Halloween Owl Pumpkin Stencil
This Halloween owl pumpkin makes a great scrapbook stash-buster project. Look through your paper collection for patterned cardstock in fall hues. We used browns and oranges, but try deep reds or even metallic gold for added interest.
To carve:
1. Carve a circle in your pumpkin's underside, and clear out all the seeds and messy bits. Scrape the pumpkin's interior walls clean with a stiff metal spoon.
2. Print out the free owl pattern, and tape the page containing the owl's facial features and feather outlines to the surface of your pumpkin. Use a push pin to make closely spaced holes along the face and feather lines, transferring the features to your pumpkin. Remove the stencil, but don't discard it.
3. Use a thin, serrated knife to cut out the eye and beak openings. Etch the feather outlines with a gouge, digging just deeply enough to scrape away the pumpkin's top layer of skin.
4. Fill the eye and beak openings with crumpled newspaper, and spray-paint the pumpkin white; let dry completely. Regouge the feather outlines to reveal bright orange scallops. Remove the crumpled newspaper, and place a piece of yellow crafts paper behind the carved eye and beak openings, securing it to the inside of the pumpkin using thumbtacks.
5. Using the stencil patterns provided, cut outer ears from black cardstock and inner ears from patterned orange cardstock. Glue the outer and inner ear cutouts together.
6. Using the stencil patterns provided, cut outer wings from patterned brown cardstock and inner wings from patterned orange cardstock. Glue the outer and inner wing cutouts together. Glue the wings to black cardstock and cut them out, leaving 1/8" border around the edges.
7. Fold and clip ears and wings as noted on the patterns, and use straight pins to attach them to the pumpkin.
