they are mostly acetone and methel-elthyl ketone which also eats uncured foam)
You might have been able to make a mold from plaster since it looked like you didn't have any undercuts. Plaster press molds work well with clay because the plaster will suck out moisture from the clay. Plaster might have been a bit less expensive. You probably could use a "mother" to keep your silicone mold to hold it's shape. I think plaster bandage material can be used for a mother. Try a silicone spatula to smooth the interior. Magic Smooth epoxy like material is nice, too. The end effect was truly awesome!
There is a calculation that you can find which tells you how much silicone you will need by volume. In addition, there are a few ways to achieve this same mold using fiberglass and silicone. Look at Reynolds materials or Smooth-on. You can also call them I use them all the time for info.
@@dadcrafted If you got 1 out of this, you would still be impressive. My Dad never helped me with stuff, but I was the artistic one. He built race cars in our garage,, LOL.
Came for the pumpkins, here for the Smugglers Room t-shirt. Always good to see a fellow Swarzy Fan in action. The pumpkins were a labor of love, I had a similar yet adjacent year casting paper mache vintage style pumpkin Pails. Kudos.
Great video! FYI you can smooth the foam out by waiting 3-4 mins after spraying it in the mould, wetting your latex gloves then pushing down on it. Won’t stick to your glove that way and won’t use as much foam per pumpkin 🎃 ☺️
Maybe a release agent, like oil, grease, or petroleum jelly, should've been spread inside the mold before filling it. That could make removing the new castings easier and make the mold last longer.
Had a neighbor that did that, so he had a clear shooting lane before the deer came on to our deer lease. He did say it was a fire break, but he only did it where the jumped the fence at.
I have not tried expanding foam yet but i know there are release sprays you can spray on the mold first to make it easier to remove and maybe make the mold last longer. i LOVE seeing families involves working on hobbies together. Oops, i made this comment about five minutes before the video ended, then pressed play and you immediately got release spray.
I don't know for sure if this would of worked but maybe squirting some GE silicone in the parts that tore out. to finish the moldings. if cured silicone doesn't stick to uncured maybe super glue the patch?
IF I heard you right, it was $200 for the silicone to make the mold. How much for the Great Stuff? I know that runs about $4.75 per can with tax, but how many half-pumpkins will a single can make?
Did you ever try running a putty knife around the top edge of the mold right after filling it with foam? It might cut down the amount of trimming that you need to do.
I made a successful silicon pumpkin mold about 12 years ago, you need a core piece (inner mold) to make the pumpkin hollow, it's another silicone mold which is filled with plaster with several pieces of galvanized wire sticking out of it and then more silicone on top of the plaster to completely encapsulate the plaster like a sheath then the galvanized wire that is sticking out out of the edges of the plaster is later bent down about 90° to rest on the (outer mold) to make a bridge so you have a hollow gap for the foam to expand to a perfect even thickness. The first thing to do is to sculpt some natural clay or wax based clay in your pumpkin mold to build up the thickness of your (pumpkin flesh) before then adding the silicone and then once the silicone is cured, then fill the silicone with plaster while adding some reinforcement and galvanized wire that sticks out of the edges of the inner core piece about 4" to 5 " inches which are bent down 90° degrees Then once the plaster and silicone core piece is cured, remove the core piece and then remove the clay from the outer mold. (note to use a thick galvanized wire as this is acting like a bridge from your core piece to your outer mold and a thin wire might collapse as plaster core piece is heavy) This silicone/plastic core piece makes an even thickness in the foam and it also makes the texture of the pumpkin flesh which looks more realistic as you can sculpt the texture and thickness of the flesh of the pumpkin to your desire using the clay. A couple more tips to give you is your outer silicone mold that gives you your actual pumpkin shape should have a plaster mother mold as well built up with layers of cheese cloth and plaster and I would even add some chicken wire in between the layers of plaster so your foam can't (bow) or warp which can break the mold so it needs to be a pretty strong reinforcement mold. The other tip of advice is to dust the silicone mold with some talcom powder and then paint the silicone mold with several coats with some pumpkin orange acrylic paint which has some flexibility to it and as well as the stem with a stem colored acrylic paint of your preference and allow the paint to dry in between coats then fill the mold going in a circular pattern with the foam and then mist with water then lay in the core piece and allow it to cure..
