Winged Heart With a Blank Banner Pumpkin

From pumpkin to porch

1. 1

   Prep the pumpkin and pick a flat face

   Choose a tall pumpkin with a smooth, wide front panel for the design. Cut a lid from the bottom or the back rather than the top so the stem stays intact for looks. Scoop the inside until the front wall is about one inch thick, scraping the carving area a little thinner so your blade moves easily. A thinner wall makes the tight feather cuts far more forgiving.

2. 2

   Transfer the stencil

   Tape a heart-with-wings-and-banner stencil flat against the front, snipping the paper edges so it hugs the curve without wrinkles. Poke the outlines with a pin or a dull awl, spacing dots closer together on the curled banner ends and feather tips. Peel the paper and connect the dots lightly with a marker so the full silhouette is easy to read. Double check that the wings sit level on both sides before you cut.

3. 3

   Cut the curled banner ends first

   While the pumpkin wall is still firm, carve the small scroll curls at the bottom of the banner. These tight shapes are the most fragile, so doing them early gives you the most solid material to work against. Use a fine detail saw and make slow, controlled passes, letting the blade do the work. Keep the little bridges of skin that separate the curls so the scroll holds its shape.

4. 4

   Open the wing feathers in rows

   Work each wing from the body outward, cutting one feather opening at a time. Leave each feather connected at its base until the feathers next to it are cut, which keeps the whole wing rigid as you go. Cut the innermost row first, then move toward the wingtips. Pull each waste piece out gently by pushing from the inside to avoid tearing the thin dividers.

5. 5

   Cut the heart and finish the banner

   Save the large heart opening and the wide banner strip for last since they remove the most material at once. Carve the heart in a couple of arcs rather than one long stroke for a clean edge. Then open the banner face, keeping its top and bottom borders intact so it still reads as a ribbon. Clean up any ragged edges with a paring knife held at a slight angle.

6. 6

   Light it and photograph

   Drop in one or two battery LED lights, warm white gives the best orange glow. Set them low and toward the front so the light spreads evenly across all three shapes. Trim any inner edges that block light so the wings, heart, and banner glow at matching brightness. Shoot at dusk against a dark background to make the silhouette pop.