Toothy the Oval Monster

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Prep the pumpkin and pick your window side

   Choose a tall pumpkin with a smooth, flat front so the oval body has room to fill the face. Cut a lid from the bottom or the back rather than the top, which lets you keep the nice stem and gives easy access for an LED light. Scoop the inside until the front wall is about one inch thick so your blade passes through cleanly. A thinner wall makes the fine teeth and fringe much easier to control.

2. 2

   Transfer your stencil

   Tape your stencil flat against the front, snipping the edges so it hugs the curve without wrinkling. Poke through the outlines with a pin or a transfer wheel, spacing dots closely along the small shapes like the teeth and the shaggy fringe. Peel the paper and connect the dots lightly with a washable marker. Double check that the eyes, mouth row, and belly window all line up before any cutting.

3. 3

   Score the shaggy fringe and outlines

   Use a small detail saw or a craft knife to define the pointed fringe around the face and the thin outline of the arms and feet. These stay as dark rind, so you are only marking their edges, not cutting through. Take your time on the spiky fringe points and keep each one connected to the body. Adults should handle all the sharp tools here.

4. 4

   Cut the teeth gaps first

   Carve the individual rectangular gaps in the grin one at a time, working from one side to the other. Leaving the belly closed for now gives the thin tooth strips a stable surface to rest against so they do not snap. Cut straight in and pop out each small piece gently rather than prying. Keep the strips between teeth even so the grin looks balanced when lit.

5. 5

   Open the eyes, then the belly window

   Cut the two round eyes, leaving the small crescent shadow shapes if your stencil shows them for a googly look. Then remove the large belly window last, since it is the biggest opening and the design is weakest once it is gone. Support the pumpkin from inside with your free hand as you finish the long curved cut. Clean up any ragged edges with a gentle scrape from the back.

6. 6

   Light it and photograph

   Drop in a battery LED puck or string, never a candle, since the big belly opening and tooth row will glow bright and hot air needs somewhere to go. Set it in a dim room and check that the eyes, teeth, and belly read clearly from a few feet back. Add a second small light low inside if the feet look dim. Snap your photo at dusk when the warm glow pops against the dark.

Written with AI to match this design