Celestial Compass Star Pumpkin With Moon Phases

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Pick a wall and map your rings

   Choose a tall pumpkin with a broad, fairly flat front face. Cut a lid from the bottom or the back so the front stays uninterrupted, then scrape the inside wall down to about one inch thick where the design will sit. Use a compass and a few push pins to draw two clean concentric rings, then mark the eight star points and the ring of moon-phase circles. Getting the layout exact now saves you from crooked facets later.

2. 2

   Transfer and score the outlines

   Tape your printed pattern over the mapped area and poke through all the key lines with a pin, spacing dots close together on the curves. Peel the paper and connect the dots lightly with a fine tip so you can see the star, the rings, and each circle. Go over the star point edges once more with a scoring tool so you have a firm guide for beveling. Do not remove any material yet.

3. 3

   Bevel the star facets

   This is the shading step that gives the star its glow. With a small detail gouge or a V-tool, shave the surface skin off each facet at a shallow angle, cutting deeper toward the center and feathering out toward the tips. Keep one side of every point angled steeper than the other so it reads as light and shadow. Work slowly and check the depth often, since a beveled facet only needs the skin and a thin layer of flesh removed, not a full cut through.

4. 4

   Peel the ring channels

   Skin-peel the two circular bands that frame the star so they glow a soft mid orange. Remove just the outer skin and a shallow layer, keeping the walls even so the rings read as clean bright circles. This dim glow separates the star from the pierced dots and keeps the whole design from looking like one bright blob. Take your time keeping the curves smooth.

5. 5

   Drill the dots and shape the moon phases

   Now make the full cutouts that will blaze brightest. Use a power carver bit or a small apple corer to bore the ring of little round dots cleanly through the wall. For the moon-phase circles, cut the full moons all the way through and carve the crescents by cutting through only the lit portion while peeling the rest, so each moon shows a different phase. Cut these openings last so the surrounding wall stays firm while you drill.

6. 6

   Light it and photograph

   Drop in a battery LED, ideally one with a warm flicker, since an open flame is unsafe near thin relief work. Set the brightness so the pierced dots and moons pop while the beveled star still shows its soft facet shading. Photograph at dusk on a step or porch so the surrounding light is low but the pumpkin is not lost in black. A slightly off-center angle shows the depth of the star relief better than a straight-on shot.