Although Celtic monks have long made lanterns from vegetables, usually rutabaga, beets and turnips, to drive away evil spirits, the tradition of lighting a jack-o'-lantern comes from North America. They were the first to use pumpkin and made it one of the main attributes of the most “terrible” holiday.
Classic Halloween pumpkin
Traditionally, the jack-o'-lantern is carved into the shape of a scary head. Americans call it the Jack-O-Lantern. It appeared thanks to an old legend about an old farmer named Jack. This man was lazy, dishonest and very fond of drinking. At the same time, he managed to deceive the devil twice. After death, there was no place for Jack in heaven or hell. Looking for a way in the darkness, the farmer asked the devil for a lamp, but he threw him only a few smoldering coals. Jack had to make a jack-o'-lantern and put coals in it. With him he began to wander in search of peace between earth and sky.
Making your own pumpkin for Halloween is not that difficult.
- To keep your pumpkin decor fresh for a long time, soak the vegetable in water for several hours.
- To make the pattern last longer, it should be coated with vegetable oil or Vaseline.
- To prevent the jack-o-lantern from frying from the inside, make several small holes in the lid of the vegetable - streams of hot air will flow out.
- If you rub the inside of a lantern with nutmeg, it will emit a pleasant aroma when lit.
- Try to choose a fresh pumpkin for your lantern. The fruit has a not too hard skin, so it will be easier for you to cut out patterns on it.
Making a lamp
Take a pumpkin, its size may vary, but its color is only orange. Draw a circle, square or zigzag around its stem. The size of the figure must be large to free the vegetable from the pulp. Using a thin knife, cut through the fruit along the marked lines. Do this at a slight angle so that the cut top does not fall inside the lantern.
Using a spoon, remove the pulp and seeds from the vegetable. Using a felt-tip pen, draw the contours of the fetus’s eyes, mouth and nose – the mouth is often shaped like a crescent with a pair of fangs, the eyes and nose are shaped like triangles. If you have a stencil, attach it to the vegetable with tape, and then transfer the outline of the design by piercing the lines with a thin awl or needle. Cut through the peel of the fruit along the marked lines.
You can remove the cut pieces by prying them with a knife, or push them inside. To make the outline beautiful, scrape off the protruding pulp with a knife. Remove the cut pieces from the fruit, place a candle inside and cover it with a “lid”. The Halloween pumpkin is ready.
Original pumpkin ideas
Halloween doesn't have to be limited to just Jack-O-Lantern. The house can be decorated with other pumpkin crafts. This fruit is an excellent material for creativity. You can create many unusual decorative items from it.
Modern pumpkin
If you don't really like the sinister face, you can decorate the vegetable in a more modern way. For example, using rivets.
This pumpkin is easy to make. Purchase several packs of rivets from a craft or sewing store. They need to be stuck in a row so that they run parallel to the stripes of the fruit. This is how you need to decorate the entire pumpkin.
Another unusual Halloween pumpkin, the photo of which is presented above, is also simple to create. You will need acrylic paints in contrasting colors. They need to paint the peel through the sections.
Elegant lamp
Option 1
In addition to its intended purpose, such a lamp can serve as a vase.
You will need:
- drill and drill bits of different sizes;
- glow sticks – plastic tubes that, after breaking, can glow for a while or wireless LED lights;
- pumpkin;
- tape or tape;
- glass beaker or jar;
- large knife;
- flowers;
- scissors.
Using a marker or felt-tip pen, outline the design with which you plan to decorate the fruit. It should consist of holes of different diameters. They are best done using various verifiers. To make the design symmetrical, use electrical tape. When all the holes have been drilled, use a knife to cut off the top of the vegetable at an angle and scoop out its contents with a spoon.
Read also:
Note to mushroom pickers - how to properly peel mushrooms
If you want to decorate the pumpkin with flowers, place a jar or glass filled with water inside it. Place sticks or lanterns around the container for illumination.
Option 2
Making such a lamp will require skill.
You will need:
- pumpkin;
- screwdriver;
- chisel for cutting linoleum;
- nail or awl;
- pattern template;
- masking tape;
- spoon;
- candles.
Cut a hole in the bottom of the fruit, and then use a spoon to remove the pulp along with the seeds. After this, attach the template to the vegetable with masking tape and pierce it with a nail or awl in accordance with the lines of the drawing. The holes should be next to each other.
