In this Instructable I show you how to make a bleeding pumpkin. A nice project to give an extra dimension to the halloween decoration.

Challenges

It was a fun project to make. Cutting a pumpkin was new to me and in my opinion it worked out well. Dosing the liquid was a challenge. In the first test the pump turned out to be much too strong and the "blood" sprayed in all directions. Ultimately, this was solved with a simple zip tie.

Video tutorial

Supplies

9v battery
9v battery plug
9v water pump
6mm tube
On-off switch
Pumpkin
Knife
Collection container (deep plate or a plastic container)
Aerosol cap

Step 1: Mount the Pump

To begin with, we are going to mount the pump in the collection container. Start by attaching the tube to the outlet of the pump. Secure it properly. I first heated up the tube and then slid it over the connection so that it is securely attached. If necessary, you can use a drop of glue.

Then put a little hot glue on the pump and secure it in the collection tray. The suction connection must go down as far as possible but leave enough space so that liquid can still pass through.

Step 2: Placing the Pumpkin

To ensure that the pumpkin does not fall too deep into the container, I put a cap of an aerosol can under it. I attached this with hot glue.

Drill 2 holes in the bottom of the pumpkin. 1 hole is for feeding the tube through, the other for returning the liquid.

Put the tube through the hole and mount the pumpkin on the cap with a lot of hot glue.

Step 3: connecting Electrical Parts

Take the 9v battery and mount the connector on it. Put a drop of hot glue on the connector and place the on / off switch on it.

Now mount the battery to the collection tray with hot glue.

Solder the red (+) wire from the battery to one terminal of the switch, solder the red (+) wire from the pump to the other terminal of the switch.

Solder the 2 black (-) cables together.

Before continuing, test if the pump works.

Step 4: Stick the Knife Into the Pumpkin

Stick the knife into the pumpkin. Remove the knife again and drill a hole at the top of the cut slightly smaller than the tube.

Push the tube through the hole. To prevent the liquid from coming out too hard, I made a kink in the tube with a zip tie. Cut the tube to the correct length.

Then put the knife back into the pumpkin. The top of the pumpkin can now be put back on.

Step 5: Ready!

The tray can now be filled with "blood". For this I diluted Ketchup with water. You can of course also use red food coloring or blood from the joke shop.

To finish it all off I put the pumpkin on a tray with some leaves and small pumpkins as extra decoration.

Have fun making the bleeding pumpkin. Happy scary Halloween and see you soon!