JustJimAZ

Real pumpkins
Try lighting pumpkins with 2, 3, or more candles to make them shine BRIGHT!
https://pumpkinrot.blogspot.com/2008...mile-fire.html

You can use scented candles and incense to add to the ambience you are trying to create
https://darkcandles.com/product/votive-candles/

Use external lighting to show off your whole pumpkin and not just the carveout. This is especially good if the JoL are brightly lit from within.

If not using real flame as lighting, consider other color possibilities. Of course, you can use bright bulbs or multiple bulbs too!

If you don't have steps, try adding "risers" of various heights to display your JoL. Cardboard boxes, coffee cans, or other objects of various heights can be used. Cover them with old sheets of whatever color you like.



You can also add creepy cloth to your risers. This will add dimension and also allow you to dump fallen leaves on the display. The leaves tend to stick in the creepy cloth, adding a touch of Autumn to everything! If you live in the Phoenix area, that's hard to come by.

You can also light up JoL by soaking a roll of TP in Kerosene and lighting it.



Some have reported using gasoline (much faster burning) and alcohol (which burns at a lower temp and is a bluish flame).

Others have used sparklers, road flares, smoke bombs, just about anything that burns. You can also rub the inside and outside with alcohol based hand sanitizer for a pretty cool but short-lived effect.



You can add dry ice for fog to roll out of the mouth, but only if you are using electric light. Nothing burns in a CO2 atmosphere. :-)



Foam Pumpkins

Like real pumpkins, you can consider lighting your foam pumpkins with especially bright lights within, and also light them externally to show them off.
You can also get C7 bulbs in a great variety of colors, so your JoL can be lit in red, green, or blue inside! Of course, LEDs also come in multi colors.

If the artificial pumpkin shell is too thin to look real, try using furniture foam. You can pop open the pumpkin shells with a little effort, then carve the face. Spray adhesive inside the JoL and glue your 1/4" or 1/2" sheet of furniture foam inside. Then, simply cut out the foam. No need to put foam on the back side, since no one can see the thickness there. I find plenty of yellowish furniture foam at the hobby store that looks pretty good.

Painting the cut out parts of your JoL black, red, or brown really adds dimension to it.

If you have added furniture foam, try sealing it with a mixture of PVA glue and water - AKA homemade Mod Podge. Alternatively, you might seal it by spreading Liquid Nails on it. Either way, sealing means you'll use much less paint and it will look better.



Have you ever made coals out of lights and spray foam? Why not do that INSIDE a JoL?

Consider beveling the edges of your cuts. You can see these ideas put in use on The Sentinel of Dryrot Gulch.