Make This Flame-Design Pumpkin Yard Decoration

Blaine Moats

What You'll Need:

• 10-12 pumpkins in a variety of sizes

• Pumpkin-carving tools

• Votive candles

Carve Pumpkins

Use our free pumpkin carving stencils to create a whole pile of flame design pumpkins. To carve the pumpkins, place the flame pattern against the side of a cleaned-and-scraped pumpkin, smoothing the paper against the pumpkin surface and attaching it securely with tape. With a pin tool, perforate the stencil lines by jabbing holes through the paper and into the top layer of the pumpkin. Use a thin woodcutting knife or a pumpkin-carving knife to carve out the flame design, then press on the carved sections with your fingers to remove them. We carved five flame-design pumpkins for this project.

Build the Campfire

When your carved pumpkins are ready, build a log base for your faux campfire. We made ours from cut log pieces used for firewood. Layer the log pieces directly on the ground in a circular shape. To make the pumpkin tower, stack the largest carved pumpkins on the bottom, and then work your way up with progressively smaller pumpkins. If you don't want to spend time carving pumpkins that won't be visible, you can cheat by adding whole pumpkins to the back and bottom of your display. When you're done building the tower, use small candles or battery-powered lights to give the flame shapes a realistic flicker. If you use real candles, carve an additional opening behind the pumpkin stem to act as a chimney, allowing the candle's smoke to escape.