Maybe you mentioned this, but why not get a big bowl and flip the pumpkin upsidedown when making the mold? Seems like that woulda used a lot less silicone
Sorry in advance because I'm about to break your heart. There are easier and way cheaper ways. I know because I cast 100 foam skulls from Great Stuff. A surprisingly simple and CHEAP method of making the mold is to use tube silicone caulk - the clear stuff from any big box store. Make sure you have enough on hand. Cover your pumpkin with a light coat of petroleum jelly, squirt the tubes of silicone into a bucket half filled with water. With rubber, latex or nitrile gloves, gather the silicone into a ball and start spreading it on your pumpkin. It'll stay in place. You have a little time to work if you end up needing more tubes and you can make later repairs the same way to your mold if needed. Downside is the silicone mold wll need to cure for a while. Keep washing it until it quits smelling like vinegar. If you cast too soon it can warp the foam. Then - just a spritz of water is all you need for a mold release between it and the spray foam. Finally, it would be life changing, and much much cheaper, to invest in a Great Stuff spray gun and start using the big cans of foam. So easy to keep reusing and the solvent cans work great for cleaning. Give it a try. You won't be disappointed.
Not breaking my heart at all! I was hoping for comments like this, as I plan on making lots more of these for next year! Thanks for watching and for the info! 🙏
Foam gun will be a game changer for sure. Uses the full can and they're bigger cans.
Why not additional molds
Thanks for that!
Video tutorial please. Thank you.
I’m really impressed with your dedication to keep spending money in order to save money.
Almost quit a couple times. But good thing I don’t believe in the sunk cost fallacy 😂
@@dadcraftedwell you do believe if you didn’t quit lol
The best part of this is your memories with your 2 boys, they will never forget the year you made 100s of pumpkins
I agree. Always great having them in the shop!
tips from a pro: Smooth on "Fast" silicones are meant more for brush-on application and to be applied in layers, rather than the pour up method you used. The particular one you used is made to be tinted so it is not the cheaper version, that one is meant more for silicone prosthetics than mold making. After doing a brush up mold to about 1/4-1/2 inch thickness you can stabilize it with a few layers of plaster bandage, or even just some smooth cement (no gravel). could have likely done it with 1-2 kits, or 1 gallon kit. If you mist the mold and the foam fill with water it cures faster and you would have been able to turn out more per day. Also, great stuff is expensive for what you get, expanding hard foam 2 part costs less when purchased in bulk and can set up way faster and avoid the over-drying of the silicone. You can also condition the mold every 4-5 pulls with a mold release like universal or ease release 200, as long as you are starting with the mold release from the beginning that silicone should last a LOT longer. If you are adamate about using great stuff, there is a metal dispenser you can get that is pretty awesome for reuse of a can. I have a LOT of tips and tricks for this if you need more.
I use this method also for rigid foam skulls. A couple more tips: smooth-on has different foam formulas for different densities. Consider that to get your yield out of the gallon (more porous produces more out of a gallon, but has bigger bubbles). I learned too far along that I didn't have to fill the skulls solid, so consider just rolling the foam around the pumpkin, what sticks to the side as it starts to firm will be thick enough. The rigid foam is much more durable than the greatstuff.
The easier way to make the mold is to paint the pumpkin with the silicone until you build it up to about a centemeter in thickness, then cover it in layers of plaster bandages to form a hard shell. Uses way less silicone.
Need to do this next year for sure. Thanks!
aka: a glove mold
If you feel like carving pumpkins from scratch in bulk, Make a road trip to either Tractor Supply or Lowe's. In the back of some stores they keep the 12 x 12 x 18 Styrofoam cubes they have left over from their metal trailer shipments. Ask the store's managers about them, sometimes they are more than happy to get rid of them. A little Drylock and paint, you can make anything, cemetery posts, tombstone, pumpkins, etc.
OMG I’m going to all of them this week to ask for this. THANK YOU!!!
@@dadcrafted🤣❤️👍
I got similar freebies from a place that sells trailers of different kinds. The styrafoam is used to level the trailer hitch.
A turkey carver can work - makes an ungodly mess ! That and a hot knife work well together !
A hot wire is the best method of carving foam. Sure - they make a small battery operated hand-held unit, but I have have people make props for me for big shows. Usually make a frame from PVC (like a bow or rather, a half moon) and use eyehooks on each end attach the wire. No need to worry about the tension as the PVC pipe usually has tension on it when you attach the wire.
