How to Carve a Lighted Halloween Pumpkin Treat Holder

Looking for a unique Halloween treat holder for Trick or Treat Goodies? Carve a Halloween pumpkin to make a lighted container for Halloween treats. Your treat holder will be like no other because you choose your own design. Whether it be frightening or friendly, this lighted carved pumpkin Halloween treat holder will be a hit.

Choosing a Pumpkin
You will need a uniformly rounded pumpkin with as few flaws as possible. The pumpkin should be large enough to accommodate a rounded serving bowl, with a few inches to spare in all directions. Remember, larger pumpkins are easier to carve, as there is more room to manipulate them and cutting errors are easily corrected by enlarging the size of the hole.

Marking the Pumpkin for Carving
You will need to draw your pumpkin face design on the pumpkin with a watercolor pen or marker. This lidded Halloween treat holder should have a uniform edge. I like to mark out a scalloped edge prior to cutting off the lid of the lighted pumpkin. Do this by tracing half of a circular object, such as a jar lid, repeatedly around the top edge of the pumpkin, where you want the lid to separate from the holder.

Cutting the Lid Off the Pumpkin.
Using a pumpkin carving knife, carefully cut along the scalloped lines drawn for the lid. Use a sawing motion and go slowly. Slant the cut toward the center of the pumpkin while cutting by pointing the knife down and center. Once you have gotten all the way around the pumpkin, gently pull off the lid, using the stem as a handle.

Removing the Pumpkin Goo
Use your hands to remove all the loose seeds and pulp from the pumpkin. If you wish to roast the pumpkin seeds, set them to one side. Use a metal spoon or pumpkin scraping tool to scrape the inside and cover of the Halloween treat holder. This will remove all the residual goo from the pumpkin. Now you are ready to carve the face of the pumpkin.

Carving the Face
Now that the pumpkin treat holder is hollow, it will be easier to carve a face into it. Use a small short paring knife or a pumpkin carving tool for this task. Cut around the face design on your marked lines. Use a slow sawing motion to prevent errors. Pull out each cut piece and discard as you go. The holes should form the design of the finished lighted face.

Preserving the Pumpkin
It may be a few days prior to Halloween when you finish making the Halloween treat holder. If so, it will be necessary to preserve the pumpkin so it does not rot or cave in. To do this, you will need a small can of acrylic spray from the craft store. Shake the can and spray evenly to coat both the inside and the outside of the pumpkin. Spray and dry outside to avoid fumes.

Lighting the Pumpkin
Once the Halloween treat holder is dry, you will want to practice assembling and lighting it. Place an electric lighted tea light on the center inside bottom of the pumpkin. Invert a small rounded votive candle holder over the electric tea light. Now set your chosen serving bowl gently atop the candle holder and place the lid on the lighted Halloween treat holder.

Adjustments
Check the Halloween treat holder to see that light shines through and the bowl is stable. If the bowl does not sit evenly and allow the lighted Halloween treat holder stability, it may be necessary to add more supporting votive holders to hold it up. If the light is not shining through, try a different size bowl.

Halloween Night
On Halloween night repeat the test to be sure all is well. Now fill the bowl with Halloween treats and place on a stable surface. Place the lid on the lighted Halloween pumpkin so that the light is brighter. Now you are ready to greet trick or treaters with your one of a kind, lighted Halloween pumpkin treat holder. Happy Halloween!

Source:

personal experience