This project was created as a Halloween Decoration. What better way to demonstrate the season than with the classic Jack O Lantern. I wanted to do more than just have a cutout of the pumpkin though, so I created this layered pumpkin and added Fairy Lights to it to have it light up. 

There are 3 Canvases included and each one is associated with a different color paint. There are 3 primary colors: White, Black and, of course, Orange. 

Within the canvases, there are 3 different colored lines. Red = Cut / Yellow = Score /Purple is set to ignore and is just there as a label for the canvas colors.

Paint your pieces AFTER cutting to make it easier on yourself. Cutting after painting and you could have a burn over mess on your hands.

I used Loctite superglue for this and the steps here list out that process, but you could use 3m Adhesive backing tape. If I were to make this again, I probably would use that.

You will have to set up the pieces based on the size of your material that you use. I used xTools 12x12 Birch Plywood and as such, I used 6 pieces. Using the settings above, cut your material and then paint the pieces according to what they need to be. You should have (counting the 14 letters) a total of 24 pieces. Keep in mind the very tiny triangle piece. (See picture) Set to dry.

First up is the two largest pieces painted in black. Take the one with the circle opening and run a line of glue around the backside. Lay it on top of the other black piece and line it up. (NOTE: If you using 3m Adhesive, you will not have a lot of room for error in placement so line up as accurately as possible before joining together). Let the two pieces sit a few minutes while you prepare your Fairy Lights.

A single strand of 7 ft Fairy Lights is all that is needed here. Unwind the lights and besure it turns on. Straighten it out. I like to glue down my lights with them on so that way it helps see where they actually light up. Run the battery pack of the lights through the small rectangle plus about 2 inches of wire. 

Starting on the right side of the circle, hot glue down one of the lights and then loop the wire around and press it to the edge of the circle. Run the next light about an inch up the outside of the circle and set down some hotglue. You want a drop of hot glue on either side of each light. Make sure you are pressing the wire to the edge of the circle as much as possible.

NOTE: Hot Glue takes a very short amount of time to set. This is the time consuming part of the project as you will want to be sure each time you have the glue down, you will want it to at least partially set enough to ensure the the wires don't move much, if at all before moving to the next light. 

When you get to the halfway point, just under the top of the pumpkin, run the lights about halfway into the circle and then back up, again each light should be about 1 inch apart. You will have a mass of wires here but bunch them together as much as possible and be sure to be liberal with the hot glue to hold it all down. 

Proceed around the outer edge of the circle until you get to the end. There should be about 5 - 6 lights left. Run them across the bottom above the rectangle opening. Keep them close together but try to get the lights to completely cross the bottom. Also, keep lights and wires as close to the bottom as possible otherwise they could show up in the mouth of the pumpkin when completed. 

Flip the pumpkin over and hot glue the wire sticking out of the back and then also the battery pack. Make sure that you keep the battery opening up and that you don't glue it down. This is usually noted by screws that can be undone to take out the batteries and replace them.

Once your lights are down and your battery pack is attached, flip the switch and turn it off.  Proceed to the next step.

Place the large orange oval with the large circle cut out next. Run a line of glue along the back and then press firmly. Let sit a few minutes before moving to the next piece.

HINT: Between layers, go to the next step and work on the letters. This gives you a few minutes to allow the glue to set and dry. Do about 2 or three letters and then go back to the pumpkin for the next layer. 

After the oval, there is the single circle with a large circle cut out of it. Run glue along the back of this piece and then use the scored lines on the previous piece to line it up and press firmly to adhere the two together. Run a bead of glue on top of this piece and immediately place the largest face circle. Line it up using the bottom where it has a flat cut out to keep it straight to the other pieces and then make sure it lines up with the circle already down at the edges. 

After these pieces have set, you should have 3 more orange pieces left. A very tiny triangle, a “quasi” triangle where it appears to be bulging on two sides, and a larger piece with two angle cutouts on either side. You will want to use this piece next. 

Run a strip of glue inside the scored line of the large face piece but only in the top half of the pumpkin. Line up the piece with the angle cut so that it overlaps this glue in the scored lines. When done correctly, you will have the pumpkins eyes done. 

Next, run a strip of glue inside the scored area of the lower half of the pumpkin and then use the larger of the two remaining pieces. Place it narrow side down and press firmly. Give it a few minutes to set. 

Finally, put a drop of glue on the back of the tiny triangle and line it up with the right tooth corner and press firmly in place. (See picture)

The lettering here is narrown and has fragile spots so go carefully. You just need a drop of glue at the widest points of each letter. Use the glue tip to spread it out as much as possible. You want at least two adhesion points per letter but try to get more on every one. 

Carefully line up the letter you are glueing with the appropriate part of the white letter outline blocks. Press firmly and then wait a moment or two before adding the next letter. 

Once all your letters are glued and set, take the “Happy” and “Halloween” blocks and place them (unglued) on the large black blank area. Line it up and get an idea of where they will go. Then, take one of the blocks up and liberally apply glue to the back. You want more here than is really needed to ensure good adhesion. Once you have it set down on the black area, do the same to the other block. Let them dry a few minutes.

You now have a light up pumpkin sign. You can add your own hanger to the back or just prop it on a mantle if you want. 

I took a paint pen and added white lines to the stalk at the top of the pumpkin to give it a more “real” look. You may want to do the same. 

A fun thing about the glue gun glue. Sometimes you will get strings of the glue as you pull it away. Try to let these strings go across the black so it looks like spider webs in the black of the pumpkins face. It really is a cool effect. Wish I had thought of it sooner or I would have had more in there than what I ended up with.