Just the word “sconce” sounds fancy, doesn’t it? And the sconce deserves its fancy name because it gives us so much. A single sconce can illuminate a dark corner or give a soft glow to a large area. A sconce looks pretty, too, so it’s a nice decorator piece. Some sconces are simplistic glass cups with tea lights or votives inside, and others are fancier, with wrought iron arrangements or golden accents. But when you use pumpkins to make sconces they can be simplistic or intricate – it’s up to you.
Use two different sizes of gourds or pumpkins to make each sconce. Since sconces aren’t normally very large, you can use really small pumpkins and make sconces of a traditional size. But there are no limits to the Halloween variations you can do, and if you want really large sconces, that’s fine, too.
On one side of the larger pumpkin, cut off a large, flat sliver, so that the pumpkin will sit securely. Cut just on the rind; don’t cut into the meat. Cut a circle out of the opposite side of the same pumpkin and scrape out the meat and seeds. Keep the small pumpkin in mind when you cut the hole; the small pumpkin will end up sitting on the hole cut in the large one, so the hole should be somewhat smaller around than the little pumpkin. The hole will become the top of the larger pumpkin.
The bottom of the large pumpkin will now be the front of the sconce. Since there’s already an indentation at the bottom of the pumpkin use it as the middle of a starburst design. Simply make slits from the indentation, and out several inches, and do this all the way around the indentation. Carve these slits out to make them a bit wider.
Cut a hole in the bottom of the small pumpkin and a larger hole in the top of it. Scrape out the meat and seeds until the whole thing is just a half-inch thick. If you want, make a scalloped design around the top of this pumpkin.
Set a tea light or votive candle in the large pumpkin and set the small one on top of it. Light with long matches or remove the top pumpkin, light the candle, then put the top pumpkin back in place. If you want, the top one can be secured to the bottom pumpkin with toothpicks or pieces of wooden skewers.
Set the sconces on shelves, around outdoor hand railings, on the mantle, a table, or a counter top. They’re gorgeous and, although they’re disposable, you’ll love the look so much that you’ll make sconces again, year after year.
Pumpkin Sconce