I always got wire from a foam manufacturer - they discard wire quite often.
Run the wire up through framing tubes to each end and then connect the other end to a rheostat. Don't need a lot of juice - just enough to make it nice and hot (a soft red color from the heat). IT melts through the foam with ease and makes straight, concise cuts.
This is basically how the manufacturers cut big cubes of foam into sheets 1/4" thick and up to 48". Actually, it's not done by hand, but rather goes through a grid of hot wires and they can cut, for instance, 24 - 2" sheets with ease (the system pushes it through the wires.
Anyways, I would opt for some big pieces of uncut foam (48x48x96) and cut whatever we needed out of it, such as big rocks and boulders. And they are almost as light as a feather to move. Would also request sheets that are 4" or 6" thick. to make walls, windows, etc.
Anyways, great vid. And I came to the comments to see how other people do these things and find other easier ways and shortcuts, tips and gotchas.
What a great community.
meanwhile, every Lowes and Home Depot in your area was like "WTF is going on with the freaking foam?!! We are always out!" lol
Oh they’ve always got plenty!
I would have used plaster of paris to make the base mold. Put sheet plastic in a big bowl, make a batch of plaster, put plastic on top and squish the pumpkin in to get a hard shell minus the details. Then grease the pumpkin, fill the plaster bowl with either your expensive silicone or cheaper caulk silicone, and squish the pumpkin down into it again. No need to cut the first pumpkin.
When your mold started failing, another batch of the silicone and mash the first pumpkin back in to give it a whole new face. :)
Yeah, this woulda been way more efficient
the "flaws" actually add to the gnarlyness of the pumpkins😀 Great job!
Agree! And they look even gnarlier this year!
I enjoyed this video sooo much! The combo of real talking and over dubbing, the mess, the trial and error. This video was the real deal and I loved it! New sub
Thanks so much! Truly appreciate it! 🙏🙌
I think your ‘mistakes’ made the pumpkins look more unique and scary. Your experimenting paid off as far as I’m concerned. And you helped your brother out with his Halloween venture. Great job!
P.S. TH-camr ‘Hollywood Haunter’ has awesome videos on makings all kinds of stuff from all kinds of foam. His props are high quality but his videos are DIY friendly. I think you’ll like his and his wife’s style and I think they would find your pumpkins way cool for a first timer. Enjoy!
Thanks! And im gin check that out! 🙌
I use to make these as well but I wrapped a soccer ball in plastic to push the foam into the voids.
Congratulations on a job well done.
Hey, day late and a dollar short, but my 2C: I would set up on a smooth sheet with a clay border around the pumpkin instead of the cardboard. Spray mold release on your pumpkin. Brush some silicone over your pumpkin, then Mix thyvex in your silicone to make it thicker, brush on the first couple layers to build up the walls. After mold is made use molding epoxy or plaster cast (I use plaster bandages) to make a hard shell to hold the shape. Make a flat top on the cast layer so it sits flat when you flip it over. MOLD RELEASE IN YOUR MOLD, then your foam. Should help the silicone last longer.
Either way, it was really cool and I want to try spray foam for casting now!
This is exactly the comment I was hoping for! I’m definitely going to do this again for more pumpkins for the haunted house next year, so pumpkin mold 2.0 will come and this feedback will definitely help! Thanks a bunch! 🙏
@@dadcrafted Check out Smooth On's tutorial for brush-on silicone molds with Rebound 25. It may take a bit longer because you put it on in layers, but you would have likely only used one kit and the mold would have been stronger.
@@NightmareFoundry definitely going to check that out! Thanks!
What a labor of love! Yeah, you learned a great deal! Thanks for sharing your "tuition" with us and thanks to all the commenters who made great suggestions. I love that your kids were involved. That daddy/son time is irreplaceable.
Thanks! Most of the comments have been great and will help when I do this again!
I think the wall of Jack-O-Lanterns look GREAT!!!
Thanks so much! 🙏🙌
Who cares. Final product came out awesome, and you learned a few things. Most folks don’t go to great lengths to do projects like this!
The pure joy you had when you pulled that first foam mold was priceless! Bravo! It's always a sad day when the mold starts to fail.
