How to make an evil pumpkin for Halloween. Spooky Halloween Pumpkin - How to Make a Jack-O-Lantern. Everything you need

There is very little time left before Halloween, which means that the preparation of costumes and makeup, the search for “horrible” Halloween recipes and horror stories for home decoration are in full swing. As you know, a pumpkin is considered a mandatory attribute for Halloween, because it is the main symbol of the holiday. Surely, it will be in every home of those who celebrate Halloween. Ever wondered why pumpkin? I’ll tell you a terrible secret, originally it was a turnip, and not even in America, as many people think, but in Ireland! In general, the story of the Halloween pumpkin, or more precisely Jack-O-Lantern, is creepy to match the holiday, so before you cut out another scary face, it’s worth getting to know Jack better.

Once upon a time in Ireland there lived a very cunning and stingy farmer named Jack. One day, while drinking ale in a tavern, he met the Devil himself, they drank together, and when Jack had no money left to pay for another glass of booze, the Devil agreed to pay in exchange for the farmer’s soul. To do this, the Devil had to turn into a coin, and the cunning Jack, instead of paying, simply put this coin in his pocket, where there was a silver cross, which did not allow the Devil to take his original appearance. The Devil, caught in a trap, agreed to any conditions, so Jack bargained for himself several years of a quiet life and a promise to never take his soul to hell.

Some time later, Jack died, and since he was a sinner on earth, the road to heaven was closed to him, and he had no choice but to visit his old friend the Devil. But the Devil, remembering his promise, refused to let the farmer into hell, but gave him smoldering coals from the fire of hell so that Jack could light his way. To make the Devil's gift burn longer, Jack carved a lantern from a turnip and put coals in it. Since then, Jack's lantern has been a symbol of a restless soul that wanders in the dark, illuminating its path with smoldering embers. When Halloween began to be celebrated in America, the turnip was replaced with a bright pumpkin, which quickly gained universal recognition and became the main symbol of the holiday.

Naturally, no one will just put a pumpkin on the table; a huge red vegetable is a dubious decoration. Therefore, from year to year, many people cut out a wide variety of faces from pumpkins, clean out the pulp and put candles inside, in general, they try in every possible way to create a semblance of a Jack-o-lantern. Since the Halloween pumpkin is the main symbol of the holiday, we will tell you how to make a Halloween pumpkin and share several cute Halloween pumpkin options. Sometimes, in order to create something of your own, original and unlike anything else, you need to see a few other people’s ideas for inspiration, so look at our selection and get inspired!

1. Pumpkin in a pumpkin
As a rule, a Halloween pumpkin is a very evil creature. Try creating a pumpkin monster that eats another horror monster. Halloween is, after all, a competition among pumpkins. You will need a huge pumpkin and a very small pumpkin; if you cannot find pumpkins of suitable sizes, you can take one of any size and one orange. Come up with a scarier facial expression and cut it out. When you cut out the mouth, it is better to start with a narrower part and do not try to immediately make a large hole for a small pumpkin or orange, it is better to make it narrower and then trim it, because if the mouth turns out to be too large, you will have to look for a larger “victim”.

2. Famous character.
Agree, anyone can cut out 2 triangular eyes, a nose and a terrible crooked mouth, but this happens from year to year and everyone is pretty tired of it. Therefore, we suggest that you review all the horror films in your house and choose a couple of the most charming characters, for example, Frankenstein or Jack from the cartoon “The Nightmare Before Christmas.” At first glance, it seems that only a professional with ten years of experience can cut such a miracle, but this is not at all the case. Arm yourself with a felt-tip pen, preferably one that is water-based so that it can be easily erased, take a pumpkin and draw the face you like on it. Keep in mind that you will have to cut with a regular sharp knife, so try to avoid too small parts.

3. Bats
Bats can be considered another symbol of Halloween. Since ancient times, these wonderful fluffy lumps with thin leathery wings have inspired fear and horror in many people, which means that it is quite possible to frighten guests with these cute creatures. And to avoid theatrical fainting, carve mice into your pumpkin. Moreover, you can arrange the bats in any order, or you can try and cut out eyes, nose and mouth in the shape of mice. At the same time, depending on the position of the wings, you can change the facial expression, make it cheerful, sad or angry. To cut out small parts of mice, use a small, thin, sharp knife or a regular utility knife.

