iJack-o-Lantern
This year I decided to try using some “grey” in my jack-o-lantern instead of just the standard black and white (or orange and white) I’ve used in the past.
I considered using a traditional halloween image like bats, ghosts, or even a face, but in the end, I chose the iPhone. The back of the iPhone 3G ( and 3GS) is so simple that I needed something more. The original (2G) iPhone design is more distinctive, with the black plastic section at the bottom, so I based my template on that.
Design:
Template:
Photos:
I learned some lessons with creating the translucent (grey) section, so I’m glad I created a simple design. The skin of the pumpkin is very dense compared to the soft interior beneath. It’s difficult to shave off the skin without going too far into the pumpkin or beyond the area defined by the design.
I used an X-acto knife and a utility knife to define the edges and a chisel to shave/dig. The thickness of the pumpkin wall was a little over an inch thick and I was trying to get the translucent part to be about a quarter of that. The nice thing is that once I got the outer skin off, refining the carving was much easier.Not surprisingly, the areas around the details (the top of the apple and the leaf above it) were the most difficult. The leaf is actually thicker than it is wide.
Next year I’ll try something a little more complex, but I’ll avoid having too many thin items close to one another. Additionally, I plan to get some clay-carving tools like ribbon loops (I think that’s what they’re called).
