This project was a bit of a rush job in order
to get it finished for Halloween last year but it turned out great
and was allot of fun. The jack o' lantern was made of paper mache
and a few other bits and pieces, painted with acrylic paint and had
15 red and yellow 5mm LEDs inside that were switched on and off
randomly with a microchip. I'll explain briefly how I did it all
below. Click the thumbnails to see a larger image.
I used a balloon to create a hollow form.
Strips of newspaper were applied over the ballon using a paste made
from flour and water. The mache ballon was placed on a plastic
sheet so it wouldn't stick to the work surface as it dried. I tied
strings tightly around the ballon to create segmentation lines,
applied more paper over them and then I used an old broom stick
wedged against the ceiling in my shop to create an indentation on
top.
The mache pumpkin took several days to dry
completely. Once dry, I glued a disk of thin plywood with a wire
for hanging the pumpkin into the indentation on top of the pumpkin.
I sandwiched the wire between two pieces of foam to simulate a stem
and then applied more newspaper over the stem and lapping onto the
pumpkin to secure everything in place. together.
After everything had dried thoroughly, I cut a
face in the front and an access hatch on the back with a thin sharp
blade. Craft acrylic was used on the outside of the pumpkin and
cieling white was used inside.
