Seated Dragon Retained Inside an Oval Window Pumpkin

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Prepare the pumpkin

   Cut the access lid from the back and scoop the interior to three-quarters of an inch behind the oval window area. The retained dragon needs a thinner wall to glow with a warm body translucency that thicker walls would suppress.

2. 2

   Transfer the template

   Center the template on the pumpkin face with the dragon's head pointing upward toward the horn-to-border contact. Trace the full oval edge, the dragon silhouette, three wing slot positions, and the eye hole with deep poke marks.

3. 3

   Cut the oval and remove waste

   Saw the complete oval border first. Then remove the surrounding rind outside the oval, working in sections. Before moving on, confirm all four contact points, both legs, the tail, wing tip, and horn, are solid.

4. 4

   Open the three wing slots

   Use a detail blade to cut each wing slot, starting with the topmost. Keep each broad rind rib between slots at least three-eighths of an inch wide. Entry-point placement inside the marked lines preserves each rib's full width.

5. 5

   Cut the eye hole

   Drill or cut the small round eye hole last. A slight inward angle on the hole widens it toward the interior and catches more light, making the small detail visible from across a patio.

6. 6

   Display on slate

   Place the pumpkin on slate patio paving after dark with a bright LED puck inside. The warm glow reflecting off wet slate creates an atmospheric puddle of amber light below the jack-o-lantern.

Written with AI to match this design