Night lights

Sunset, Oct, 1998 by Ann Bertelsen

Plugged-in pumpkins can give your Halloween festivities a whole new glow. You can achieve a variety of vivid effects with "jack-o'-lectrics," depending on how you carve your pumpkin and on the types of lights you use. All it takes is a little imagination, a Phillips screwdriver, and strings of miniature Christmas lights. For instructions, see page 88.

It's important to know the look you want before cutting into your pumpkin, especially when dealing with lights. For example, do you want elegantly carved shapes around the pumpkin, or random pinpoints of light? Here, some are meticulously carved - while others require minimal carving.

WHAT YOU NEED

* Pumpkin

* Craft knife (paring knife or linocut tool optional)

* Pencil or erasable pen

* Phillips screwdriver

* Strings of cylindrical or round holiday minilights

* Florist's pins (optional)

* Florist's wire (optional)

(A) In the bottom of the pumpkin, cut a hole large enough to accommodate your hand holding a bunch of party lights. Scrape out the inside of the pumpkin, removing all the seeds and pulp so there's no moisture left. (Note: If you're creating the design with the wavy ring of round, pearl-like lights at the middle of the pumpkin, you won't need to make a hole in its base. Instead, make your cut in the middle - as shown in figure C - lift off the lid, then scrape out the pulp from top and bottom.)

(B) Using a pencil or an erasable pen, sketch your design on the outside of the pumpkin or mark the spots where you want to make cutouts for the bulbs. Consider the shape of the lights you'll use on each pumpkin, since this dictates the size of the carvings and the holes you'll make.

(C) On the outside of the pumpkin, without puncturing it, carefully carve your design. Larger pumpkins can be carved with a sharp paring or craft knife. Use a linocut tool (available at art supply stores) to carve the design in the loop-the-loop pumpkin shown here and in figure D.

(D) With a screwdriver, pierce holes in your pumpkin at the marked spots. Working from the outside in, remove excess pulp for clean holes.

(E) Take a strand of minilights, place your hand inside the hole at the base of the pumpkin, and insert the lights in the holes, working from the top down. The cylinder-shaped lights will glide through easily. For the round lights, you'll have to detach the bulb, push the socket through to the outside rim of the hole, then reattach the bulb from the outside.

For the pumpkin with the wavy cut around its midsection, use florist's pins to attach the string of round lights to the top edge of the bottom section, securing each light in place. Tuck leftover lights into the pumpkin and place its lid on top, making sure the cuts are aligned perfectly.

For the pumpkin with round cutouts (on the right in the photo on pages 86 and 87), use florist's wire to tie the lights into separate bundles to fit the size of the holes. Push one bunch into each hole so it fits snugly. You might need more than one strand of lights if the pumpkin is large. Depending on where you place the pumpkin - such as in the corner of a porch - you might not need cutouts all the way around it.

When you pin or tie the lights in place, be sure you don't puncture the wire's insulation. Also, don't plug in the lights until you're finished.