Easy Lydia Deetz Pumpkin With Black Updo

Prep and paint the face oval

Clean and gut the pumpkin. Use a wide flat brush to paint a cream oval in the center of the front face. Let this dry fully. The cream oval is the guide for all subsequent steps: the eye holes should sit within it, the black hair should surround it, and the red collar should sit just below it.

Paint the hair and collar

Paint the black updo and hanging bangs around and above the cream face oval. Add the red collar detail below the oval. Let these layers dry completely before cutting, as you will be gripping the pumpkin near these areas while sawing and you do not want wet paint on your hands.

Mark the eye openings

Use a marker to draw two almond shapes within the cream face oval, positioned in the upper half of the oval where eyes would naturally sit. The almond shape has a pointed inner corner and a slightly broader outer curve. Verify they are symmetrical and equal in size before cutting.

Cut the almond eyes

Use a thin-blade saw to cut each almond eye hole. Start at the widest mid-section of the almond and work toward each pointed tip with short back-and-forth strokes at the ends. Keep at least 1.5 cm of cream-painted rind between the two eye holes and between each eye hole and the edge of the cream oval.

Cut the mouth opening

Mark and cut a short, slightly curved mouth hole in the lower third of the cream oval. This is a small opening: just wide enough to let some glow out without dominating the design. The moody atmosphere of the character calls for understatement in the mouth more than a wide grin.

Light and display

Place a warm-white candle or LED inside and view in a darkened room. The warm glow through the almond eyes against the black hair and cream face gives the design its distinctive gothic quality. Display in a spot where the painted hair is visible but in shadow, so the glowing eyes are the focal point.