What is Jack's Lantern and how to make it. What can you carve out of a pumpkin for Halloween. Tips, step-by-step guide, interesting ideas. Halloween pumpkin is the most common decorative element that 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 celebrating it itself, is not widespread. But every year it is gradually gaining momentum, and therefore it is important to know in advance how to cut out the well-known Jack's lantern and many other figures from this vegetable available to all of us.
What is Jack's Lamp
This is the main symbol of Halloween, also known as the Jack Lantern. It is a pumpkin face that bared its teeth terribly. Eyes, nose, mouth are cut out in it, sometimes even a dentition is formed for plausibility. It is believed that this important attribute of the holiday drives away evil spirits. It is usually installed on the doorstep of the house. A candle is inserted inside or an electric illumination is organized.
The first to make Jack's lamp were the British, who used turnips or rutabagas to make it. It acquired its modern appearance only at the beginning of the 19th century, having received its name at the same time. It took about 30 years for people to start associating it with All Saints Day. Making this pumpkin decoration closer to 1900 was proposed by the Americans, for whom this vegetable was cheaper and more affordable. This attribute was called so for a reason. They say that once upon a time there was a miser Jack who was able to double the devil himself. As a reward for this, he promised him not to claim his body and soul.
It all started with the fact that this simple drinker once suggested to the "dark side" to sip some wine in a tavern. When the time came to pay the bill, the calculating Irishman asked the devil to assume the appearance of a coin. He, without thinking twice, agreed, after which he ended up in Jack's pocket next to a silver cross. As a result, he could not regain his image and decided to take on his original appearance in exchange for the promise not to touch the Irishman for a year and after he left this world not to take his soul away.
The second time, the young man asked the devil to climb a tree for fruit, and when he did this, sly Jack drew a cross on its trunk, for which he received 10 years of cloudless life. But that was not the case, very soon he died and, not getting into either heaven or hell, he wandered around the Earth with a turnip, into which he put a piece of smoldering coal that illuminated his path, from which this name came - Jack's lantern.
Features of Choosing Pumpkin for Halloween Crafts
The pumpkin should be ripe, but not overripe. The richer its color, the brighter the lamp will turn out. Green, gray, black and yellow vegetables are not suitable, you should look for orange varieties.
The optimal shape is round or slightly oval, elongated to the side or up. The ideal variety would be "Rossiyanka", "Altayskaya", "Almond", "Smile".
Since on the surface of the pumpkin you will have to draw eyes, a nose and a mouth for carving, it is best if it is relatively smooth, without sharp relief. It is very important that the vegetable does not have the tail cut off, which can be used as a nose or "hair".
The rind should be firm, but not very thick, otherwise it will be difficult to cut something. Ideally, the pumpkin is needed this year, not the past, which has been in the basement for many months.
It is not worth taking it too large, a kilogram will be enough, a suitable height is about 15 cm, a diameter is about 20 cm.
How to carve a pumpkin face
To do this, you will need a black felt-tip pen or marker, a sharp knife and a stencil if you want to do everything in proportion.
First of all, wash and dry the pumpkin well, then cut off the top along with the leg. If you want to use it as a nose, then turn the vegetable on its side. After that, you need to scrub most of the pulp with a spoon (if you plan to make teeth, then you need to leave it at the bottom) and get all the seeds. The inner surface should eventually be smooth. Detailed instructions for creating a Jack lamp:
- Search online or prepare a stencil yourself on a clean sheet of thin paper. To do this, circle the places where the eyes will be located with dotted lines. The optimal shape is triangular or star-shaped, with a width of about 3 cm. They can be located at different angles.
- Draw a mouth on paper, departing from the eyes by about 3.5 cm. Make it at a large angle, wrapping the corners on the sides sharply upward and bringing them almost to the eyes. Let all the edges be smooth, leaving only a small tooth on the bottom right in the center.
- Draw a triangle-shaped nose between the eyes and mouth, pointing upwards.
- Cut out the stencil with scissors along the dotted lines so that there are empty spaces in the eyes, mouth and nose.
- Now grease the pumpkin with wet soap, glue the sample to it, smooth it and circle the prepared voids with a marker.
- Remove the paper and with a knife with a thin blade carefully cut out the eyes, nose, 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 your head with the previously cut top with a leg.
Note! It is not necessary to use a stencil for carving a pumpkin, it is needed only for those who do it for the first time and are not confident in their abilities.
What else can you carve out of a pumpkin
Animals, cartoon characters, various figures, people and even vehicles - that's 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 cutout is allowed - triangles, ovals, circles, rhombuses, stars. Layered depressions look very interesting, in which the edges of the pulp are visible.
How to properly carve an owl from a pumpkin
To implement this venture, 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. It will take about an hour of slow work to create an owl.
The step-by-step instructions include the following steps:
- First of all, carefully cut off the cap along with the leg.
- Peel the vegetable from seeds and pulp.