4. A real lantern
Have you noticed how everyone cuts out faces all the time and calls them Jack O'Lanterns? Why exactly faces? A lantern must be a lantern. Ancient or modern, garden or camping, but a lantern. Do you share the same opinion? Then arm yourself with a thin knife and a black marker or black acrylic paint and a brush with synthetic bristles. Choose an image of any lantern you like, draw it on the pumpkin and cut out the part through which the light should be visible. Place a candle inside, just first you need to clean the pumpkin from the pulp, and your Halloween pumpkin will take on an original look.

5. Snowman Jack
Although Halloween is considered a time of rampant evil spirits, not everything about it has to be scary. As you know, there is a place for good and bright things always and everywhere. And there’s very little time left until winter, so let’s remember the snowmen. Snowman Jack, greeting invited friends right at the front door, will create a real sensation. Prepare a hat, a collar from an old shirt, several large buttons, glue, markers and a wine bottle stopper. Using glue, glue on the collar and buttons, cut out the eyes and mouth, and glue a wine cork for the nose. Draw pupils, eyebrows and ears with felt-tip pens. Such a fat good fellow will be a wonderful decoration for your home for Halloween.

6. Lacy pumpkin
Since we've moved away from the theme of jack-o'-lanterns, why not also move away from the theme of the ugly and try to make something beautiful. For example, master painting techniques. A painted pumpkin for Halloween is, of course, original and beautiful, and you can also say with one hundred percent certainty that you will not find a second pumpkin like this anywhere else. This is also a great gift for guests at the end of the celebration! In order to make such beauty, you don’t need to have a diploma from the Academy of Artistic Creativity, just one brush, acrylic paint, several contours on glass and a couple of toothpicks. Cover the pumpkin with an even layer of acrylic paint, let it dry so that your handprints do not remain on the paint. After the paint has dried, there are several options for continuing the decoration: you can immediately pick up the outline and use it to draw leaves, mysterious patterns and dots, or you can first take a toothpick and use it to draw some unusual pattern on the pumpkin, and then decorate it using a contour. In general, do not limit your imagination and awaken the artist within you!

7. Functional pumpkin
As they say, why waste good things in vain, let's try to make a pumpkin not only beautiful, but also functional. You can come up with many examples, here are just a few of them. If you are throwing a real holiday and inviting guests, then a Halloween pumpkin can turn into an excellent refrigerator for you. Chilled drinks are always welcome, so cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the core and fill it with crushed ice. Place bottles of beer, lemonade or juice in ice and serve. Such a spectacular dish will definitely be remembered by your guests and will be used throughout the holiday.

Let's not waste time on trifles, because we are talking about a holiday. On your holiday table, a pumpkin can become completely indispensable if you use it instead of dishes, for example, for a salad or punch. This hamburger pumpkin will look original. Cut the pumpkin in half, remove the core, instead of the usual cutlet, put a large chop, garnish with cheese, lettuce and tomato slices, and instead of sesame seeds, glue the seeds that you peeled from the core to the pumpkin. To prepare pumpkin punch, you will need 1 liter of apple juice, 350 ml of pineapple juice, 2 tbsp. lemon juice, 1 cinnamon stick, 1 large apple, a few cloves and 1 large pumpkin. Using a small round scoop, make several balls out of the apple and stick a clove into each ball. Pour apple, lemon and pineapple juice into the pan, add cinnamon and cut out apple balls. Heat over medium heat for a few minutes, without boiling, then cool slightly. Cut off the top of the pumpkin and carefully clean the middle, removing all the seeds. Pour the slightly cooled punch into the pumpkin and serve.

A Halloween pumpkin in itself can be a great source of inspiration, and in combination with the tips and ideas presented here on how to make a Halloween pumpkin, it will surely lead your imagination to create something of your own, original and unforgettable!

