Halloween Jack O' Lanterns from 2010

My internet was down for a few days so I was unable to continue my Halloween themed blog posts.  Nevertheless, I will continue today by posting photos of my Jack O’ Lanterns from last Halloween.  I hope you like them, and I hope you will feel free to leave any comments, suggestions for future Jack O’ Lanterns I could carve, links to websites with great pumpkin-carving ideas, and even links to photos of your own work.  Enjoy!

Mad Scientist Performing Unwanted Brain-Surgery

I got the idea for this when browsing the toy section of Dollarama.  There I came across 2 sets of doctor kits entitled “My Family Doctor,” which contained plastic stethoscopes, syringes, microscopes, medicine bottles, and even toy surgical tools.  Since both contained slightly different items, I bought both.

To create the Mad Scientist, I carved 2 small holes beside each eye so that the round eye-glasses could be attached.  It seemed appropriate to use the round eye-glasses, as every mad scientist I could picture seemed to wear round eye-glasses.  Dr. Finkelstein from A Nightmare Before Christmas is a perfect example.

I attached a small gourd for the nose and 2 larger gourds for the arms using metal skewers, and to attach the syringe and scalpel I used clear Scotch Tape.

To make the syringe look more authentic, I took it apart and inserted a metal skewer through the hole to use as a needle.  I secured the skewer in the tube or barrel using the clear Scotch Tape and replaced the blue plastic pump.

For the Brain-Surgery Victim I simply cut a hole in the top of a small pie pumpkin so that if compared to a head, it would look like the top part of the skull was removed.  Using a black Sharpie marker, I drew a frightened expression which included a quivering, screaming mouth.  I then filled the hole with the seeds and strands or “brains” from my other pumpkins.

Cinderella’s Pumpkin Carriage

After designing and carving this Cinderella-inspired coach, I enhanced the design by outlining the holes with a black Sharpie marker and adding green Glitter-Glue for a more magical effect.

I included 5 miniature pumpkins in the design – 4 for the 4 wheels, and one which I cut in half to use as a seat for the driver and a platform for the footman.  Attaching those 2 halves was very difficult, and in the process I tried a combination of toothpicks, Popsicle sticks, and a hot glue gun.

For the wheels I drew a design with a black Sharpie marker on the tops of 2 miniature pumpkins and used them for the wheels on the back (left) side.  Similarly, I drew an alternate design on the bottoms or the remaining 2 miniature pumpkins and used them for the front (right) side wheels.  On these, I also added a dab of the green Glitter Glue to what would be the axils of the wheels.  I connected the wheels using green Pipe Cleaners which I twisted and coiled to give the appearance of vines.

I found an artificial green vine that I attached to the stem using a hot glue gun, and also attached some artificial orange-glitter maple leaves.  I thought the orange-glitter leaves alluded to the fairy dust that accompanies any spell, such as the spell a fairy-godmother might cast on a pumpkin to turn it into a temporary vehicle for a deserving scullery maid.

I was very happy with both pumpkins, and I got a lot of compliments on both.  As I expected, girls were more impressed with Cinderella's Pumpkin Carriage while boys were more impressed with the Mad Scientist Performing An Unwanted Brain Surgery.  Though both took a lot of work I was glad that everyone could appreciate at least one of my projects.