Happy October! Try this (fairly simple) Harp-O-Lantern to get your studio in the fall spirit! I thought I started thinking about how to make a Harp-O-Lantern since I saw this contest on A Beautiful Mess…but I thought it was last year, So, I’m not sure, but here it is!
Supplies:
Pumpkin
Old Harp Strings
Writing Implement
Carving Utensil
Scooping Utensil(s)
Candle (battery operated would probably be the safest choice)
How to:
First, cut the top off your pumpkin. Clean the seeds and strings out the best you can.
You can fry or bake the seeds later….and compost the strings. 🙂 You can freehand a harp shape or print this template (and resize if necessary to an appropriate size for your pumpkin). Trace the shape onto the pumpkin. The tracing doesn’t have to be perfect.
Cut out around your drawing, making sure to remove any marker/pencil.
This part might be optional, depending on how soft your pumpkin is and how firm your strings are. Poke a toothpick into the pumpkin, making holes where you want your strings. Make sure to put corresponding holes in the “soundboard” area and the “neck” area.
Trim your strings to length (make sure to leave extra to anchor them into the pumpkin), and poke them into the holes you make. Continue “stringing” your harp until you’ve reached the desired number of strings. I only had room for five.
Put your candle in it and enjoy! I used a real candle, but only had it lit for a very short amount of time at a time. Be careful! Do you think you’ll try this? If you do, show me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or in the comments. Be sure to use #HarpOLantern!
-Barbara
P.S. Shoutout to Marlene (the cashier when I got this pumpkin)!
Barbara Fischer runs Fischarper, LLC and loves her job as a harpist and private music educator. She enjoys blogging about various aspects of the music field on fischarper.com/blog. For more music resources, check out the Fischarper store. Find out where you can find Barbara on the interwebs here. And you can sign up to receive Fischarper updates by joining the email list.