The content of the article:

Halloween pumpkin is the most common decorative element, which is very popular in the USA, Canada, England, Ireland, and France. In Eastern Europe, where the majority of the population is Orthodox Christians, the tradition of using it on this holiday, as well as its celebration itself, is not widespread. But every year it is gradually gaining momentum, and therefore it is important to find out in advance how to cut out the well-known Jack-O-Lantern and many other figures from this vegetable, accessible to all of us.

What is a Jack-O-Lantern

This is the main symbol of Halloween, also known as the Jack-O-lantern. It represents a face made from a pumpkin, which grinned terribly. Eyes, nose, mouth are cut out in it, sometimes even teeth are formed for plausibility. It is believed that this important attribute of the holiday drives away evil spirits. It is usually installed on the threshold of the house. A candle is inserted inside or electric lighting is provided.

The British were the first to make Jack-o'-lanterns, using turnips or rutabaga to make them. It acquired its modern appearance only at the beginning of the 19th century, receiving its name at the same time. It took about 30 years for people to begin to associate it with All Saints' Day. Around 1900, Americans suggested making this decoration from pumpkin, for whom this vegetable was cheaper and more accessible.

This attribute was called that for a reason. They say that once upon a time there lived a miser, Jack, who was able to double-cross the devil himself. As a reward for this, he promised him not to lay claim to his body and soul.

It all started with the fact that this simple drinker once invited the “dark side” to sip a little wine in a tavern. When the time came to pay the bill, the prudent Irishman turned to the devil with a request to take the form of a coin. He, without thinking twice, agreed, after which he ended up in Jack’s pocket next to the silver cross. As a result, he was unable to regain his image and decided to take on his original appearance in exchange for a promise not to touch the Irishman for a year and not to take his soul after his departure from this world.

The second time the young man asked the devil to climb the tree for fruit, and when he did this, the cunning Jack drew a cross on its trunk, for which he received 10 years of cloudless life. But it wasn’t to be, he died very soon and, without going to heaven or hell, he wandered the Earth with a turnip, into which he put a piece of smoldering coal that illuminated his path, which is where the name Jack’s Lantern came from.

Features of choosing a pumpkin for Halloween crafts

The pumpkin should be ripe, but not overripe. The richer its color, the brighter the lamp will be. Green, grey, black and yellow vegetables are not suitable; you should look for orange varieties.

The optimal shape is round or slightly oval, extended to the side or upward. The ideal variety would be “Rossiyanka”, “Altai”, “Almond”, “Smile”.

Since you will have to draw eyes, a nose and a mouth on the surface of the pumpkin for carving, it is best if it is relatively smooth, without sharp relief.

It is very important that the tail of the vegetable is not cut off, which can be used as a nose or “hair”.

The peel should be dense, but not very thick, otherwise it will be difficult to cut something out. Ideally, you need a pumpkin from this year, not from last year, which has been in the basement for many months.

You shouldn’t take it too big; a kilogram will be enough; a suitable height is about 15 cm, diameter is about 20 cm.

How to cut a face from a pumpkin

To do this, you will need a black felt-tip pen or marker, a sharp knife and a stencil if you want to make everything proportional.

First of all, wash and dry the pumpkin well, then cut off the top part along with the stem. If you want to use it as a nose, then turn the vegetable on its side. After this, you need to scrape out most of the pulp with a spoon (if you plan to make teeth, then you need to leave it at the bottom) and remove all the seeds. The inner surface should end up smooth.

Detailed instructions for creating a Jack-o'-lantern:

• Find it on the Internet or prepare a stencil yourself on a clean sheet of thin paper. To do this, use dotted lines to outline the places where the eyes will be located. The optimal shape is triangular or star-shaped, the width is approximately 3 cm. They can be located at different angles.
• Draw a mouth on paper, about 3.5 cm away from the eyes. Make it at a large angle, turning the corners on the sides sharply up and bringing them almost to the eyes. Let all the edges be smooth, leaving only a small tooth at the bottom right in the center.
• Between the eyes and mouth, draw a nose in the shape of a triangle, pointing upward.
• Using scissors, cut the stencil along the dotted lines to create empty spaces in the eyes, mouth, and nose.
• Now grease the pumpkin with damp soap, glue the sample to it, smooth it out and outline the prepared voids with a marker.
• Remove the paper and using a knife with a thin blade, carefully cut out the eyes, nose, and mouth in turn, not forgetting to make one tooth in the center from the pulp.
• Wipe the “face” with a rag, insert a candle inside, light it and cover the head with the previously cut top and stem.