When the design is transferred to the fruit, take a chisel and carefully, trying not to cut through the flesh too much, cut out the peel along the puncture lines. After this, completely remove the peel, but keep in mind that the holes should not be through. In this case, the light from the candle will not be bright, but dull.
To ensure ventilation and at the same time a beautiful appearance, use a screwdriver or drill to drill several through holes in the vegetable. The original pumpkin is ready!
Glowing pumpkin
These pumpkins will look beautiful with the lights off.
You will need:
- fluorescent neon paints of different colors;
- several pumpkins;
Clean the surface of the vegetable. Starting from the stem, draw thin vertical stripes, then next to them draw stripes of a different color.
The lines do not have to be neat; they can go down to the bottom of the fruit or up to the middle. You don’t have to paint over the entire surface of the vegetable. You can apply other designs this way. Before painting, the pumpkin can be coated with acrylic paint of any desired shade.
Pumpkin candle holder
Such candlesticks, depending on how they are decorated, can become beautiful autumn decor or a worthy decoration for Halloween.
You will need:
- small pumpkin;
- brush;
- drill;
- candle;
- glitter;
- universal glue.
Measure the diameter of the candle and select a hole saw of the appropriate diameter. Cut off the stem of the fruit, determine its middle and carefully drill out the core. From time to time, clearing the drill from the pulp, drill the vegetable to the required depth. If you don't have such a tool, you can use a sharp knife with a thin blade.
When the hole is ready, cover the fruit with glue and sprinkle it generously with glitter. Once dry, spray with hairspray to prevent glitter from falling off. Now place the candle in the hole.
Spooky pumpkin ideas
For those who are sure that they need to scare someone on Halloween, we suggest making scary crafts out of pumpkins.
creepy pumpkin
This is a variation on the Jack-O-Lantern theme. This Halloween pumpkin will impress your friends and family. To make it you will need 2 pumpkins - large and small.
Let's deal with the big fruit first. Cut off its top; do this at an angle so that later the “lid” does not fall through. Use a spoon to remove all the pulp and seeds. After that, apply the design as in the photo. The opening of the “mouth” should be large enough to fit a smaller pumpkin.
Cut out the mouth along the contour and highlight the teeth. The latter need a little polishing.
You can start making the eyes. Make pupils - they will give the craft a more frightening look.
Now take a small pumpkin. She needs to be made scared. It is better to remove the pulp from the fruit through the mouth, so it must be large. When the small pumpkin is ready, insert it into the large mouth.
Pumpkin - bat
Halloween symbols are evil spirits, including bats. So why not make these ominous creatures from another traditional attribute - pumpkins.
You will need:
- black acrylic paint;
- white cardboard;
- small pumpkin;
- black paper.
Cover the surface of the pumpkin with paint. While it dries, start making the eyes, ears and wings. Cut out eyes from white cardboard. Make pupils from black paper and glue them to the center of the cardboard eye blanks.
Draw a pattern of wings and ears. Place them on black paper and cut out four identical shapes. Place 2 shapes together and glue them together, after placing part of a toothpick inside. For the wings, you can use skewers or stiff wire.
Read also:
Candied pumpkin - 8 quick and delicious recipes
Glue the eyes to the surface of the pumpkin, then stick the ears into the upper part of it, and the wings not far from them.
Paper pumpkin
Not everyone has the opportunity or desire to tinker with a real pumpkin. The house can be decorated with a paper pumpkin.
Option 1
Cut out blanks from green and orange paper, as shown in the photo. Sizes may vary depending on how big you want your pumpkin to be. Take a rectangular piece - the middle of the fruit, bend it so that a cylinder comes out, and glue it together. Bend all the cloves outward.
Apply glue to the bottom and top teeth of the cylinder. Glue one of the long strips to the teeth. Glue the remaining strips in the same way.
Take 2 green pieces and score them, cutting one piece from bottom to middle and the other from top to middle. Connect the parts. Glue the tail to one side of the pumpkin.
Option 2
You will need:
- orange paper;
- thin green ribbon;
- thin wire;
- needle;
- scissors;
- pencil;
- glue;
- pliers.
Make a template that matches the picture below and use it to cut out blanks from orange paper.
Bend each segment slightly inward, and then do the same with their round parts.
Gather the round ends of the lower parts together and insert the wire with the sharp end into the hole.
Glue the first and last segment together, then slide the top round pieces onto the wire and round the end of the wire.
Tie a ribbon to the curve.