Thanks Brian! It was a pretty big relief for sure! And I definitely hoped to get more out of the mold, but next year I will make a better (and cheaper) version!
In my experience of using mold making silicones, is that the best ones are the ones that usually have a longer cure time. I know we want things to be fast but usually in this case slower is better with the initial mold due to it's size. Also, so you don't have any guess work in how much silicone you need, poor rice in the mold to completely cover the object. It will help with knowing how much you will need in the long run. When you were making the box mold, reenforce all the seems inside and out. Smooth-on also has a special brush on hardening agent that you can put over the mold once it's done so you don't worry about keeping it in the box. It will help with pulling out stubborn molded pieces because you can separate the shell from the mold, and it'll save you from have to pull to hard on the mold and avoid damaging it. Overall you did an awesome job and this is trial and error most of the time.
Definitely going to use the rice trick in the future 🙌
PumpkinFreak posted a video on his process for making foam pumpkins. In addition to the mold making he dusted the silicone mold with baby powder then sprayed the mold with acrylic spray paint before putting in liquid foam. Then when he unmolded the pumpkin was already painted. Not sure if it would work the same if using the spray foam but maybe you can try it.
It doesn't matter what everyone says. All that matters is you deserve Daddy of the year for every minute you spend doing the pumpkins. They all looked great and a job well done Sir. The things we do for our family and friends and put a smile on someone's face is priceless. You are for sure my hero! God bless!
Thank you for the kind words! I appreciate it! 🙏🙌
Love the diving into a project with no experience. Learning as you go is great.
Thank you! I definitely could have researched better, but this was definitely still worth it to me! 🙏
Great video!
Your trial and error make the comments so much more valuable. If I didn't see the hard way I might be tempted to ignore the advice and do exactly what you did. Thanks for sharing.
Appreciate you watching! It was frustrating but worth it to me in the end!
This is really really cool. All of the flaws make the pumpkins much more scary.
Yeah, it really hit the aesthetic we were shooting for! 🙌🙏
Yeah, there are a lot of people on here with really good ideas for better molds, and I was going to post a few pointers as well, but the more I watched the video, the more I realized your way is better. As he said, all those inconsistencies make these look way cooler!! They look like proper super scary and creepy pumpkins!! Nice job!!
I just found your channel and I'm more than impressed with your diligence and patience with this pumpkin project. They look really great and, despite the setbacks, you made it all work. Thanks for the video and I'll be watching for more!
Thanks so much! I really appreciate it! 🙌🙏
The red great stuff is small gap foam and the GE brand you bought was big gap foam. That’s why it expanded so much.
Just saw his video and was going to say the exact same thing how about the different foams. Good catch.
Such a dedicated and loving Dad! Very impressive display. Really well done.
Thanks so much! 🙏
You can use cooking spray to release the foam from the mold. Your foam is crackling because it’s iso-rich. The mold was breaking from the heat of the foam.
The end display is pretty cool, though!
Thanks for the tip! 🙏🙌
Wow those look amazing!!!!!fantastic work!!
Thanks so much! 🙏🙌
I loved your video, especially showing your errors. Because it's not always as easy as it looks. Thank u.
Thanks for watching! It was maddening at times but we made it happen!
The illuminated results are fantastic! Looks very PRO! All good wishes.
Thank you very much!🙏🙌
Great video. Those look amazing all lit, and the best part is they're all different. Great job.
Thanks so much! I appreciate it! 🙏🙌
Super cool, thanks for making the video. Also, thanks for the Paul Simon reference. I'll bet only a handful of viewers caught it.
You can call me Al 🫡
If you have a belt sander you should use it to trim the pumpkins. I think it would make that step go WAY FASTER 👍🏼
I had not thought of that at all but that’s brilliant.
@dadcrafted angle grinder, too. But, will throw crap everywhere!
From what I saw, it was worth it! 170 pumpkins?!? Awesome...!
Next year I double it for half the cost. Hopefully.
A really fun way to make carve-able pumpkins is to use a beachball, spray foam, mold release, water and gloves. One beachball can make hundreds of pumpkins...if you're careful. Spray the outside of the beachball with mold release. Spray the foam all over the beachball leaving the inflate nub and about 3 inches around it foam-free. Here's the important part...USE A SPRAY BOTTLE TO MIST WATER ALL OVER THE WET FOAM AND LET IT SIT FOR 5 MINUTES (really soak it thoroughly). Use gloves (wet down with water, too) to lightly press the foam to form the outer pumpkin skin. Use more water if it sticks to gloves. Let the foam cure, then deflate the beachball and pull it out through the opening in the foam.
