Carving pumpkins is a traditional way to celebrate and decorate for fall. The jack o’lantern tradition originated in Irish folklore with a mischievous man named Jack. According to the tale, Jack tricked the devil into promising to never take his soul. But when Jack died he wasn’t allowed into heaven either because he’d lived a sinful life. So, he was left to wander the Earth with an everlasting coal which he put inside a turnip.   Now, people carve grotesque faces into pumpkins, beets, and turnips just like Jack of the Lantern. If you want your pumpkin carving skills to stand out this year you can use magnets to help you. And instead of making a mess while trying to paint or carve a fancy design or pattern on your decorative pumpkins this fall, you can create Pinterest-perfect pumpkins with this DIY project.

Supplies:

Directions:

  1. First, you need to cut open your pumpkin at the top. You can use a keyhole saw to cut around the stem and remove the top like a hat.
  2. Then, hollow it out by using a scraper to remove the seeds, pulp and fleshy guts from the inside of your pumpkin.
  3. Now, you can use the magnets to help decorate your pumpkin by holding one on the inside and one on the outside. They will attract through the pumpkin and stay in place.
  4. Depending on what type of design you want for your pumpkin, you have two options. You can trace the disc magnets and create a polka dot pattern. Or you can draw a design on your paper and use the magnets to hold it in place while you paint or carve the design onto your pumpkin. If you’re carving the design on the paper into your pumpkin, you can use a needle tool to poke a hole through the paper and pumpkin and the small saw to carve it.
When you’re done decorating your pumpkin, you can put a candle in it to illuminate your design at night! Follow us on Pinterest for more easy magnet projects and ideas!