Pumpkin from a book
If you have unnecessary books lying around, you can find a worthy use for them, for example, make something unusual out of them. There are many crafts that can be made from unwanted publications - postcards, frames, boxes, lamps and even flower pots. We'll show you how to make a Halloween pumpkin from an old book.
You will need:
- old book;
- paper;
- paper cutting knife;
- glue – glue in a gun is suitable, it can be replaced with PVA;
- a can of orange paint;
- green decorative ribbon;
- twig;
- pencil.
Draw the outline of the future pumpkin on paper. To make it symmetrical, fold the sheet in half, draw only half of the fruit, and then cut it out. Separate the cover from the book and fold the prepared template onto the binding.
Trace the template with a pencil, separating several pages - 5-6, and start cutting out the shape.
Continue cutting out book pages until you run out. When you cut out the pumpkin half, try to cut a couple of millimeters closer to the center each time, otherwise your fruit will begin to expand. It is better to cut off unnecessary pages from the spine with a paper knife.
When the blank is ready, glue the first and last pages. Apply glue to one sheet at a distance of 5 mm from the binding, attach another to it and press. To make the pumpkin stable, glue a few more pages in different places. Place the book vertically and, slightly pulling away from the binding, straighten each leaf, making the pumpkin more symmetrical. If necessary, you can glue the pages.
Once the pumpkin has the desired shape, start painting. Place the product on the paper and spray paint on it from a can. You can paint the edges or the entire surface of the petals.
Cut a small piece from the prepared stick, apply glue to one of its ends and insert it into the core of the product. Hold the stick until the glue dries, and then tie a ribbon.
One of the main attributes of Halloween is the Jack-O-Lantern, which is a pumpkin carved in the shape of a head and illuminated from the inside. The tradition of pumpkin carving itself goes back centuries. One version of why the jack-o-lantern is called Jack comes from an Irish legend. The stingy blacksmith Jack was able to deceive the devil twice and received a promise of immunity from him. However, Jack soon died without having time to use the privileges he had received. After death, Jack could not go to either heaven or hell. And his soul remained to wander the earth, illuminating its path with a small piece of coal, which he received from the devil before his death. So Jack put this smoldering coal in an empty pumpkin and went to wander around the world.
Over time, Jack-O-Lanterns began to be carved in different ways, the types of faces on the pumpkin are very diverse, most often these are triangles instead of eyes and a nose, and also, a shark’s grin instead of a mouth. But we will make a slightly different form, but it is also directly related to All Saints' Day. In this article we will show you how to make a Jack-O-Lantern for Halloween.
To make a Halloween pumpkin we will need
- pumpkin
- stencil
- kitchen board
- aerosol can of black paint (available at any hardware store)
- candle
- spoon
- knife (one long and one short; the thinner it is, the better)
- awl (or ordinary knitting needle)
- safety pins
- file
Making your own pumpkin for Halloween
Please note that there are many different types of pumpkins. There are special Halloween ones, they are bright orange and large round shape. We took a bottle gourd and chose the face shape most suitable for this type.
First of all, we cut off the top of the pumpkin, it is better to cut it a little at an angle so that it closes like a cork.
Bottle pumpkins are more difficult to carve than regular large ones, since in such pumpkins the seeds are located at the bottom, and in the upper part there is dense pulp.
Therefore, we carefully try to get to the bottom of the pumpkin to clean it. To do this, we “dig” a tunnel for ourselves with a spoon.
It will be quite difficult to “dig out” the pulp, so you can help yourself with a knife. And soon we will get to the seeds we are looking for.
We take out the seeds, try not to miss anything.
Our preparation is ready.
Now, using a stencil, we will cut out the face of our pumpkin.
Depending on the size of the pumpkin, the stencil will not fit properly. But the way out of this situation is very simple. We simply cut out each figure 0.5–1 cm closer to the center. And we pin our stencils with pins in the right places.
This is what our pumpkin’s “Scream” face will look like.
We take an awl and begin to make small holes, tracing our stencils.
It should look something like this.
We trace all the stencils in this way and remove the pins.
Now take a small knife and carefully draw the knife along the contour.
Advice: The closer you hold the knife to the end, the easier it will be to cut.
Each time we press the knife harder, thereby cutting right through the wall of the pumpkin.
We pry it with a knife and take out our “eye”.
Cut out all the parts of the “face” like this
After cutting, the edges remain uneven. Therefore, we file them with a file.
