How do I Carve Jack the Pumpkin King Into a Jack-O-Lantern?
Pumpkin carving has been around for centuries and began in Ireland. The story is told many different ways depending who you ask, but the main theme is a man named Jack and a lantern he made from a hollowed out turnip. Over the years these lanterns, made of hollowed out beets, gourds, turnips and pumpkins became known as Jack O' Lanterns and were created to ward off evil spirits. Today we carve pumpkins at Halloween, and who better to put on your pumpkin than Jack, the Pumpkin King? Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Computer
- Printer
- Internet Access
- Paper
- Pumpkin carving saw
- Transfer tool
- Newspaper
- Tape
- Scissors
- Candle
- Lighter or Matches
Instructions
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Choose your pumpkin and go online and download a Jack Skellington stencil from a pumpkin pattern website. There are plenty of free patterns of Jack for all sizes of pumpkins.
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2
Prepare an area to cut your pumpkin. Lay down some newspaper and use the saw to saw off the top and remove the innards and all the seeds. Print your stencil and cut it out.
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3
Use the tape to attach the stencil where you would like it on your pumpkin. You will probably need to make a few creases to get the paper to lay smooth.
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4
Transfer your pattern to the pumpkin using the transfer tool. Simply poke the tool into the pattern along all the saw lines. Make each dot about 1/8-inch' apart and do not push all the way through the pumpkin.
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Remove your stencil and examine your transferred design. Be sure you have placed all your dots and your design looks good to you.
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Cut your design out. Always cut the pumpkin with the saw straight up and down and use a back and forth motion. Simply connect each dot of your design and remove each cut out piece. The transfer tool can be used to help poke smaller pieces out.
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Place your candle inside your new Jack Skellington Jack O' Lantern and light it. Place wherever you like for a wonderful spooky decoration.
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Tips & Warnings
Never leave an open flame unattended.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit jack-o'-lantern image by Tammy Mobley from Fotolia.com
