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Pumpkin Carving Ideas

Haunted Halloween Village

"Jack-o'-lantern" first referred to night watchmen who carried lanterns because there were no street lamps. Jack, a popular diminutive of the name John, was often used to mean "man," and as a result, a man carrying a lantern was often referred to as a jack-o'-lantern. When turnips, carved with faces to ward off evil spirits, were lit from within, they were considered lanterns, too. Eventually, the term "jack-o'-lantern" came to refer to the smiling pumpkins we associate with Halloween. Lit from within, they glow on the stoops, in the yards, and in the windows of homes and shops all across the country. This time of year, images of haunted houses are everywhere, too.

This project combines the jack-o'-lantern and the haunted house, and the eerie result -- a glowing pumpkin house suggesting unseen ghosts and monsters -- is as unusual as it is frightening. You can carve several haunted-house jack-o'-lanterns to create a haunted neighborhood.

Cut the top off the pumpkin with the knife. This will be the roof of the house.

Scoop the pulp out of the pumpkin.

Draw windows and a door on the pumpkin with the china marker.

Carve out the windows and door using a utility knife or another sharp tool. Keep cuts clean. The straighter the edges, the better. Remove any pulp hanging behind the windows or door.

Using a damp cheesecloth, wipe off any marks left on the surface of the pumpkin from the china marker.

To make the chimney, cut a rectangle out of the top of the pumpkin and pull out the piece. Break a toothpick in half, and insert each piece of toothpick into the sides of the hole left by the rectangle. Replace the piece you cut in its hole, resting on the toothpick pieces, so it sits up higher than the roof and resembles a chimney.

You can add construction-paper cutouts, suspended by wire, to the outside of the pumpkin: Cut out silhouettes of bats, cats, or witches in duplicate. Sandwich wire between two identical images using double-sided tape, then stick the wire into the roof of the pumpkin. This will create the effect of cats roaming, or bats or witches flying around the outside of the house. You can also use small Halloween toys in the windows to create interesting silhouettes.

Place a votive candle inside a glass holder into the pumpkin. Light will shine through the windows and door.

Lantern-o'-Treats

Get double duty out of your jack-o'-lantern by using it as a glowing candy bowl. Choose a large pumpkin, and find a jar that will fit inside. Remove the pumpkin's stem, and trace the bottom of the jar on the top of the pumpkin. Following this outline, cut the top off the pumpkin, making the hole slightly larger than the outline to allow easy jar entry. Scrape out seeds and innards, thinning rind to about 1 inch thick, and, with a small keyhole saw, cut a jagged edge into the top of the pumpkin.

By hand or computer, print the word TREATS on paper, and tape to the side of the pumpkin. Use a pin or needle tool to prick a dot outline of your design onto the pumpkin.

Remove paper, and with a linoleum cutter, scrape out the skin inside the outline, at least 1/8 inch deep.

Now attend to your jar: With scissors, cut a jagged design along the long edge of a strip of crepe paper, and, gathering it, attach it below the rim of the jar with masking tape. Wind a strand of Christmas lights around the jar, carve a hole in the back of the pumpkin to pass the cord through, and slide the jar in the pumpkin. Fill the jar with candy; once you've plugged in your pumpkin, it will take on a festive glow.

Translucent Pumpkins

Halloween custom calls for a fiercely lit, glowering jack-o'-lantern, but you might also consider the more subtle glow of an elegant monogram, playful spirals, or a whimsical harlequin pattern. By paring away the skin and only part of the flesh rather than carving all the way through, the lantern becomes translucent when lit from within. The harlequin pattern combines both techniques, resulting in a multicolored effect.

Cut a hole in the pumpkin's base, and hollow the pumpkin out. If you're using a candle, cut a lid out of the top using a keyhole saw; for low-wattage lightbulbs, cutting a hole in the top is optional, but you must also cut a hole in the back of the pumpkin for the cord. Apply petroleum jelly to any exposed flesh to keep it from drying out.

2. If you're carving a monogram, find an example of typeface to use and enlarge it on a photocopier to the desired size. Tape the monogram to the pumpkin with masking tape. Using a needle tool or pushpins, poke holes through the monogram and into the pumpkin around the outline of the letters at close intervals. Remove photocopy, and connect the "dots" by pen. Pare the flesh down with a gouge in open spaces and a linoleum cutter in tight spaces, leaving about half the thickness of the translucent flesh intact to allow sufficient light to show through.

You don't need a template to create spirals or a harlequin pattern, spirals can be carved freehand, and the harlequin diamonds can be drawn, prior to carving, using a felt-tipped pen.

3. Wrap Christmas lights around a glass for a radiant light source. To even out the light, affix a piece of wax paper with tacks to the inside of the monogram.

Courtesy of MarthaStewart.com

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Pumpkin Carving Ideas

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