Advice: To prevent the edges from being torn, you need to file in one direction: from the outside to the inside.
In the picture, the left eye is still raw, and the right one has already been smoothed out.
We smooth out all the cutouts in this way, except for the cap.
At this stage, the pumpkin carving is completed. We put a candle inside and our pumpkin lamp is ready. But we decided to approach this issue more creatively, so next we will paint our Jack black.
Everything is simple here. There is only one caveat, in order not to paint over our slits in the face, you need to close them. We just stuffed newspapers and spray painted everything with glossy black paint.
Advice: Undried spray paint is highly flammable, so your pumpkin and anything nearby will burst into flames like a match. Therefore, under no circumstances light a candle immediately after painting.
It is better to paint on the landing or on the street. Cover your nose, the paint has a pungent odor. After drying, the smell disappears.
Let the pumpkin dry for about 2 hours.
After the paint on our pumpkin has dried, take out the paper.
It's okay if the edges of the internal cuts are a little stained.
Let's file in these places, thereby removing unnecessary paint. It is not necessary to saw off until clean, otherwise the shape of the cutouts may be damaged.
You can paint the stem on the lid. We painted it with gold gouache. Or you could have left it green. But this is an individual matter, whoever likes it more.
So our Jack-O-Lantern is ready. We put a candle inside, light it and turn off the light. Due to the long mouth, the reflection of light spreads directly in front of the pumpkin in a wide path.
How to carve a pumpkin for Halloween with your own hands + Photo
DIY pumpkin for Halloween. Photo
Halloween, until recently, was celebrated only in the West, but gradually this event is becoming popular in our country. It’s impossible to imagine Halloween without colorful, scary outfits, and without a pumpkin face with candles inside. How to carve a pumpkin for Halloween with your own hands? Below is detailed master class on how to carve a “classic” pumpkin.
To create a Halloween pumpkin you will need:
Pumpkin
Sharp knife
Spoon
Pen or marker
Candle
Oilcloth or newspaper.
Halloween pumpkin carving process:
Spread oilcloth or newspaper on the surface where the work will be carried out, since you will have to remove the pulp from the pumpkin. Take a marker or marker and draw a circle around the top of the pumpkin. Then take a knife and cut it out. It is important to cut deeply and keep the knife at an angle to the center so that the lid does not fall inside the pumpkin.
Remove the lid along with the pulp. Try to remove as much pulp from the pumpkin as possible.
Next, using a spoon, begin to remove all the pulp from the pumpkin. The more pulp you can remove, the easier it will be to cut. One way or another, the walls do not need to be made too thin; the ideal thickness would be 2- 3 cm - and in this case, your pumpkin will not wrinkle on the outside.
Now, using a felt-tip pen or pen, draw a scary face on the surface of the pumpkin. How scary it will be will depend only on your preferences.
Then cut along the contour using a knife. Use reciprocating movements for this. There is no need to rush, try to adhere to the contour drawn with a felt-tip pen as carefully as possible. It is likely that traces of the marker may remain on the pumpkin, so they will need to be washed off after use.
Place candles inside the pumpkin, preferably small ones. Then cover it with a lid and enjoy the result!
This version of pumpkin can be called the “classic” version. You can cut out whatever you want: funny, scary and simply beautiful.
Idea and photo: new-age.co.uk
Traditional spooky Halloween pumpkin
Even though evil spirits and all sorts of evil spirits are celebrated on Halloween, mainly in English-speaking countries, we also will not miss the opportunity to have fun. An unusual, funny carved pumpkin for Halloween will create an atmosphere of fairy tale and magic in your home. Glowing from the inside, a grinning pumpkin with cut out eyes is a symbol of Halloween; it is carved to protect the house from dark forces.
The “terrible” lantern, the pumpkin head, appeared thanks to an Irish legend that tells how an old farmer named Jack, leading a vicious life, was able to fool the devil himself twice, for which he was doomed to wander the world with a pumpkin head after being killed. and the smoldering fire inside her.
But it’s time to move from words to decisive actions. Carving a Halloween pumpkin isn't that difficult.
Pumpkin for Halloween: mastering the instructions
Drawings-sketches for a pumpkin-lantern
Try pulling the pumpkin's tail: if it is strong, then this is your Halloween pumpkin; if it comes off easily, then this is a rotten vegetable that is not suitable for processing.