Note! It is not necessary to use a stencil for carving a pumpkin; it is only needed by those who are doing it for the first time and are not confident in their abilities.

What else can you carve from a pumpkin?

Animals, cartoon characters, various figures, people and even vehicles - this is what will help create a festive atmosphere on All Saints' Day! You can make both large and small crafts, from which you can organize a whole “puppet theater”. Any shape of cutouts is allowed - triangles, ovals, circles, diamonds, stars. The layered depressions, in which the edges of the pulp are visible, look very interesting.

How to properly cut an owl from a pumpkin

To implement this idea, you will need a medium-sized gray or pale yellow pumpkin, white acrylic paint, a gel pen, a knife with a sharp blade, a regular sponge and a drill with the thinnest drill bit. Creating an owl will take about an hour of slow work.

Step-by-step instructions include the following steps:

1. First of all, carefully cut off the cap along with the stem.
2. Peel the vegetable from seeds and pulp.
3. Use a pen to outline the places where you are going to make the eyes, then shade them.
4. Outline them with an oval, using an uneven, curving line, stepping back from the left almost to the very edge of the pumpkin, about 1.5 cm on top, about 2 cm on the bottom, and on the right the distance should be minimal, no more than 0.3 cm.
5. Place a bold tick above your eyes, so that it almost reaches your pupils. Mark where the nose will be by drawing a diamond shape. Draw three small circles on the sides of the eyes.
6. Using a drill, make holes in the pupils that were previously shaded with a pen. Then carefully clean them of any remaining pulp. Now use a knife to cut off the peel, starting from the line marked below and ending at the very eye. This must be done in such a way that a slight slope is eventually formed.
7. Cut out the nose and eyebrows, shaped like a daw. Shape the mouth by making 5-6 indentations in the lower part in the form of soaring birds, arranged in two rows. Cut out pre-drawn circles on the sides.
8. Dip a sponge into white acrylic paint and go over the entire surface of the pumpkin, avoiding the inner surface of the eyes.

How to beautifully carve a carriage from a pumpkin

It is best to use a gray pumpkin, which looks very impressive. It should be small, maximum 12 cm in diameter. You will also need wire, PVA glue, plasticine, several A4 sheets, gold foil, and white paint. In addition, you should prepare a sharp knife.

Next steps:

• First, make the wheels by twisting the wire into a ring with a diameter of about 4 cm (4 of them will be needed). Next, secure the “spokes” inside, making them from the same material and using glue for fastening. Cover the top of the wheel with black plasticine. Then dilute PVA glue in half with water and use it to cover the wire with a thin layer of white paper pulp. Let the workpiece dry and paint it with golden paint. Connect two wheels to each other using a skewer or toothpick without fixing them.
• Now work on the pumpkin by cutting off the top and cutting out three windows in it, like in a carriage, partially removing the pulp from inside. Then paint it with white paint and let it dry. After that, between the windows, make a layer of silver glitter from the very top to the bottom. Repeat the same around the entire perimeter of the craft. Next, below and on the “roof”, draw any patterns with golden paint.
• At this point you need to attach the wheels to the carriage, simply thread a skewer with one of them into the bottom of the pumpkin and attach a second pair on the other side. To prevent them from scattering, secure them with wire.
• Remove the hat you cut off earlier, insert a candle inside the carriage and return it to its place.

This homemade decoration can be used as a candlestick to decorate a holiday table or the home in general.

We cut out a little man from a pumpkin with our own hands

To create such a decor, it is better to choose an oval-shaped pumpkin and a pale color. You will need white acrylic paint, a brush, super glue and various fabric accessories - a hat, mustache, glasses.