I believe that’s how my brother made his giant pumpkin head. I just thought it would be expensive to buy a bunch of beach balls. But maybe cheaper than how I went about this?? 🤣
So trying this - in Australia we don't get the foam pumpkins at all and to buy the real ones is ludicrously expensive - you guys have pumpkin patches we have a pumpkin bin at woollies -$30-40 each
@@helenmoon625 omg...expensive! I've been making my own for a few years now. I get 1 or 2 real ones to carve but, I love making them. You can also use balloons instead of beach balls.
Where is the video?
@@dadcrafted You did an alright job using the "learn as you go" method 👍
Man the final product was great! So inspiring to watch you persevere and get this project completed.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thank you! 🙏🙌
Plaster of paris mold with an epoxy coating. Cheap, easy and fast. Just make sure to use a jelly or wax as mold release to separate halves easily and get the pumpkin out. Once the mold release covers the surface, mist the lot for the foam to cure faster.
The foam will come away from the epoxy easily?
@@dadcrafted that’s what the petroleum jelly or wax mold release is there for. Use a decent amount. Of course, you’re losing surface details, but a pumpkin doesn’t have much of that apart from bumps and pits and those you get from the mold release too ;-)
Cured silicon prevents uncured from curing. I dumped this stuff on LCDs for years to stick low reflectivity glass to the outer polarizer.
You may have to explain that to me as if I’m a ten year old
I had to make a horses head and did it with cardboard lol. But to be honest the cost of one can of spray foam you could have bought a pumpkin. We buy them in bulk at the store for 2.00 or 5 for 7.00. Cause we use 100+ a year for our display. I use spray foam and loc tite that can be sprayed with water and shaped. We make most of our own halloween stuff. Over 7 years going.
What store? I couldn’t find anyone that would sell in bulk reasonably
@dadcrafted it's a farm . But contact a local farm to you that grows pumpkins and other produce and tell them you want to buy a bulk box order . Usually, 50 come in a box . Like the large cardboard you see at the grocery stores. If you tell me state your in I can look in the start farm register and try to hunt down a farm for you. Also a good youtube channel to follow and glance in that uses alot of spray foam is ** Isaac Alexander DIY**
And **stillbeaststudios** the second one is a Hollywood film maker we know who teaches masks and spray foam masks and silicone. There's a few others as well but I tend to use them for inspiration for most of our set ups.
@jcmjcm1945 I would also recommend Stiltbeast. Guy does AMAZING things with Loctite !
Thanks for all your effort and the folks who left comments. I found both helpful and informative. Great work, great digital community 🙂
Comments have been mostly awesome! A few negative people, but it’s the internet
I can't add any advice, but i just want to say kudos to you! For not knowing what to do, you did it. Your boys will have memories of this. ❤
Thanks so much! 🙏🙌
You can also mix cornstarch with silicone and make a mold, it will be flexible mold and should be easier to take the pumpkin out of the mold
I’m jotting that down
wow you really did an awesome job! Well done you.
Thank you so much! 🙏🙌
I think you did well. Men like to think things through, plan, experiment, maybe alter adjust, improvise, succeed. Tesla drew electronic circuits in his head and then built things.
I did some research but then it going boring and I have no patience
I'm rolling 😂 This is how I craft! Then I'm so pissed off, I get mad and give up. I HAVE to subscribe now!! They turned out great!!!
Thank you so much! I really appreciate it!🙏🙌
My thoughts exactly from the start! Then says It's just occurred to me... Seems like I should have thought about this... Well that's unfortunate! 😂 Guy could be the more censored, male version of me! 😂 ❤
Looks great. Think I might have bought a cheap existing pumpkin plastic blow mold and used the release in that.
A Tip ... If the can is not empty , a little rince of acatone through the straw and in the can tip will desolve and clean it for reuse.
Thanks for the tip! 🙌
This would have been nice to know months ago
For good things come thru trial and error 😊 you are now a professional Pumpkin master 👏 ❤
As someone who went through the hell of using spray foam everyday for 6 months, I understand how tedious this was
Kinda brutal. But they did turn out pretty good!
