By Emory Ann Kurysh
This Halloween I chose to make my own version of a Jack-o’-Lantern with the use of a book. A scary story, to be exact. This is not because I work at a public library, but rather because:
1. I do not like to get messy
2. I wanted a festive DIY that would be pretty enough to display year-round
3. I have never defaced a book, this includes never dog-earing a single page, and I sort of felt like rebelling this season
As with my other do-it-yourself projects, this was incredibly inexpensive and fairly easy to make. You can also get creative with the type of book that you choose, the size and shape of the Jack-o’-Lantern, and the overall look of the stem!
I am very pleased with the results of this Classic Pumpkin, and I think that it’s a project that will impress adults as well as the little ghouls and ghosties this a Halloween.
By the way, no book was overly harmed in the making of this DIY, as it was on its way to its grave (a.k.a. recycling bin) anyway. Happy Halloween!
Materials:
Book
Wire
Marker
Scissors
Wire cutters
Glue gun
Steps:
Steps:
1. Remove the front and back cover off of the book.
2. Draw half of a pumpkin shape on the first page.
3. Begin to cut pages to the stenciled drawing. This will take some time. I was able to cut about 20 pages at a time without the edges folding or tearing. Also, the smaller and sharper the scissors, the better.
4. Once the entire book has been cut out, carefully fold the book over so that the first and last page are touching. Glue these two pages together.
5. Now take the wire and begin to tightly wrap it around the stem of the book/pumpkin. This will enable you to also mold the placement of the pages so that there are no major gaps.
6. Once the wire has been wrapped around the stem a few times, use the hot glue gun to cement it into place.
7. Take the remaining wire and artfully wrap it around the stem. I chose to make mine look a little messier rather than tightly wound. You can add different colours of wire, leaves, twine, or anything that reminds you of Halloween. Have fun with it!
8. Once you are satisfied with the wire, now comes the most important part; placement. Put it on display for all of your friends and neighbours to marvel at. Who knows, one of them might want to trade you a lot of candy for it!