Follow the following pattern:

1. Paint the pumpkin with white paint and let it dry.
2. Using a pen, draw two eyes with pupils, cut off the skin literally 0.3 cm along this contour, cover the pupil with black paint and the white with white paint.
3. Glue a piece of fabric onto your face as a nose, or you can simply cut out a triangle.
4. Draw the lips, make a depression along their outlines, without affecting the flesh too much, and glue red plasticine on top so that it looks voluminous against the background. If it doesn't stick well, use super glue.
5. Place a felt mustache on your face, paper or plastic glasses without clips, and place a hat on your head.

If desired, you can attach an artificial sunflower to the hat, and use black fabric instead of plasticine to create lips.

Interesting pumpkin crafts for Halloween

A Jack-o'-lantern, a carriage, a merry man - these are not all the interesting pumpkin crafts. In order to get a beautiful decor, you don’t even have to cut it out. You can, for example, glue together vegetables of different sizes and create a cute bear. It is best to make his ears, eyes and nose from squash.

Another interesting option is to attach a green Italian snake pumpkin to an orange one, from which you need to remove the pulp. After this, you should cut out the eyes, mouth and nose in the latter. To prevent the vegetables from falling apart, connect them with thick wire, passing it along the bottom edge. Finally, you can cut off the top of the “head” and insert a burning candle inside.

A turtle made from a pumpkin will look no less beautiful in the house. To create it, cut the smallest round or oval pumpkin in half. Then place the soft part on the table and attach half an unpeeled potato with the cut side to the side using a wire. Using skewers, fix 4 carrot slices in the pumpkin pulp, which will serve as “paws”. Make eyes from black peppercorns by gluing them to the potatoes.

A full-length cheerful man will also help create a festive atmosphere. It is made from two pumpkins, the first, which is smaller, will become the head, and the second - the body. To prevent the structure from falling apart, they need to be connected using metal or wooden blades, inserted inside. Then cut out the eyes in the shape of a triangle or an oval on the face, coloring them, if you wish, with white and black colors to give the image a realistic look. Don't forget to make an incision in the mouth and nose area. Put a hat on your head, tie a scarf around your neck, insert knitting needles on each side, on which you need to fasten one potato at a time (these will be hands). Glue a strip of fabric or paper to the body, along which buttons are glued or sewn.

The simplest craft is an ordinary pumpkin vase for flowers. To do this, you just need to cut off the top, remove all the pulp and seeds, dry it and fill it with fragrant field daisies, pansies, etc.

To make the crafts as impressive as possible, you need to use various decor - felt accessories, sparkles, sequins, beads, paper, paint and other materials.

How to carve a pumpkin for Halloween - watch the video:

It would be great to complement the Jack-O-Lantern with the other pumpkin decorations discussed in the article. Thus, you will be able to experience for yourself how interesting and mysterious a holiday Halloween is. In any case, once a year you can safely allow yourself to get creative a little!

The demon became a coin, and Jack the Sly, instead of paying for the ale, put it in his pocket with a silver cross. The damned spirit found himself in a trap and, in order to take on his former appearance, agreed to the farmer’s conditions: not to touch Jack for several years and not to take his soul to hell.

Well, what does pumpkin have to do with Halloween and what does this have to do with everything? The most direct! Read on!
So, a few years later the farmer died, but the gates of heaven were closed to him, since during his life he was a sinner. The devil remembered his promise not to let him into hell, but, taking pity on Jack, he presented several smoldering embers of hell so that they would illuminate the path for the restless soul.

To keep the coals from going out and burning as long as possible, Jack carved a lantern out of a pumpkin and placed a smoldering gift in it. Since then, the sinner farmer's lantern symbolizes a wandering soul that has no place in heaven or hell.

By the way, the holiday was originally celebrated by the Irish, who carved lanterns from turnips. Pumpkin began to be used for Halloween by Americans, who liked the holiday of wandering souls, and it was in America that this vegetable became the main attribute of the holiday.

Naturally, a whole pumpkin looks little like a decoration; there is nothing festive about it. Therefore, every year, a few days before the holiday, most people cut lanterns out of pumpkins, clean them of pulp and place candles inside. In general, they create the semblance of a farmer's lantern as best they can.
By the way, the day of celebration, October 31, is not accidental. It is believed that on this day the doors of other worlds open, through which various entities and souls of deceased loved ones penetrate into our world. That is why on holiday it is customary to dress up in scary costumes and prepare “scary” treats for souls in order to appease them a little.

