Decor

Steven made some really cool pumpkins for Halloween, and here's how to do your own! A. Cookie Cutter Pumpkin SUPPLIES: White Pumpkin Orange Pumpkin Watermelon slice Cookie cutters Mallet Knife Scoop/spoon Cutting board Bowl for guts This is a really great way to get a precise shape cut out of your pumpkin without using one of those transfer kits. Your kids can help you with this one because there are no knives involved! We started by cutting open our pumpkin from the bottom. We did this because, first of all, we love the stem. Second, it makes it easier if you want to use a candle to light your pumpkin - you just light it and then place the pumpkin over top. As for lighting this pumpkin, we're actually not going to use a candle. We're using a push button light to put inside. This way, you don't have to worry about the wind blowing out your candle and you don't have the fire risk. Just click it on and you're done. Once you've got the seeds out, just keep going scraping out the flesh. We've scraped out the inside so it's about 3/4 of an inch thick. Now you can take out your cookie cutter and mallet (or hammer). Lay your pumpkin on its side. Place the cookie cutter where you want it and hammer it in. Don't bash it too hard or the pumpkin will crack. You'll need to use a metal cookie cutter that doesn't have a handle for this. Once you've gotten through the pumpkin, pull the cutter out - you may need to use a spoon to help pry it up. Just keep going around the pumpkin until you're done, and you'll end up with a cool looking pumpkin! If you're feeling particularly creative - and I know you are - Get yourself a couple of different colours of pumpkins - a white and an orange. And if you have a wedge of watermelon in the fridge you can use it too. Use your cookie cutter to cut out a piece from your watermelon and then put it into one of the holes you cut already. With this kind of pumpkin, you're not going to light it. It's more for your interior decorating. B. Mini Gourd Luminaries SUPPLIES: Mini gourds Knife Rotary tool Metal skewers Pliers Rubber bands Battery-operated tea lights So you bought some of these mini gourds for Thanksgiving and they're still on your table. The good news is, we've got a way to repurpose them. The quick approach is to just cut off the top of the gourd and clean it out. Then you can take a little tea light and drop it inside and you have a really unusual little luminary for your table. Easy, right? Now, if you're feeling a little braver, go grab the rotary tool from the garage. It's a really great tool to have around the house - and once you have one, you find tons of uses for it. You're going to use your rotary tool to carve around the edges of the gourd, following the contours. And then you can take your tool and drill in some extra little holes for the light to come through. Lastly, you can drill a pilot hole through the bottom. You probably have metal skewers in the junk drawer thinking one day you're going to make something on the bbq but you've never gotten around to it - right? Take some pliers and bend the loop on the skewer over and then give it a twist. Push the skewer through the hole in the bottom and then secure it with a rubber band. Drop in your battery-operated tea light and to line your walkway with these great luminaries that are a one of a kind creation. C. Wall Transfer Pumpkins SUPPLIES: Orange pumpkin Wall transfers or stickers Popsicle stick for burnishing Spray paint Exacto blade This is a great pumpkin to do with the kids because there's no carving involved The wall tattoos that are so popular for decor can be used in an unexpected way. Find a smooth surfaced pumpkin with veins that aren't too exaggerated or the tattoos won't adhere very well. You can find wall tattoos at your local art store or even some of the big box stores carry them. They're meant to go on your walls to give you a really graphic look to your space. We thought, why not use that graphic feel on our pumpkins? If you don't have any wall tattoos, that's fine. You can use some stickers that you can find in the scrapbooking section of your art store. Just look for a really interesting silhouette. We cut out some of the elements from the sheet and removed the backing paper. Then, we place the tattoo on the pumpkin where we want it. You can take some masking tape and use it to hold it in place while we figure out the placement of all the tattoos. Now, you take something smooth and firm, like a Popsicle stick, or even your fingernail, and use it to burnish - that's a fancy word for rub - the tattoo onto the pumpkin. You'll see the tattoo pull away from the transfer paper and when you're done, you'll have an ultra chic graphic pumpkin without the mess. EXCLUSIVE WEB PUMPKIN! D. Lite Brite Pumpkin SUPPLIES: Orange Pumpkin Rotary tool Lite Brite pegs While you've got your rotary tool out, you can try this fun pumpkin I had a Lite Brite when I was a kid - your kids might even have one. I saw one in the store the other day and it made me wonder if it would work in a pumpkin. Scrape out your pumpkin so it's about 1/2 an inch thick. Decide on what pattern you want to create on your pumpkin and predrill some holes for the pegs. Just pop in the pegs and light it and then you're done!