When Halloween is approaching, the Americans, and after them the majority of the English-speaking population, simply go crazy. They prepare costumes, decorate houses and, of course, make pumpkin lanterns. In Russia, the holiday has not received such a wide distribution, but still there are people who are not averse to celebrating All Saints Day. Especially for all those who want to decorate their home for the holiday, we will talk about how to make a pumpkin lantern in various variations.
Classic version
The easiest way to make a pumpkin lantern is to cut an evil muzzle on a vegetable. To do this, we need a table knife, a small penknife, a spoon, and a medium-sized orange beauty. We begin to manufacture.
First of all, you need to cut the top of the pumpkin. Cut it in a circle, and this must be done carefully. After all, this spare part should subsequently be in its original place. Now with a spoon you need to remove all the flesh.
The most difficult and interesting part of the work remained - to make a pumpkin lantern eyes, nose and mouth. In the classic version, all the components of the face of an orange beauty should be approximated to a triangular shape. The eyes are equilateral triangles, and the nose is isosceles. A smile is also drawn in the form of this geometric figure, both the lower and upper jaw.
After the face is drawn, we cut out the holes first with a large knife, and then with a small one we adjust the shape. All is ready. It remains to insert a candle and close the pumpkin with a “lid”.
Modern interpretation
Since Russia does not celebrate Halloween, there are no traditions in carving funny faces on pumpkins in our country. But we have many master craftsmen, and they often use vegetables as objects for creativity. Therefore, many craftsmen, paying tribute to tradition, cut out works of art on pumpkins by October 31.
You can see all kinds of trees, complex abstract compositions, as well as a whole amusement park. How to make a pumpkin lantern for Halloween in a modern interpretation, we will tell.
To cut a complex plot, in our case, a carousel with horses, you need to prepare a pattern. You can print it on a printer, or you can draw it by hand. Next, we translate the drawing onto a pumpkin. And here the most difficult part of the work begins. A lot of small details need to be cut out along the pencil outline. To make this easier to do, you need to prepare a pumpkin before work.
We are doing the same thing as in the classic version. We cut off the top of the pumpkin and clean the flesh. Now it will be convenient to cut through the horses. To facilitate your work, you need to take a ripe vegetable with a soft peel. When the picture is cut out, give the shape of a “hat” and attach it to our finished flashlight with the help of toothpicks. It remains only to insert a candle and enjoy the beauty.
Pumpkin in a pumpkin
Human fantasy is limitless. Today you can see pumpkin lanterns not only in the classic and modernized versions. Masters make mini-compositions from vegetables of different sizes. One of the popular motives: a pumpkin eats a pumpkin. Let's figure out how to make such a creative flashlight.
First we prepare two pumpkins, cut off the tops, clean and put on the “caps” back. To make the “hat” of a small pumpkin stick better, pin it with toothpicks. Cut out a face full of horror on a small vegetable. To give a grimace that inspires fear to a large pumpkin, first with a pencil we outline the eyes, nose and mouth. Immediately try on a small pumpkin and circle it. We draw teeth.
Getting to the cut. When we go to the mouth, remember that a small pumpkin was held in the hole, the hole should be slightly smaller than we drew it. It is better to expand the hole if necessary. If you still missed the size, and a small pumpkin falls inward, it does not matter, just attach it with toothpicks.
Creative installation
If you have already made the classic version of Jack's lantern out of pumpkins, then it's time to bring a little imagination into your work. How to do it? You can come up with a terrifying composition that can pretty scare your friends.
We cut out the classic version of the lantern or give the pumpkin any other face, as you wish. Next, we make a severed human leg. To do this, we need old jeans, a sock and an unnecessary shoe. Cut off one leg from jeans and stuff it a little. We fill the sock and put it into the pants. Well, shoes on a makeshift shoe or shoe. Everything is almost done. It remains to add blood for the entourage. It can be made from ketchup or use gouache paints.
Owl Lantern
On a pumpkin, you can cut out not only the evil face that has already become classic. With the same success, with a little more effort, you can get a very original lamp in the form of an owl.
Why is it this bird that Americans carve on pumpkins? In Irish culture, from where, in fact, the holiday came to the United States, an owl was considered a devil bird. Hearing her hoot, everyone was silent. They thought that a night hunter could harm not only small rodents, but also people.
How to carve an owl lantern from pumpkins for Halloween? We need a fairly large vegetable, and elongated in length. Cut the hat and clean the pumpkin. To make it easier to draw on the vegetable, pre-print the stencil. You can transfer it to a pumpkin both with the help of a carbon paper, and with the help of punctures caused by an awl or a thick needle. We cut out all the holes with a small knife and remember that the more “owls” our owl has, the more light the lantern will give.
Lantern as table decoration
On Halloween, it is customary to present non-trivial treats to guests. So you can surprise your friends, for example, pumpkin porridge with a rather interesting presentation. How to cook a delicious treat, decide for yourself, but with pleasure we will tell you how to make a pumpkin lantern for decoration.
This time we need not a whole vegetable, but only its upper part. We take out the insides from half of the pumpkin. And now we cut through her two round eyes and a mouth-smile. Optionally, you can add a neat nose. From a piece of pumpkin we cut out a semblance of a tail. It may be small, but do not make it less than 15 cm, otherwise it will be disproportionately small compared to the head. If desired, you can also cut fins. We put a candle on a plate, cover it with a cut out muzzle, put porridge on the dish and stick the tail and fins into it. A beautiful and original whale candlestick is ready.