The Big Catch Bass

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Prep the pumpkin and pick your side

   Choose a pumpkin with a smooth, flat front panel so the fish and waves stay undistorted. Since this is a surface shading design, cut a lid from the bottom rather than the top so the stem stays intact and the front reads clean. Scrape the inside wall behind your design down to about one inch thick with a scoop or loop tool. A thinner wall makes the shallow peeling much easier to control.

2. 2

   Trace your stencil

   Print a jumping fish, splash, and hook stencil sized to fit your front panel. Tape it flat, smoothing out wrinkles, and poke through all the outlines with a pin or a transfer wheel. Space the dots close together on the curved fish body and the thin hook so you do not lose the shape. Peel the paper and connect the dots lightly with a washable marker if the design looks faint.

3. 3

   Score the outlines

   With a fine detail blade or a craft knife, cut just through the skin along every outline. Keep the blade shallow, only an eighth of an inch deep, since you are defining edges, not cutting all the way through. Take the thin hook and the fish tail slowly so the lines stay crisp. Let an adult handle all blade work.

4. 4

   Peel the skin for the glow

   Switch to a flat gouge or a small ribbon tool and shave the orange skin off the inside of the fish, the waves, the splash droplets, and the hook. Work down to the same shallow depth everywhere so the whole scene glows evenly. Leave the pumpkin skin untouched in the background and where the fish eye sits. Go slow near the narrow tail and the curve of the hook so you do not tear the thin peeled layer.

5. 5

   Cut the one true opening

   The fish eye is the only spot that goes all the way through for a bright pinpoint of light. Save it for last, when the surrounding peeled areas are done, and push a small round tool or the tip of your blade straight through. Cutting this opening last keeps the panel strong while you do the delicate shading. Clean up any ragged edges with your fine blade.

6. 6

   Light it and set it out

   Drop a battery LED tea light or a small puck light inside and test it in a dark room. The peeled fish, waves, and hook should glow soft orange while the eye reads as a bright dot. Skip real candles, since the thin peeled wall can scorch. Set it by the tackle box, the garage door, or the front step for the fisherman who has everything.

Written with AI to match this design