I wanted to add a little DIY to my pumpkin carving this year. The following details how I made a pumpkin cry fake blood.

Step 1: Materials

When doing this, I used materials I already had around the house. Depending on what you have on-hand, you may wish to substitute as necessary.

Pumpkin (obviously)
"One Step Gardens" irrigation drip kit from Harbor Freight (ITEM 46095)
Pump from a desktop fountain
2 buckets
Pie pan
Cardboard box
Garbage bag

Step 2: Carve the Pumpkin

Carve the pumpkin in the usual manner. For carving the eyes, I traced 2 circles using an espresso cup. I used a dremel to remove the outer shell of the pumpkin. A 7/32" drill was used for the center of the eyes.

So that the "blood" fans out from the eye holes, I dremeled small grooves around the bottom of the eyes.

Step 3: Insert the Tubing

Cut the tubing to the appropriate lengths. The length you cut will depend on the size of your pumpkin. You will need to cut 3 sections of tube. One piece will extend out the back of the pumpkin. You will hook the other two to the T-connector and insert them in to the eye holes.

Step 4: Bucket of Blood

To keep the pump close to the pumpkin, I placed one bucket upside down and stacked the second bucket on top. The blood was made mixing water, cherry, and strawberry Kool-Aid.

The amount of water that you place in the bucket will depend on strength of the pump and the length of tubing. If you find that the pump is not strong enough to get water out the eye holes, add more water to the bucket. Also, make sure you don't have too much vertical distance to cover with the tubing. Keep it as short as possible.

Step 5: Add the Pump

Place the pump in the bucket. The tube extension will connect the tube coming from the pump to the one on the back of the pumpkin. You can use this as an easy way to disconnect the pumpkin from the pump.

Step 6: Cover the Buckets

Place a tall box over the buckets. Cut a hole in the top of the box. The hole will be used to transfer the water from the pumpkin back to the bucket.

Cut an access door in the back of the box. This is a convenient way to access the buckets, power cord for the pump, and to connect the pump tube to the back of the pumpkin.

Step 7: Cover the Box

Use whatever materials you have on hand to cover the box. I used a plastic garbage bag. Cut a hole in the top of the bag so that you will be able to insert the funnel.

Step 8: Blood Collector

Using the 7/32" drill bit, cut a hole in the center of the pie pan. Duct tape the funnel to the back of the pie pan. Place the pie pan on top of the box with the funnel through the box hole. Don't worry if it does not sit flat. The weight of the pumpkin will take care of that.

Step 9: Connect the Pumpkin

Place the pumpkin on the pie pan. Connect the tubing from the back of the pumpkin to the pump. Plug in the pump and the "blood" should flow from the eyes. The blood should flow on the surface of the pumpkin, down to the pie pan, through the funnel, and back in to the bucket.

Lessons learned...

1. It took some trial and error to get the tubing lengths correct. Trim off a little at a time until you get the desired length.

2. The first time I connected everything, I didn't have enough water in the bucket. I could not get the water to come out the eyes. Adding more water solved the problem.

3. Because of the size of the mouth you may get some water inside the pumpkin. If this happens, cut holes in the bottom of the pumpkin to drain the excess water.