Football Playing Pumpkin Carving Halloween Idea

Football Playing Pumpkin Carving Halloween Idea



Materials needed:

* Newspaper
* Pumpkin Saw
* 2 large Pumpkins (12 to 14 inches across)
* Strong metal kitchen spoon
* Bowl
* 2 small pumpkins (about 7 inches across)
* Watercolor pencil or water-soluble marker
* Drill bit
* Thin-bladed paring knife
* Paper towels
* Your favorite team's two colors in spray paint and your team's opponent's two colors in spray paint
* 1 sheet stiff paper (8 1/2 by 11 inch)
* Razor knife
* About 10 straight pins
* Green plastic doormat and white tape (optional)
* 2 tea lights

Preparation steps:

* Cover your work surface with newspaper.
* Using the saw, begin by cutting the entire bottom off of the larger-sized football helmet pumpkins, and clean them thoroughly, scraping with the spoon.
* Place the seeds and pulp in the bowl.
* Make sure that the shells can fit easily over the smaller pumpkins.
* Cut out a face opening from each helmet, leaving a 1-inch horizontal strip at the bottom. Carve that strip into a simple mouth guard. The width of this face opening should be slightly smaller than the width of the head pumpkin, and about 2 inches shorter than its height. It is best to design the players inside the helmets, to be sure that the faces will be visible.
* Draw the faces with the watercolor pencil or marker. Make the oval eyes lean forward aggressively (after all, this is football :-), and give them long, pointy noses.
* Remove the helmets to carve the faces.
* With the drill bit, make a hole in the center of each shape by twisting it in a clockwise direction.
* Holding the pumpkin saw at a right angle to the surface, insert the blade into hole, and very gently saw around the shape. If you like, highlight the angry teeth by removing the skin over them with the paring knife. Wipe off any markings remaining.
* When all four pumpkins are carved, place the helmets on newspaper in a well-ventilated area, and paint each with two coats of the base color. While waiting for the helmets to dry, you can design number stencils about 3 inches high. Center your numbers in the middle of a sheet of stiff paper, and cut them out with a razor knife. (Note: the easiest stencils to make are the numbers 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7, as they have no closed loops).
* Pin your stencil flat against the side of the large pumpkins, and spray lightly. Do not over-paint!
* Remove the pins and stencils when dry.
* To mask off the area of the strip, use two lengths of continuous paper towels. Start at the front of the helmet, and pin the towels on either side, using a pin every 2 to 3 inches.
* When the stripe has been masked, spray lightly. Allow to dry, and then remove the pins.
* Make the playing field out of a green plastic doormat, using white tape for the line markers. These are available at many hardware stores.
* Place a lighted tea light in each head, and position your players before putting on their helmets.
* Cut chimney holes if needed.

Enjoy