What you will need:

• pumpkin
• felt-tip pen
• spoon
• candle tablet

If the pumpkin is large, then you will need several knives with different blade lengths.

What you need for a Jack-o'-lantern

How to carve a pumpkin for Halloween: carving skills to help us!

I envy those who have virtuosity and carving skills and create complex plots from vegetables. But we are also not cut out for it, and we can cut out a lantern.

Using a felt-tip pen, we draw any face on the pumpkin (I didn’t want to draw an angry one), don’t forget to mark the lantern lid, which can be square, round or polygonal, like mine.

draw a face

First, cut out the lid and scrape out the inside of the vegetable with a spoon. You need to remove the seeds and scrape off more pulp so that the walls of the lantern become a little thinner; in addition to the spoon, I also used a knife. Then, using a knife, carefully and leisurely cut out the muzzle. Movements should be back-and-forth, unhurried, so as not to accidentally get hurt.

carefully cut out the face

When the lantern is ready, place a candle inside, light it, turn off the light and admire what kind of face you cut out and the more different lantern faces there are, the more interesting the holiday.

light the jack lantern))

As it turns out, a pumpkin for Halloween can be a wonderful and original decoration, if you have any ideas. I decided to pick a video with jack-o'-lanterns, perhaps something will spur your imagination to create your own unforgettable masterpiece.

On the night of October 31 to November 1, one of the oldest holidays in the world is celebrated - Halloween. This ancient Celtic celebration has an interesting history, original traditions and funny paraphernalia. The holiday strangely combines two traditions: the honoring of evil spirits and the worship of all saints.

In the USA, Europe and Canada, on this day it is customary to dress up in costumes of evil spirits, hold masquerades, light bonfires and build jack-o'-lanterns. It is not surprising that on the approaches to the famous holiday, many people have a question: how to make a pumpkin for Halloween? Today we will try to give you comprehensive instructions on how to make a Jack-O-Lantern.

Pumpkin is the main attribute of Halloween. Celebrants, as a rule, cut out ominous faces on the ripe fruit and insert a candle inside, constructing a kind of lantern. The habit of making vegetable lamps originated in Ireland and Great Britain. Celtic monks (Druids) made them from turnips, beets, rutabaga and used them to drive out evil spirits.

Initially, this ritual had nothing to do with Halloween, but in the 19th century, North America made it the main tradition of this holiday. Only instead of these vegetables they began to use pumpkin, since it symbolizes the harvest time. Americans named the jack-o-lantern the Jack-O-Lantern and made it the official symbol of Halloween.

Jack Lantern - who is he?

Before you start making a pumpkin for Halloween, you should familiarize yourself with the legend of Jack-O-Lantern, whose soul still wanders in search of peace.

According to legend, Jack led a miserable life as a lazy farmer, drunkard and thief. Fleeing once again with stolen goods from a crowd of angry peasants, he met the devil, who announced his hour of death. But Jack did not want to die and asked the messenger of hell to delay his death a little, offering in return to discredit the sinless peasants.

The insidious agreement was that the devil was supposed to turn into a gold coin with which Jack would pay for the stolen things. The coin will then disappear and the greedy villagers will start a fight to find out who stole it. The devil liked Jack's idea. He immediately turned himself into a gold coin and climbed into the thief's pocket.

But since the stolen item was a cross, the demon instantly lost his power. Jack released him on the condition that he would not take his soul to hell.

But when he died, his soul was not accepted either in heaven or in hell. Finding his way in the pitch darkness, Jack asked the devil for a lantern, to which he threw him several smoldering coals. The thief built a lamp from a pumpkin, put coals in it and began to wander between heaven and earth in search of peace. This is how the Jack Lantern appeared, commemorated annually on the night of November 1st.

How to Make a Halloween Pumpkin: Step-by-Step Guide

To make a Jack-O-Lantern you will need the following arsenal of available tools:

• pumpkin;
• cutting board;
• knives (one long, one short with a thin, sharp blade);
• spoon;
• felt-tip pen, marker or stencil with a face;
• candle.

