• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Momcrieff

Recipes | Gardening | DIY | My 1920's house

  • About Me
    • Contact me
  • My 100 year old home
  • Recipes
    • Four Ingredients or Less!
    • Appetizers
    • Main Dish
    • Soups
    • Baked Items
    • Desserts & Treats
  • Gardening
    • Spring Gardening
    • Fall Gardening
    • Gardening And Landscaping
    • Planters / Containers
    • Misc. & Chores
  • DIY
    • DIY
    • Valentine's Day
    • Spring
    • Fabulous Fall!
    • Christmas & Winter
  • Misc.
    • Vacations
      • Family Vacation
    • Home Ownership
  • Nav Social Menu

  • Nav Social Menu

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • RSS
    • Twitter
menu icon
go to homepage
subscribe
search icon
Homepage link
  • my-1923-house
  • Easy Recipes
  • Gardening
  • DIY
  • About Me
  • Subscribe
  • Yum
  • ×

    Home » Misc. » DIY & Hints » Fabulous Fall!

    Solar Jack-O-Lantern using a real pumpkin.

    Published: Oct 3, 2016 · Modified: Apr 2, 2022 by Susan Moncrieff · This post may contain affiliate links · 11 Comments

    How to make a solar Jack-O-Lantern with a real pumpkin.

    I've made these solar Jack-O-Lanterns few years now.  And I love how they light up when it gets dark. The safety factor of not having a candle is also a huge plus!

    A Jack-O-Lantern with solar lighting.

    Sometimes when I need blogging supplies, my shopping experience doesn't go as expected.

    "I've had enough and I'm leaving!" Yup! That's what the hardware guy told me. I know I can be weird  sometimes. Ask my teens! They'll tell you. But this guy had enough. But, I really don't know why? I didn't think I asked for anything unusual and I only offered to tell them what I was doing so they could help me find the part that would fit my drill for my project!

    I had this.
    solar jack-o-lantern
    I wanted to drill a hole with it into my pumpkin to insert a solar light. I had a power drill. But, we didn't have the part that attached the circle cutting thingy to the drill. So I put the circle thingy into my purse and headed to the hardware store. I showed the staff member what I had and explained that I needed the part that attached it to the drill.

    Fast forward ten minutes later. Three staff members were trying to figure out which part would fit my drill. It was a part that looked like this.
    solar jack-o-lantern
    But there were so many options.   And, they were debating the merits of which circle cutting thingy would work the best.

    "Would it help you guys if I told you what I'm cutting with it?" I asked.

    "Yeah, that would help."

    "I'm cutting into a pumpkin,"  I replied.

    That's when the guy said he'd had enough and that he was leaving. I came home and shared my story with my family. They thought it was funny and also couldn't figure out what I had done that was so weird!  He had enough!  Yikes, I'd hate to see what he'd do if he had a difficult customer.   I'm just weird 'cause I've given up explaining parts so I bring in pictures, of circle cutter things or IKEA lampshades that I'm trying to convert.  {Sigh}  It's just easier to show them!

    Oh well. I ended up buying this set for and it had everything I needed.
    solar jack-o-lantern

    Let me save you from having to do charades at a hardware store.  You can order a hole cutting set from Amazon.

    So, let me show you how I turned my pie pumpkin and my $1.00 solar light into a solar Jack-O-Lantern.

    Directions on making a solar Jack-O-Lantern.

    First, find a hole cutter that the solar light will fit through but small enough so the top part won't slip through m(the part of the solar light that collects the solar power).

    solar jack-o-lantern

    a planter with colorful plants
    FREE SIGN UP

    Looking for DIY ideas for beautiful planters? You will receive lots of ideas and inspiration. Plus, tutorials on how to plant planters.

    Attach it to the power drill.

    solar jack-o-lantern

    I cut my hole just behind the stem. I wanted to leave the stem on.
    solar jack-o-lantern

    Pull out the pumpkin part from the pumpkin. Good thing I can show you a picture 'cause that sentence isn't a good description of what to do!
    solar jack-o-lantern

    I then switched to a smaller circle cutter.
    solar jack-o-lantern
    Yes!! I used my drill to cut the eyes out {gasp}. I know!! Well, truth is, I don't have little kids anymore and I don't have to fight with the pumpkin to cut out funny shaped eyes and a weird mouth anymore. Round, cut with a circle cutter is just perfectly fine in my world now!!

    I also used it to cut out the mouth. I cut it so there would be jagged 'teeth'.
    solar jack-o-lantern

    I grabbed a spoon and used it to scrap out the 'pumpkin goo' through the mouth. It worked fine and took less than 5 minutes.

