No Candles Required: DIY Light-Up Pumpkins

By Craft Styling by Ashley Page Toth
Jeff Harris 
We've got four nifty light-up tricks, no candles required. BTW, you can still turn these into jack-o’-lanterns later—spin ’em around for a blank slate, or carve along the designs for a whole new layer of brilliance. 
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1 of 4

Real Lookers

Jeff Harris

WHAT TO DO

1. Empty your pumpkin.

2. Paint it with white acrylic; let dry.

3. Use permanent marker to draw an iris, pupil, and veins onto a press-on closet light.

4. Trace the light onto the pumpkin, carve out the hole, and set the light inside it. (Be sure to hold it from the inside as you turn it on.)

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2 of 4

Neon Neon

Jeff Harris 

WHAT TO DO

1. Empty your pumpkin and paint it with black acrylic; let dry.

2. Draw a guide for your word on paper. Curve 12-gauge armature wire to match it, leaving 3 inches on each end. Bend the ends down and press onto your pumpkin to mark entry and exit points, then drill ¼-inch holes at each. Press the word into the holes.

3. Place a string of EL wire (find it on Amazon) inside. Pull the end almost all the way through one hole, then curve it along the word, securing with fishing line as you go. Push the end back inside. Use superglue to secure.

3 of 4

Spray Chic

Jeff Harris

WHAT TO DO

1. Paint the pumpkin white; let dry.

2. Create a design with painter’s tape, pressing firmly at the edges.

3. Spray on two to three coats of glow-in-the-dark spray paint. Remove tape; let dry. 

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4 of 4

Glo-Siac

Jeff Harris

WHAT TO DO

Adhere strips of glow-in-the-dark duct tape to parchment paper. Draw 1-inch-tall X’s along the length of the tape, spaced 1 inch apart; cut out to get hexagons (about 80 total). Stick them to the pumpkin as shown, starting in the middle.

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