Carving pumpkins is one of my favorite fall traditions, and this year, I’m adding a fun twistโlighted eyeballs! Itโs a simple way to make your pumpkins even more eye-catching (pun intended!). Let me show you how I carve a pumpkin and add glowing eyes that really bring it to life. Whether youโre going for spooky or playful, these illuminated pumpkins are sure to be the star of your Halloween decorations.
RELATED: Did you know you can easily turn a carved pumpkin into a scarecrow? Don’t miss how to make a scarecrow.
Here is What You Need:
I love the carvable pumpkins. It is never to early to carve a pumpkin! To make the eyes grab some ping pong balls and battery operated tea lights and googly eyes. The heated knife made carving the pumpkin super easy!
- carvable pumpkin (we chose black but any color works)- find great deals on these at JoAnns, Michaels, Hobby Lobby and Wal-Mart
- ping pong balls
- battery-operated tea lights
- heated knife
- googly eyes
- hot glue gun
How to Add Lighted Eyes to a Jack-O-Lantern
First, cut a hole in the ping pong ball with the heated craft knife.
The hole needs to be just big enough to fit on top of the tea light.
Hot glue the ping pong ball to the top of the tea light. Glue a googly eye to the top of the ball or draw a black circle with a Sharpie. You can get creative and add veins with a red Sharpie.
Cut a hole in the pumpkin to the bottom of the tea light just fits inside.
Next carve a mouth or any other embellishments you desire. I cut out a mouth shape, placed it on the pumpkin with glue stick, and then cut around the paper.
RELATED: Check out all my pumpkin carving templates.
Cut a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin so you can easily turn on and off the eyes without having to remove them. It also makes it easy to set the pumpkin over a battery operated tea light to light the mouth.
More Pumpkin Carving Ideas
Looking for more ways to get creative with your pumpkin carving? Check out these additional pumpkin carving ideas to take your fall decorations to the next level. Whether you’re after something spooky, cute, or completely unique, you’ll find plenty of inspiration to make your pumpkins stand out this season.
- Cool Pumpkin Carving Ideas
- Pumpkin Carving Stencils
- Pumpkin Carving Templates
- Pumpkin Ideas
- Jack-O-Lantern Faces for Pumpkins
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Love it, thanks! How do you get the eyes to stay in hole? Would it work with a natural pumpkin?
Love those big googly eyes! Super cute! Pinned!
Thanks Joanne!
Cindy, You idea for lighted eyes is too cute!! Thanks for the clever project.
Is theheatedknife from a wood burning kit?
Absolutely LOVE this idea Cindy and my kiddos will too!
I think this is very cute! I love the way you used the ping-pong balls to make the eyes! : )
Definitely a great EYEdea.
This is such a clever idea! I love that I can get the look of a carved, glowing pumpkin without dealing with the guts and gunk of a real pupmkin. You are a genius!
Thanks for sharing!
Happy Thursday!
Thanks Crystal! Yes, I used the heated knife to cut the ping pong balls too. The ping pong balls did put off fumes. It would be safest to cut the balls with a regular exacto knife… you could also use scissors. The heated knife did cut the pumpkin like butter!
These are darling! Very clever idea with the tea lights and ping-pong balls! Question: Did you use the heated knife to cut the ping-pong balls as well as the pumpkin? Or did you use something else to cut the ping-pong balls?