Great work! I think the mould deteriorated because of the heat that comes off the foam during its cure. Maybe extend the mould life by blowing cool air across the outside of the mould?
Definitely should have used a release from the start.
Plaster of Paris or Alginate like the dentist uses to cast for missing teeth.
Next time I’m trying this
Everyone already said all the great tips. So, what I'll say is, I admire your dedication to the project, and it turned out so cool!
Thank you! And yes, there have been a bunch of helpful comments! 🙌🙏
That was a great “test”, yielding close to 200 pumpkins!
I’m definitely going to try this.
I have a few other ideas that I’m planning to try, incorporating this method.
DIY Foam is definitely a cheaper option than the retail versions are sold.
Thanks for the idea!
You bet! Thanks for watching! 🙏🙌
Great work, sir. That was some serious perseverance.
Turned out great in the end!
You did well for limited skill. Near the end the mold was dying. A brush on mold with a hard shell may work better for next time also called a mother mold. punished props has a series on molding.
Definitely going to watch that before my next one. I’ll definitely attempt another mold next year and hopefully be more efficient! 🙏
What a good brother you are. I think that was a lot of work, but they came out really super cool. I don’t think people realize people that make things by hand or DIY or crafters how much work really goes into their projects. You did a great job and it was cool that you included your kids
I appreciate that! Thanks a bunch! 🙏🙌
If you spray the inside of the mold lightly with Pam or something similar before you add the foam the finished shell should pull out much easier.
Cool project, used to do a haunted theme with my mom, she would have loved seeing this!
Yeah, should have been doing that from the start for sure! And thanks for the kind words! 🙏🙌
The finished product looks exceptional...the time and effort invested really paid off...well done...(David)
Thank you! I totally agree! 🙏🙌
DUDE I HATETO TELL YOU THAT YOU NEVER HAD TO CUT PUMPKIN IN HALF YOU COULD HAVE DRAWN AN ERASABLE LINE ON PUMPKIN FILLED THE SPACE INSIDE BOX YOU MADE WITH JUST A LITTLE SILICONE THEN PUT THE PUMPKIN IN BOX AND FILLED TO ERASABLE LINE LET IT DRY AND PULL PUMPKIN OUT WHEN DRY. THEN PUT THE OTHER HALF OF THE PUMPKIN IN TO LINE TAKE PUMPKIN OUT GIVE IT A LIGHT CLEANING AND RETURN $50 PUMPKIN. OH WELL
OH WELL
OH WELL
So many comments about what you should have done... 😂. Dads love to help other dads. Which i think we can all appreciate. ❤
It’s honestly been great. Some rude comments, but whatever. Tons of helpful stuff on how to do this better.
I rarely watch whole videos but I was riveted. Your kids did a great job drawing the different faces.
Thank you so much! I’ll tell them! 🙌
Brilliant even the colour of the foam matches the inside of the pumpkin when you carved the face I loved how they all turned out much respect UK 🇬🇧 .
Thank you! 🙏 🙌
You did absolutely amazing. The fact that they aren't "perfect" adds to the theme. Fantastic work.
Thanks so much! I appreciate it! 🙌🙏
I think it turned out amazingly. If they were perfect, it wouldn't have looked the same. They had a decaying look that works for a hauntingly good time!
Totally agree! Gnarly pumpkins is what we were after!
Hope you have a place, other than the county landfill, to store these things. Real pumpkins are easier, cheaper, and you can toss them into the woods when done. (The critters will thank you.)
My brother has a haunt and stores them. They are already up on display again this year! 🎃
A genuinely humorous, crafting video. Totally enjoyed watching. 2 thumbs up.
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching!
I wonder if you could create the mold with cement and then use something like a synthetic motor oil as a lubricant to keep the foam from sticking.
The comments are giving me all kinds of different ways to make the mold. And also told Pam cooking spray would work as a release.
Your scraps and debris from the foam can also be reincorporated into your wet foam. In the mold, so there's no waste
Dang this is also brilliant. Thanks!
