I Heart USA Flag Pumpkin

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Pick and prep the pumpkin

   Choose a tall, wide pumpkin with a smooth flat face so the letters and heart have room to breathe. Cut a lid from the bottom or the back rather than the top, which keeps the front face clean and uninterrupted. Scoop the inside until the front wall is about one inch thick, scraping the carving area a little thinner for easier cutting. A thinner wall lets the fine flag details release light more evenly.

2. 2

   Transfer the stencil

   Tape your I heart USA pattern flat against the face, snipping the edges of the paper so it lies smooth over the curve. Use a poking tool or pushpin to dot along every line, spacing the dots close together on the small star and stripe areas. Peel the paper and connect the dots lightly with a marker so you can read the whole layout. Double check that the heart sits centered between the I and the USA before you start cutting.

3. 3

   Carve the block letters first

   Start with the letter bodies since they are the largest, most forgiving cuts. Use a fine saw tool and work slowly, cutting on the waste side of each line and letting the pieces fall inward. Keep the counters of letters like S and A supported until the final push so the walls stay strong. Clean up the edges with gentle back and forth strokes once each letter is free.

4. 4

   Cut the flag stripes

   Move to the heart and cut the horizontal stripes on the right side, leaving thin bars of skin between each open stripe. These little bridges keep the heart from collapsing, so do not rush them. Cut every other band and leave the ones between as solid pumpkin. Work from the center outward so the shape stays balanced.

5. 5

   Open the stars last

   Save the star field on the left of the heart for the very end, when the wall is at its most rigid. Instead of a saw, use a small drill bit or a linoleum gouge to open each star with a clean twist, which keeps the closely spaced points from tearing. Take them one at a time and resist crowding your cuts too close together. If a star is too tiny to cut, a simple peeled dimple still reads well when lit.

6. 6

   Light it and photograph

   Drop in a battery LED puck, never a candle, since the fine cutouts channel heat and the thin bridges can scorch. Set the light low and toward the front so it pushes glow through the flag and letters evenly. Rub a little petroleum jelly on cut edges to slow drying and keep the details crisp. Photograph at dusk so the warm interior light stands out against the fading sky.