How To Make a Barack-O-Lantern - The best home videos are here

After posting pictures of the Barack Obama Jack-O-Lantern Minh and I made, my inbox was flooded with emails asking for instructions on how to do it. So, we made a short video with instructions on how to make one of these:


Things you'll need:
Big Pumpkin with a flat surface
2 copies of the pattern I made
2 knives (big and small)
A spoon\scooper
A pen\poker\pushpin
Tape
Newspaper

How To:
1. Cover the floor with newspaper. I like to tape it together so the papers don't go flying away in the wind.

2. Use the big knife to carve a large hole in the bottom of the pumpkin. For some reason people usually carve it in the top, but it's a lot more convenient to carve it in the bottom. This way, you have easy access to the candle and don't have to worry about burning your hand when you light it up.

3. Scoop all the junk out. You'll want to really scrape it clean, especially the side that you'll be carving on.






4. Tape the pattern I made to the flat surface of the pumpkin. It won't fit on perfectly, but that's not a big deal.

5. Poke holes outlining all of the black and gray, gray and white areas of the pumpkin. A pushpin would work well for this. The holes should break the surface of the pumpkin to guide you later when it's time to carve.

6. Carve out the white areas. You'll need to compare your holes with the pattern to make sure you don't screw anything up. Start out by cutting the small holes first. This will keep the carving stable and keep any eyes from falling off. In this video, I actually didn't carve out the largest portion until the end.

7. Shave the skin off in the gray areas. You might want to dig a little deeper than just peeling off the skin if you need to let more light through. These areas will be like light shadows on his face. Don't forget to shave off the outline of his head and shoulders!

8. Holy crap, there's no number 8? You're done! It might take a little longer than the 5 minute video we made, but it shouldn't be too difficult.

Until you turn the lights off and put a candle inside, you can't really even tell what it is!


If you have any questions, let me know. I'd like to see your renditions of this Barack-O-Lantern if you want to send in pictures. Also, any recommendations\requests for my next pumpkin?