@@dadcrafted sorry. I did not spell check before sending the last message. It should have read foam instead of phone
Great job! Your kids will remember this for a long time, well done Dad.👍
Thanks so much! I appreciate it! 🙏🙌
Man that was so good making the mould made me laugh out loud Soz. I admire your determination to make all those pumpkins and they look amazing well done Grant 🎃
Thanks so much Steve! Glad you enjoyed! 🙏
I used to really admire my dad, cause he always knew what he was doing before attempting.
Well my dad never did anything like this when I was a kid 🤷♂️
THEY LOOK FANTASTIC! COOL WAY TO DISPLAY THEM!
Thanks so much! 🙏🙏
Trial and Error, trial and error, SUCCESS, Hell yeah, congratulations, I'm going to try that
Thanks so much! 🙏🙌
They came out pretty nice. What a ton of work. Good man for helping out your bro
Thanks! It was all worth it in the end! 🙌
Great job! This was awesome! The hard work paid off!
Thanks so much! 🙏🙌
BTW you can also heavily customize your sculpts with Loctite foam (now GE foam). Loctite uses a slightly different formulation that forms a "skin" when misted with water. You spray out loctite foam and then wait about ~60-90 seconds for it to expand. Then you mist it with water, wat about 2-4 minutes. Once the skin forms (the moment it doesn't stick to your fingers anymore) you can sculpt and use tools to press the foam into any shape you want. It'll start to stiffen in about 5-7 more minutes. You can add on multiple incremental bits of foam as you go as it adheres to itself.
Oh also great stuff also cures with moisture, it just doesn't form the same moldable skin effect as loctite. However if you sprits the mold before putting in the loctite (just a single spray bottle spray) and then do the same after you line the mold, you can cure it in about 1 hour or less. Another great cheap material you can use for the inside layer (if you want something) is cling film. Spray foam and cling film can be used to make TONS of things (ropes, vines, tentacles, fake peeling skin, modify masks, etc).
Non-Stick PAM cooking spray is also a big go to, or wipe it down with mineral oil. Oh also acetone eats foam. They make cans of acetone that you can clean out the nozzels with. They are designed for the pro foam gun, but they also come with a spray nozzle to use by themselves (the other option is Brake Clean or Carb Cleaner...they are mostly acetone and methel-elthyl ketone which also eats uncured foam)
Thanks for all the info! This is great!
You might have been able to make a mold from plaster since it looked like you didn't have any undercuts. Plaster press molds work well with clay because the plaster will suck out moisture from the clay. Plaster might have been a bit less expensive. You probably could use a "mother" to keep your silicone mold to hold it's shape. I think plaster bandage material can be used for a mother. Try a silicone spatula to smooth the interior. Magic Smooth epoxy like material is nice, too. The end effect was truly awesome!
Thanks! I need to try new methods next time for sure! 🙌
Awesome job and involving the kids great
Thanks so much! 🙏🙌
Very cool! There’s a pumpkin patch that appreciates your dedication as they were able to be spared for pumpkin pies that season 😊
Haha maybe. Thanks for watching!
There is a calculation that you can find which tells you how much silicone you will need by volume. In addition, there are a few ways to achieve this same mold using fiberglass and silicone. Look at Reynolds materials or Smooth-on. You can also call them I use them all the time for info.
Yeah I shoulda used rice or something. Coulda thought this through better for sure.
Honestly for how many you made I am impressed.
I got a lot out of that mold.
@@dadcrafted If you got 1 out of this, you would still be impressive. My Dad never helped me with stuff, but I was the artistic one. He built race cars in our garage,, LOL.
Came for the pumpkins, here for the Smugglers Room t-shirt. Always good to see a fellow Swarzy Fan in action. The pumpkins were a labor of love, I had a similar yet adjacent year casting paper mache vintage style pumpkin Pails. Kudos.
Thank you! And yes, love the Smuggler’s Room! 🙏🙌
Awesome results! Thanks for
sharing the learning experience! Some great comments already and I can’t wait to see next year’s version!
Thanks Dave! I knew people would tell me the way! Next year we go for 500!
Great video! FYI you can smooth the foam out by waiting 3-4 mins after spraying it in the mould, wetting your latex gloves then pushing down on it. Won’t stick to your glove that way and won’t use as much foam per pumpkin 🎃 ☺️
Definitely doing this when I make more of these next year!
Maybe a release agent, like oil, grease, or petroleum jelly, should've been spread inside the mold before filling it. That could make removing the new castings easier and make the mold last longer.
