Badass Block-Letter Pumpkin

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Pick a tall pumpkin and prep it

   Choose a tall oval pumpkin with a smooth, flat-ish front panel so all six letters sit in one clean row. Cut a lid from the bottom or the back rather than the top so the stem stays intact for display. Scoop out the pulp and thin the inside carving wall to about one inch where the letters will go. A thinner wall makes piercing the strokes much easier and lets more light through.

2. 2

   Position and tape the stencil

   Center the BADASS stencil across the middle of the pumpkin and tape it flat, snipping the edges so the paper hugs the curve without wrinkles. Step back and check that the word sits level and reads straight on from the sidewalk. Poke transfer holes along every letter outline with a pin or awl, keeping the dots close together on curves. Peel the paper and connect the dots lightly in pencil.

3. 3

   Mark your rind bridges first

   Before any cutting, draw two small bridges in pencil: one holding the triangular island inside the A and one holding the loop island inside the D. Make each bridge about a quarter inch wide so it is strong but nearly invisible when lit. Marking them now keeps you from accidentally cutting them away. These are the last things you will remove.

4. 4

   Cut the solid letters first

   Start with the fully open letters, B, the second A body, and both S shapes, using a small saw tool and gentle steady strokes. Let an adult handle the blade and cut away from your hands, resting the pumpkin in your lap or on a towel. Push the cut pieces out from the inside to avoid tearing the front edges. Save the enclosed A and D counters for the bridge step.

5. 5

   Remove the bridges and clean up

   Now cut around the A and D islands, leaving the pencil-marked bridges in place until the very end. Once the surrounding openings are done and the islands feel stable, decide whether to slice the bridges free for a fully open look or leave them for extra support. Trim any ragged inner edges with a paring knife so each stroke reads crisp. Wipe off leftover pencil with a damp paper towel.

6. 6

   Light it and photograph at dusk

   Drop a bright battery LED or two inside so the whole word blazes evenly across the row. Candles are a fire risk with a sealed pumpkin, so stick with LEDs. Set the pumpkin on a flat lawn or step and shoot at dusk when the ambient light still shows the pumpkin shape but the letters glow strong. A low camera angle from the sidewalk shows off the instant readability.