A Candlestick Jack-O'-Lantern
Categories: DIY: Done in a Day
Boo! Help us countdown to Halloween with a month's worth of spooky decor tips, creepy crafts and DIY projects that are positively ghoulish! Happy October, dear reader.
I've carved quite a few pumpkins in my day, and I've been asked to come up with fresh, new ideas for carving pumpkins by almost every editor for whom I have worked. However, the truth is, Martha Stewart's already done practically everything you can do with a pumpkin. So instead of trying to re-invent the wheel for Halloween this year, I went back to one of my all-time favorite ideas for pumpkin carving: Martha's candlestick pumpkin. It's such a pretty and unusual way to carve a pumpkin, but it makes perfect sense: A jack-o'-lantern is a lantern, after all.
Rules are meant to broken, and templates are meant to be adapted. So I don't feel too badly about slightly modifying Martha Stewart Living's original design. I simplified the candlestick design by removing the moth, the wax drip and the handle on the candlestick. I also streamlined the shape of the base. The result: An easier-to-carve design.
Here's how to do it:
1. Prep a pumpkin for jack-o'-lantern carving as you normally would: Cut a hole around the stem, remove the top and scoop out the pumpkin guts until the insides are free of stringy bits and seeds.
2. Print out the template from marthastewart.com.
3. If you wish to simplify the design, use a marker to draw the new, cleaner outline.
4. Re-size the image on a copy machine to the size of your pumpkin.
5. Lay the re-sized image over the pumpkin and pin it into place.
6. Use a thumbtack to punch through the template into the flesh of the pumpkin all along the perimeter of the design.
7. Remove the template; you will now have a pinprick outline of the shape.
8. Using a pumpkin carving tool*, slowly and steadily cut out the candle shape.
9. Push the cutout pieces out of the pumpkin.
10. Use your carving tool to carefully clean up the edges.
Plus, the best thing about this design is that it's not too tied to Halloween, so you can keep it out through November -- that is, if the pumpkin stays fresh that long.
* I highly recommend investing in an inexpensive pumpkin carving set. It will make the job much easier than using a standard kitchen knife.
A candlestick-shape carved into a pumpkin, inspired by Martha Stewart Living. Photo: Laura Fenton
Rules are meant to broken, and templates are meant to be adapted. So I don't feel too badly about slightly modifying Martha Stewart Living's original design. I simplified the candlestick design by removing the moth, the wax drip and the handle on the candlestick. I also streamlined the shape of the base. The result: An easier-to-carve design.
Here's how to do it:
1. Prep a pumpkin for jack-o'-lantern carving as you normally would: Cut a hole around the stem, remove the top and scoop out the pumpkin guts until the insides are free of stringy bits and seeds.
2. Print out the template from marthastewart.com.
3. If you wish to simplify the design, use a marker to draw the new, cleaner outline.
4. Re-size the image on a copy machine to the size of your pumpkin.
5. Lay the re-sized image over the pumpkin and pin it into place.
6. Use a thumbtack to punch through the template into the flesh of the pumpkin all along the perimeter of the design.
7. Remove the template; you will now have a pinprick outline of the shape.
8. Using a pumpkin carving tool*, slowly and steadily cut out the candle shape.
9. Push the cutout pieces out of the pumpkin.
10. Use your carving tool to carefully clean up the edges.
Plus, the best thing about this design is that it's not too tied to Halloween, so you can keep it out through November -- that is, if the pumpkin stays fresh that long.
* I highly recommend investing in an inexpensive pumpkin carving set. It will make the job much easier than using a standard kitchen knife.
