Boo Ghost Pumpkin with Rooted Teeth and Open Mouth

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Prep and transfer

   Scoop from the back and thin interior walls to about an inch. Transfer the stencil with a pounce wheel, marking the mouth opening boundary, the two tooth root connections, the eye positions, and the tongue and swoosh groove paths all clearly before removing the paper.

2. 2

   Shallow-back the tongue and swoosh

   Use a round gouge to carefully back out the tongue area and the swoosh groove inside what will become the mouth opening. Do this before cutting the mouth so the surrounding rind is still firm and provides full support while you gouge. Keep the depth at about a third of the rind thickness.

3. 3

   Cut the mouth opening

   Use a fine detail saw to cut the outer mouth boundary, leaving the two tooth root connections to the top edge intact. Cut the outer boundary first, then the space between the two teeth from inside the opening. Remove the mouth slug carefully, working around the rooted teeth.

4. 4

   Cut the eye openings

   Open both eye holes with the fine detail saw. Boo's eyes are typically wide and slightly angular, so follow the stencil outline carefully for the correct expression. Remove each slug cleanly.

5. 5

   Clean up the interior

   Use a narrow gouge to smooth any ragged rind edges inside the eye and mouth openings. Dry the cut surfaces with a paper towel so you can clearly see the tongue and swoosh grooves from the front.

6. 6

   Light and display

   Place a warm LED tea light inside and view in a darkened room. The eye holes and mouth should glow brightly while the tongue and swoosh areas show as slightly dimmer cream shapes inside the mouth opening. Apply petroleum jelly to all cut and grooved edges.

Written with AI to match this design