    After I scraped the 'goo' I used a small sharp knife and just thinned the ppumpkin around the cut areas.
    solar jack-o-lantern
    After I cleaned the inside and the edges, I popped the solar light in.
    solar jack-o-lantern
    Perfect fit!
    Left my newly carved Jack-o-Lantern so that the solar light charging surface was facing the sun for a few hours.

    Ta da! Isn't it cute! I was actually quite excited that it worked (not all of my projects do but don't tell)! Those little solar lights give off the right amount of light.
    solar jack-o-lantern
    I can leave this out and it should light up at night for a couple of hours. Without worries of a candle or buying the expensive face pumpkins with the electrical cords.

    The pumpkin was $1.99 and the small solar light was $1.00. Not bad for a $3 project!
    solar jack-o-lantern. A quick and easy tutorial.

    Some other Halloween decor/decorations.

    Fall Planter
    Jack-o-lantern-walkway-lights.

    Other solar light projects

    How I use solar lights in planters
    My indoor solar night lamp

    More Fabulous Fall!

    • Fall Planter ideas!
    • Pumpkin Planter
    • Pretty Pumpkin Vase - Fall Centerpiece
    • Fall Lantern with dried hydrangeas.
    4.4K shares
    • Share466
    • Tweet

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

      Leave a Reply Cancel reply

      Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

      Recipe Rating




      This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    1. Maria

      October 25, 2021 at 8:37 pm

      What a great idea with the saw. I have to try that for my next pumpkin.

      Reply
    2. Anita Holland

      October 25, 2021 at 4:28 pm

      Very cool. I love that you used a hole saw on the pumpkin, I cant believe I have never thought of doing that.

      Reply
    3. Sara

      October 25, 2021 at 10:53 am

      Such a cute project - glad you found what you needed despite that weird hardware guy! Guess he doesn't like Halloween!

      Reply
    4. ellen bell

      October 29, 2020 at 9:57 am

      What a great idea, I love this!! And you idea of putting pre packaged candy out on the sidewalk is perfect.

      Reply
    5. Carole @ Garden Up Green

      October 04, 2016 at 6:45 am

      Brilliant!! I would have never thought about using power tools to carve out a pumpkin. I may have to get a pumpkin this year for caring . Great idea!

      Reply
    6. Holger Marten (eetscribe)

      October 25, 2015 at 5:38 pm

      "That’s when the guy said he’d had enough and that he was leaving." HaHa.

      I have to buy spare and replacement parts for work. Half the time I have to get a part, "...that connects to one of these, but lets me put one of these on the other end, so it can connect to one of these things."

      I honestly don't know what I would do without bringing in pictures, on my phone.

      Reply
    7. Tianna

      September 25, 2015 at 1:13 pm

      this is such a brilliant idea! I love that you made it eco!

      stop by and chat 🙂 http://storybookapothecary.com

      Reply
    8. Linda Szymoniak

      October 01, 2014 at 1:43 pm

      I just have one question. Where did you get the $1 solar light? I read and reread the post and don't see anywhere that you say where you got it. While I might not be using it for pumpkins (I'll be out of town on Halloween weekend), I have other projects I would love to use them for. Thanks!

      Reply
      • momcrieff

        October 01, 2014 at 6:48 pm

        I'm sorry! I just bought these at the dollar store. They were just the small ones for $1.00.

        Reply
      • momcrieff

        October 27, 2021 at 12:10 pm

        Hi! I normally get cheap solar lights at the dollar store.

        Reply
    9. Patti

      October 01, 2014 at 8:10 am

      Great idea. Especially for little ones. Pinning.

      Reply

    Primary Sidebar

    I'm Susan Moncrieff! I love sharing easy recipes, especially those that take less than 30 minutes and have less than 5 ingredients. I'm passionate about gardening and creating flower planters. My home is 100 years old and sometimes you will see it in my posts! It was a true fixer upper and I love it!

    More about me →

    Subscribe to Momcrieff

    Trending Articles...

    • Peanut Butter Cookies - 3 Ingredients
    • Raised Garden Beds
    • 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Muffins
    • Knob and tube wiring
    • Shortbread cookies
    • How to plant flower pots
    • Banana chocolate muffins - 3 ingredients.
    • Three Ingredient Peach Cobbler

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • About Susan Moncrieff
    • Advertising and Disclosures
    • Contact

    Categories

    • My 100 year old home
    • Easy Recipes
    • Gardening
    • DIY
    • Misc

    Most Popular

    • 25 Outdoor Planters
    • My Raised Garden Beds
    • My white kitchen remodel 
    • Knob and tube wiring
    • Three Ingredient Peach Cobbler
    • Deconstructed cabbage rolls

    As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023

    © Copyright 2020 Momcrieff · All Rights Reserved ·

    4.4K shares
    • 466