- With a pen, circle the places where you are going to make the eyes, and then shade them.
- Outline them with an oval, using an uneven, winding line, stepping back from the left almost to the very edge of the pumpkin, from the top - about 1.5 cm, from the bottom - about 2 cm, and on the right, the distance should be minimal, no more than 0.3 cm.
- Place a bold checkmark above the eyes, so that it almost reaches the pupils. Mark where the nose will be by drawing a diamond. Draw three small circles on the side of the eyes.
- Drill the holes in the pupils that were previously hatched with the pen. Then gently scrub them from the remaining pulp. Now, with a knife, cut the peel, starting from the line drawn below, and ending at the very eye. This must be done so that a slight bias is formed as a result.
- Cut out the nose and eyebrows, shaped like a jackdaw. Shape the mouth by making 5-6 soaring birds in two rows at the bottom. Cut out the previously drawn circles on the sides.
- Dip a sponge in white acrylic paint and run it over the entire surface of the pumpkin without touching the inner surface of the eyes.
How beautiful to carve a carriage from a pumpkin
It is best to use a gray pumpkin that looks very impressive. It should be small, maximum 12 cm in diameter. You will also need wire, PVA glue, plasticine, several A4 sheets, golden foil, white paint. In addition, a sharp knife should be prepared.
The order of further actions:
- First, make the wheels, for which twist the wire into a ring with a diameter of about 4 cm (you will need 4 of them). Then fasten inside the "knitting needles" by 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 in golden paint. Connect two wheels to each other with a skewer or toothpick, without fixing them.
- Now take care of the pumpkin, cutting off the top and carving out three windows in it, like in a carriage, partially removing the flesh from the inside. Then paint it white and let it dry. After that, between the windows, make a layer of silver glitter from top to bottom. Repeat the same around the entire perimeter of the craft. Further down and on the "roof" paint any patterns with golden paint.
- At this stage, you need to attach the wheels to the carriage, just thread a skewer with one of them at the bottom of the pumpkin and attach a second pair on the other side. To prevent them from scattering, fix them with wire.
- Remove the previously cut off cap, insert a candle inside the carriage and return it to its place.
A handmade decoration can be used as a candlestick for decorating a festive table or at home.
We cut a man out of a pumpkin with our own hands
To create such a decor, it is better to choose a pumpkin of an oval shape and a pale color. You will need white acrylic paint, a paintbrush, super glue and various fabric accessories - a hat, mustache, glasses. Stick to the following pattern:
- Paint the pumpkin white and let it dry.
- Draw two eyes with pupils with a pen, cut off the peel along this contour literally 0.3 cm, cover the pupil with black paint, and the squirrel with white.
- As a nose, glue a piece of fabric on your face, you can just cut out a triangle.
- Draw the lips, make a depression along their outlines without touching the flesh too much, and glue the red plasticine on top, so that it looks voluminous against the background. If it doesn't hold well, use super glue.
- Fix a felt mustache, paper or plastic glasses without clips on your face, and put a hat on your head.
If desired, you can attach an artificial sunflower flower to the hat, and instead of plasticine, use black cloth to create lips.
Interesting Halloween pumpkin crafts
Jack's lantern, a carriage, a cheerful little man - these are far from all interesting pumpkin crafts. In order to get a beautiful decor, it is not even necessary to cut it out. You can, for example, glue vegetables of different sizes and create a cute teddy bear. Ears, eyes and nose are best made 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. This should then be cut in the last eyes, mouth and nose. To prevent the vegetables from falling apart, connect them with a thick wire, passing it along the bottom edge. In conclusion, you can cut off the top from the "head" and insert a burning candle inside.
A pumpkin turtle will look no less beautiful in the house. To create one, cut the smallest round or oval pumpkin in half. Then put it on the table with the soft part and attach half of the unpeeled potatoes with the cut side using a wire to the side. Using the skewers, fix 4 carrot circles in the pumpkin pulp, which will serve as "paws". Make peas out of black pepper by gluing them to the potatoes. A cheerful man in full growth will also help to create a festive atmosphere. They make it from two pumpkins, the first, which is smaller, will become the head, and the second - the body. To prevent the structure from disintegrating, they must be connected using metal or wooden blades, inserted inside. Then cut out the eyes in the form of a triangle or oval on the face, color them, if you like, with white and black colors to make the image realistic. Be sure to make an incision in the mouth and nose. Put a hat on your head, tie a scarf around your neck, insert knitting needles on the sides, on which you need to fasten one potato (these will be your 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 with seeds, dry it and fill it with fragrant field daisies, pansies, etc. paper, paint and other materials.
How to cut a pumpkin for Halloween - watch the video:
It would be just great to complement Jack's lamp with the other pumpkin decorations discussed in the article. Thus, you can experience for yourself how interesting and mysterious Halloween is. In any case, once a year, you can safely afford to do a little creative work!