Definitely shoulda done that
Had a neighbor that did that, so he had a clear shooting lane before the deer came on to our deer lease. He did say it was a fire break, but he only did it where the jumped the fence at.
Wut?
Dude you the man I love it!! Kept you busy and taught your kids hard work pays off !! ❤
I appreciate that! Thanks for watching! 🙌🙏
acetone will clean the goop out of the tube. Using a thin film of oil will keep foam from sticking in the mold.
Thanks for the info! Appreciate it!
If you mist some water in the mold before putting the foam in it will make things easier.
I have not tried expanding foam yet but i know there are release sprays you can spray on the mold first to make it easier to remove and maybe make the mold last longer. i LOVE seeing families involves working on hobbies together.
Oops, i made this comment about five minutes before the video ended, then pressed play and you immediately got release spray.
Haha yep, I shoulda been using that from the start!
I don't know for sure if this would of worked but maybe squirting some GE silicone in the parts that tore out. to finish the moldings. if cured silicone doesn't stick to uncured maybe super glue the patch?
I might brush on a thin layer and keep going
Fantastic job and Dad of the year goes to you, well done👍👍👍
Thanks so much! Appreciate it! 🙏🙌
They sell gallon jugs of this stuff. It takes a HUGE amount of silicone to do a mold that size.
This is true. Shoulda filled it with rice first.
IF I heard you right, it was $200 for the silicone to make the mold. How much for the Great Stuff? I know that runs about $4.75 per can with tax, but how many half-pumpkins will a single can make?
One can of great stuff basically got my two pumpkin shells. If you buy them in bulk (at least 12) at Home Depot they are under $4 I think
Very cool project and amazing dedication to the craft of foam pumpkin making 👌
Thank you so much! 🙏🙌
Did you ever try running a putty knife around the top edge of the mold right after filling it with foam? It might cut down the amount of trimming that you need to do.
I did not but I definitely will when I do this again!
You could use culinary scissors to trim the edges. A little more precise but your hands might get tired?
Thanks for the tip! I’ll look into that!
I made a successful silicon pumpkin mold about 12 years ago, you need a core piece (inner mold) to make the pumpkin hollow, it's another silicone mold which is filled with plaster with several pieces of galvanized wire sticking out of it and then more silicone on top of the plaster to completely encapsulate the plaster like a sheath then the galvanized wire that is sticking out out of the edges of the plaster is later bent down about 90° to rest on the (outer mold) to make a bridge so you have a hollow gap for the foam to expand to a perfect even thickness.
The first thing to do is to sculpt some natural clay or wax based clay in your pumpkin mold to build up the thickness of your (pumpkin flesh) before then adding the silicone and then once the silicone is cured, then fill the silicone with plaster while adding some reinforcement and galvanized wire that sticks out of the edges of the inner core piece about 4" to 5 " inches which are bent down 90° degrees
Then once the plaster and silicone core piece is cured, remove the core piece and then remove the clay from the outer mold.
(note to use a thick galvanized wire as this is acting like a bridge from your core piece to your outer mold and a thin wire might collapse as plaster core piece is heavy)
This silicone/plastic core piece makes an even thickness in the foam and it also makes the texture of the pumpkin flesh which looks more realistic as you can sculpt the texture and thickness of the flesh of the pumpkin to your desire using the clay.
A couple more tips to give you is your outer silicone mold that gives you your actual pumpkin shape should have a plaster mother mold as well built up with layers of cheese cloth and plaster and I would even add some chicken wire in between the layers of plaster so your foam can't (bow) or warp which can break the mold so it needs to be a pretty strong reinforcement mold.
The other tip of advice is to dust the silicone mold with some talcom powder and then paint the silicone mold with several coats with some pumpkin orange acrylic paint which has some flexibility to it and as well as the stem with a stem colored acrylic paint of your preference and allow the paint to dry in between coats then fill the mold going in a circular pattern with the foam and then mist with water then lay in the core piece and allow it to cure..
Maybe you mentioned this, but why not get a big bowl and flip the pumpkin upsidedown when making the mold? Seems like that woulda used a lot less silicone
Yes. Dollar tree bowl woulda been a much better route.
When using silicone molds you can use corn starch to wipe down the inside before you use so you get easy release and usually protects the silicone.
I’m writing this down.