Bringing the wow factor to jack-o-lanterns
Make the most out of this fun family activity
10:25 a.m. Wednesday, October 24, 2007
Halloween is one week from today. So, there is still time to decorate a pumpkin. John Payne, a local pumpkin carver, has some tips that might inspire you to create your own. Watch the video above.
The first tip is for parents to be present when kids are carving jack-o-lanterns.
Knives work, but Payne recommends using Pumpkin Masters' tools, which can be found at Wal-Mart and Hobby Lobby, especially for first-time carvers. These allow more interesting and curvy designs than those you'd get from using a pairing knife.
The official 49 ABC News jack-o-lantern
A design should be drawn on regular paper -- for archival purposes (you never know which pattern is going to be a hit) -- and transferred to tracing paper. Use straight pins to attach the tracing paper to the pumpkin. Then, go over the pattern with a sharp object that makes an indentation in the pumpkin.
Then, the fun begins. Cut out a top and empty the guts and seeds of the pumpkin. Then, start carving.
Finishing touches, like eyebrows, can be used by scraping away the skin down to the lighter-colored pumpkin wall without cutting all the way through. This form of pumpkin engraving can be done with a scraper tool that's found in the Pumpkin Masters' tool kit.
And, Payne said the pieces removed for the eyes could be pinned to the side of the pumpkin to produce ears.
After your pumpkin is done it will be a work of art. To preserve it, you can spray it with WD-40 or spread petroleum jelly along the cuts. But remember not to spray it while the candle is lit.
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