Pip the Baby Seal

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Pick a pumpkin and plan the light

   Choose a large round pumpkin with a smooth, unblemished front panel so the seal shape has room to sit low and centered. Wipe the surface clean and dry it. Because this is a shaded design, you will remove skin rather than open a big window, so a battery LED tea light works best. Plan to cut a small access hole in the back or bottom rather than the top.

2. 2

   Open a back access hole and clean the wall

   Cut a hand-sized hole in the back or the base with an adult handling the saw, then scoop out the seeds and pulp. Thin the inside wall of the front panel to about one inch using a sturdy scraping loop. A thinner wall lets more light pass through the peeled areas and makes the skin easier to shave. Keep the wall even so the glow is consistent.

3. 3

   Sketch the seal and transfer it

   Draw the chubby seal outline with a washable marker, or tape a home-printed stencil to the front and poke the lines through with a pin. Keep the body a single rounded blob with a flipper tucked at the side and a simple smiling face. Mark the eyes and nose as small dots, and lightly pencil where the whiskers will go. Step back and check the shape reads clearly before you cut anything.

4. 4

   Skin the seal body for the glow

   Using a small loop tool or a shallow gouge, peel off just the orange skin inside the body outline to reveal the pale flesh underneath. Work slowly and keep the depth even so the whole seal lights up the same. Leave the surrounding pumpkin skin untouched so the seal stands out against the dark background. Do not cut through the wall here, since the shading effect depends on light passing through thin flesh.

5. 5

   Add whiskers, eyes, and nose last

   Switch to a narrow V-gouge and carve the thin whisker lines and the mouth as shallow grooves on top of the skinned area. Add the freckle dots the same way. For the two button eyes and the nostril dots, cut a little deeper or all the way through so they read as the darkest or brightest points on the face. Save these fine details for last so you are not resting your hand on them while working.

6. 6

   Light it and take the photo

   Drop a battery LED tea light inside through the back hole and set the pumpkin at eye level in a dim room. Check that the seal body glows evenly and touch up any patches that stayed too dark. If the whiskers disappear, deepen them slightly. Photograph in near darkness so the soft inner glow really shows.

Written with AI to match this design