First, we draw a sketch on paper, and then transfer it to the pumpkin peel. We paint over the places intended for cutting with a marker (this will make them easier to see). Using a kitchen knife or pocket knife, we begin to carve out the Halloween pumpkin, trying to accurately follow the outline. There is no need to rush, hold the “head” well and rotate it so that it is convenient to cut at different angles. A candle will complete the composition (insert it directly into the pumpkin head, light it, and replace the cut cap).
Unusual pumpkin for Halloween: choose yours!
Painted pumpkins for Halloween
A scary glowing pumpkin face is a classic of the genre, a completely predictable holiday decor. If you approach the issue creatively, then a Halloween pumpkin may not necessarily be sinister. Use the tips and come up with your own creative option. Perhaps it will occur to you to cut out the traditional elements of the face in a different way - with crosses, asterisks, triangles, or somehow interestingly arrange teeth in the “mouth” of the flashlight...
Painted pumpkins for Halloween
If for some reason it is difficult or impossible to carve a pumpkin (thick skin, no sharp enough knife, tedious, no time to study, a shame to ruin it, etc.), try painting it. Very beautiful and unusual. This is such a creative approach to the issue.
What you will need:
- pumpkins (any shape)
- black and colored markers
- white acrylic paint
- paint brush
- template with skull
- paper knife
- simple pencil
How to make a painted pumpkin for Halloween:
Halloween pumpkin with painting
- Prepare a template with a skull.
- Print the sketch.
- Cut out the template with a paper knife.
- Place the template on the surface of the pumpkin and carefully trace its outline. Paint the skull with white paint and let dry completely.
- In the meantime, when the paint dries, prepare a skull, whichever one you like best, you can cut out patterns on paper or sketch directly onto the surface of the pumpkin.
- Place the paper template on the dried one on the pumpkin, make a black outline on the skull - outline the eye sockets and jaw, decorate the skull with flowers and other elements (use colored markers or felt-tip pens, do not press the paint too hard so that the white background does not crumble).
Stencils for decorating pumpkins
Unusual pumpkin cooler for Halloween
If the “ugly” theme is not to your liking, you can build something airy, beautiful, reminiscent of painting techniques or lace. To create a masterpiece you will not need many tools: a glass outline, a brush, acrylic paints, toothpicks.
First coat the entire pumpkin with paint (evenly), leave to dry to avoid fingerprints. Then use a toothpick to decorate the peel with openwork, flowers, leaves, mysterious symbols, geometric shapes. Feel free to fantasize, such a pumpkin for Halloween will become an original decorative element and a great gift for friends.
Pumpkin for Halloween: functional and tasty
Halloween Pumpkin Casserole
Halloween Cookies
For the dough:
- 80 g softened butter
- 100 g sugar
- 200 g flour
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
The dough should be plastic and easy to roll out.
For the filling:
- 1 cup pumpkin puree (pulp of peeled and baked (or boiled) pumpkin until smooth in a blender)
- 2 eggs (white in the dough, mix the yolk with a spoon of water and brush the cookies before baking)
- 0.5 cups condensed milk
- 2 tablespoons sugar (optional, sometimes I don't use it at all in this recipe)
- pinch of cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons flour
You should get a homogeneous mass like thick homemade sour cream.
How to make Halloween cookies:
- Cut out a pumpkin stencil from baking paper.
- Mix all the ingredients for the dough, knead the dough, roll out the layer to make a circle or semicircle, fold in half, attach a stencil, cut out the shape, separate the layers. Leave the bottom of the Halloween cookies (one of the shapes) unchanged, cut out eyes and teeth on the top, like on a real pumpkin. (Roll out the dough scraps as well).
- Place a spoonful of filling on the bottom of the cookies, glue the top and bottom of the dough, mold the edges with a fork (for beauty too), brush with yolk, lightly sprinkle with sugar and place in an oven preheated to 180 degrees to bake for 20 minutes.
When the main attribute of the holiday is already ready, you can also make a “healthy” pumpkin. For example, if you are expecting guests, you can make a kind of refrigerator from a large vegetable, cut in half. To do this, cut out the core from both halves, clean it, fill it with ice cubes and put bottles of drinks there. Unusual and original!
Pumpkin dishes will become a real decoration festive table. Try cooking a stew, casserole or pancakes; your guests will definitely appreciate your efforts and culinary talent. Show your imagination and your Halloween pumpkin will be beautiful, tasty and healthy!