Attention! Try to choose the freshest pumpkin. The skin of such a fruit has not yet hardened, which means it will be easier for you to carve patterns on it.

So that the lantern can not only fulfill its purpose on the day of the holiday, but also please the eye afterwards, check the pumpkin for the presence/absence of damage and rotten areas. At the same time, its shape and size do not matter.

Let's get started. The detailed process of making the lantern is shown in the photo.

Step 1. After choosing a pumpkin, cover the table with old newspapers or oilcloth, since carving the fruit is fraught with contamination.

Step 2. On the top of the pumpkin (around the stem), draw a circle or square with a marker to indicate the future hole. Make it large enough so that you can easily remove the pulp by hand or with a large spoon.

Step 3. Armed with a long kitchen knife, cut out the marked “cap”. This process must be performed at a slight angle so that you can cover the pumpkin with the cut off top, like a lid.

Step 4. Using a sharp-edged spoon, scoop out the pulp and seeds. Particularly work on the “front” part of the vegetable. The pulp in this area should be removed and leveled with a spoon until the wall thickness reaches two centimeters.

Step 5. Before making the Halloween pumpkin's face, use a felt-tip pen to draw the outlines of the eyes, nose, and mouth with a sinister smile on the skin. The eyes and nose are drawn in the form of three triangles, and the mouth is drawn in the shape of a crescent with two fangs.

Attention! Make the features of the face large and noticeable, otherwise they will be difficult to cut out.

If you have stocked up on a stencil, attach it to the fruit with tape or glue and transfer the design onto the pumpkin with dotted lines. To do this, you can use either a knife, a needle or a thin awl. After which the template can be removed.

Step 6. Taking a short knife with a thin blade in your hands, carefully draw it along the contour of the design. You need to cut slowly so as not to spoil the future lantern. The cut pieces can be pushed inside the pumpkin, or pry with a knife and pull forward. To ensure that the contours are smooth and clear, do not forget to scrape off the flesh protruding here and there with a knife.

To obtain a clear design, you can use special tools for carving vegetables.

Step 7. Having freed the pumpkin from the cut out pieces, fix the candle in its cavity and cover the fruit with a lid. The main character of Halloween, Jack-O-Lantern, is ready!

• To make the pattern last longer, cover its contours with Vaseline or vegetable oil.
• To keep your jack-o'-lantern fresh, soak it in water for a few hours.
• Make several small holes in the lid of the fruit so that hot air flows out without frying the pumpkin from the inside.
• Before use, place candles in the freezer for 2-3 hours - the lantern will burn longer.
• To ensure that your Jack-O-Lantern not only burns, but also spreads a fragrance into the air, rub the inside of it with crushed cinnamon or nutmeg.

Attention! A cleaned and carved pumpkin will retain its decent appearance only for 3-5 days, so it is necessary to build the lantern on the day or the day before the holiday.

You can admire a variety of pumpkin ideas in the photos presented.

Paper Halloween pumpkin

You can make original crafts for the holiday not only from vegetables, but also from paper. A paper pumpkin is suitable for home decoration and as a souvenir or gift for guests. Let's look at how to make a Halloween pumpkin from colored paper quickly and easily.

To do this you will need the following tools:

• A-4 sheet of orange color;
• green A-4 sheet;
• black A-4 sheet;
• threads with a needle;
• scissors;
• pencil and ruler;
• glue.

Step 1. Using a pencil and ruler, divide an orange sheet of paper into several thin strips, approximately 1.5-2 cm wide and 15-16 cm long. Cut the sheet with scissors. If you want to make your pumpkin unusual, use a tool with a raised edge. For one craft you need 18-20 paper strips.

Making a Jack O'Lantern, how to carve a Halloween pumpkin and turn it into a lantern. We present you a step-by-step master class with photos and descriptions of each stage. Find out how to make your own Halloween pumpkin without missing a finger.

Do you want to decorate your home with an unusual and slightly creepy lamp? In Ireland and the UK, Halloween pumpkins are present in almost every home! It is believed that it helps to scare away evil spirits that become active on the eve of All Saints' Day.

