Flopsy the Cocker Spaniel

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Pick and prep the pumpkin

   Choose a tall, rounded pumpkin with a smooth, wide front panel so the whole face fits without wrapping around a curve. Cut a lid from the bottom or the back rather than the top so the stem stays intact for looks. Scrape the inside wall behind the design down to about one inch thick using a sturdy scoop. A thinner, even wall makes both cutting and shaving far easier.

2. 2

   Transfer the pattern with pinpricks

   Print your spaniel stencil sized to your pumpkin and tape it flat, snipping the edges so it hugs the curve. Poke closely spaced pinpricks along every outline, marking the eyes, nose, muzzle highlights, and each strand of the ears. Pay extra attention to dotting both edges of the thin fur ribbons so you know exactly where the walls between them sit. Peel the paper off and connect the dots lightly with a marker if the pattern is hard to read.

3. 3

   Carve the bright cutouts first

   With a fine poker saw, cut all the way through only the brightest shapes: the glow across the forehead, the highlights along the muzzle and nose, and the widest gaps between the ear strands. Support each piece with your free hand and let the blade do the work with gentle strokes. Cutting these open areas while the pumpkin wall is still mostly solid keeps everything stable. Adults should handle all the sharp tools.

4. 4

   Shape the flowing ears

   Treat each ear as a set of narrow light ribbons separated by thin walls of skin. Cut through the ribbon shapes you want brightest, but leave the walls between strands uncut so the ears do not collapse into one big hole. Keep at least a quarter inch of pumpkin between neighboring cutouts to hold the structure. This alternating cut-and-keep pattern is what makes the ears spill down the sides like real wavy fur.

5. 5

   Peel the mid-tone fur

   Switch to a shaving tool or a lino-style gouge and remove just the outer orange skin over the shaded areas of the coat, the softer parts of the ears, and the shadows around the eyes and cheeks. Go slow and check the glow depth against a light as you work, since thinner skin glows brighter. Leave the darkest fur shadows as untouched skin for contrast. These shaved zones give the portrait its gentle, three-dimensional depth after dark.

6. 6

   Light it and photograph

   Set a battery LED puck or string inside, never a candle, since the tight ear cutouts and shaved walls can scorch with an open flame. Test in a dark room and touch up any strand that reads too thin or too solid. Place it on the front step at dusk near a lantern or mums for a cozy backdrop. Shoot from straight on so the symmetry of the face and ears comes through.

Written with AI to match this design