2×4 Jack-O-Lanterns

Today I am featuring the 2×4 Jack-O-Lanterns. The kit comes with everything you see above: ready-to-paint 2x4s in 8-inch, 6-inch and 4-inches, as well as three little blocks for the stems, and fun vinyl faces.

There are some great vinyl faces to chose from for your pumpkins. Now I am sure there are a million ways to finish these pumpkins, but here is how I did it.

The first thing I did is paint all of the 2x4s bright orange and the the small stem pieces brown.

I used two orange pieces of scrapbook paper with a light patterns to cover the front of my pumpkins. Make sure you use paper without a heavy pattern or you won’t be able to see the cute Jack-O- Lantern faces. I did an every-other pattern with my pumpkins, but you could do all three different or with the same paper. My first paper for my large pumpkin was 7.5 inches x 2.5 inches. The paper for my middle block was 5 inches x 2.8 inches and the paper for my little block was 3.5 inches by 2.5 inches. I mod podged the paper to the front of each block with a matte Mod Podge.

I left the blocks to dry and began preparing the vines. I took a sparkly roll of 3/8ths green ribbon and wrapped it around a dowel about 21 inches long. Secure the ends of the ribbon with clothespins.

After you secure the ribbon with clothespins, spray it with spray starch. You can use spray starch from a can like I did, or you can make your own with one part liquid starch, to three parts water in a spray bottle. Lay the dowel on a cookie sheet and then bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. I only had one 21 inch dowel (21 inches is about as long as will fit on a cookie sheet) so I had to do two batches.

While the vines are baking, add your faces to your pumpkins. I have found one of the best ways to transfer vinyl is with a flat card, such as a gift card. Use the card to rub the vinyl onto the wood before you remove the transfer paper.

After you take the ribbons out of the oven, slowly unroll them from the dowels. They should look like this. Don’t pull very hard when you unroll them, or you can undo the curls.

Cut the curly ribbon into segments. Cut one of the ribbons in half for the big one and then cut the other ribbon for the last two pumpkins. Hot glue the ribbons to the top of the pumpkins and then hot glue the stems on top.

Cute, fun and easy.