Rocket Ship Cutout Pumpkin Glowing on a Garden Bench

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Hollow and prep

   Cut the lid, scoop, and scrape the front wall to about an inch. A consistent wall thickness ensures the porthole and flame openings glow at the same intensity as each other.

2. 2

   Transfer the rocket design

   Tape the rocket template to the face and trace the overall rocket body outline, the round porthole, and the flame shapes below with a stylus. Remove the template and label the porthole and each flame shape with an x to mark them as cuts.

3. 3

   Cut the porthole first

   Use a fine-toothed pumpkin saw to cut the round porthole opening inside the rocket body. Trace a smooth continuous circular cut without stopping. The porthole should be a clean single opening with no jagged edges. Push the freed disk inward.

4. 4

   Cut the flame shapes

   Cut each flame shape below the rocket body as a separate opening. Leave rind bridges between adjacent flames so each one is individually anchored to the surrounding rocket body outline rather than floating. Push freed flame pieces inward.

5. 5

   Cut any accent dots

   If accent dots are included in the design, cut or drill these last. Use a small spade bit for clean circular dots. Keep each dot at least three-quarters of an inch from the porthole and flame openings.

6. 6

   Light and display

   Place an LED inside and display on the garden bench in the dark. The glowing porthole reads immediately as a spacecraft window and the lit flame shapes below suggest a launch. Photographed from straight on, the dark rocket outline frames the glowing interior beautifully.

Written with AI to match this design