Everything you need

Romantic people may try to make a “Jack-O-Lantern” in a deep forest or in a cemetery. We will tell the reader how to make a pumpkin for Halloween with your own hands in a more comfortable, home environment. You can use your kitchen table to work, don’t forget to have good lighting! Prepare these things in advance:

• Two sharp knives - small and large
• Black marker, felt-tip pen or gel pen
• Drawing of a pumpkin with an ominous grin
• One tablespoon
• Small candle
• Insect dummies and other “decorations” - to taste
• Actually, the pumpkin itself, from which you can cut a lamp

The candle should not be larger than the pumpkin; we will place it inside the lamp when the work is completed. Also prepare a small bowl or plate in which you can place the pumpkin pulp and seeds.

Carving a pumpkin with your own hands - 5 steps

Stage 1. Now you will learn how to carve a Halloween pumpkin. In order not to spoil the fruit, you must first apply “markings”. Using a marker, we draw eyes, a nose, and a grinning mouth on the pumpkin.

We used a ready-made photo that we took from Google Images for the request “pumpkin for Halloween photo”; you can download another picture or use your own imagination.

Stage 2. Cut off the top of the pumpkin. For this job you will need a large knife. Try to cut out the top carefully, in one motion. About the same as the maniac in your favorite horror movie does.

But if you don’t succeed with “one blow,” then don’t be discouraged - continue to chop up the unfortunate fruit.

Stage 3. Scoop out the pulp and seeds. Here we cannot do without a tablespoon, which we prudently stocked up before the start of “”. Don't throw away the pumpkin seeds - they can be dried and fried. They are healthy and very tasty.

Stage 4. Cut holes for the nose, eyes and mouth. It’s better to do this with a small knife - it will be more accurate and there will be less chance of cutting your fingers.

Stage 5. Spray the inside of the pumpkin with varnish. The fact is that a prepared Halloween pumpkin with your own hands dries out quite quickly, becomes deformed and even begins to mold. Therefore, if you want the “Jack Lantern” to serve you longer, its “insides” should be varnished. You can use any hairspray for these purposes.

Not enough creepiness?

Now that you have figured out how to make your own Halloween pumpkin, you need to decorate the craft. It's time to get into the gloomy spirit of the ominous holiday and show your imagination. For our part, we are ready to give you a couple of ideas.

If there is a joke shop in your city, then visit it - this is a real Klondike! Here you can buy “wormy” fingers, dummies of hairy spiders and dried insects and other “cute” things. If you paste them over a pumpkin, it will look much more piquant! You can also paint a couple of “bloody” spots on the surface of the lamp.

Don't want to spend money or don't have a specialized store within walking distance? In this case, you will have to “sacrifice” the old broken doll. Disassemble the toy into separate arms, legs and head, then attach them in a chaotic manner to the finished pumpkin lantern.

We guarantee that this Halloween decoration will look truly sinister, especially in the dark.

And, of course, don’t forget to place a candle inside the lamp. A flickering light that casts mysterious silhouettes on the walls will help create a gloomy atmosphere in the room.

Why did the pumpkin become a symbol of the holiday?

According to an ancient Irish legend, it all started when a certain blacksmith Jack met Satan. Like many Irish people, the hero of our story loved to drink. So he invited the Devil to have a couple of drinks at the local pub. As one would expect, the Prince of Lies and all sorts of vices found no objection to such a proposal.

Jack was a little stingy, so he offered to turn Satan into a coin so he could pay for the drink with counterfeit money. The devil agreed and turned into a coin, which the blacksmith immediately put into his pocket. And in this pocket there was already , so the Prince of Darkness was trapped.

However, Satan managed to persuade Jack to let him go, in exchange for a promise not to harm the blacksmith and not lay claim to his soul.

When sinner Jack died, his soul was not allowed into heaven or hell. The devil only gave the blacksmith an eternally burning coal from the underworld as a farewell. Jack put the coal in the lantern he made from a pumpkin. Since then, the spirit of the former blacksmith has been wandering around the world, lighting his path with a homemade lamp, and cannot find peace in any way.