Today’s project is the little Jack O’ Lantern-in-the-box from The Nightmare Before Christmas. This guy shows up about 3/4 of the way through the film when Halloweentown’s Christmas gifts come alive and start terrorizing the children. Above is a screenshot from the film and below is my finished guy:
Continue reading for a tutorial on how to create your own!
- Supplies needed:
- Plywood
- 3/4″ PVC
- Box Hinges
- Gutter spout connector (accordion neck)
- Bicycle hanging hook
- Wooden knob
- Foam Pumpkin
- Nails, screws, & glue
- Paint pen
- Acrylic paints: Blue, Green, Yellow, Red, Black, White
(In the picture are springs and metal angle connectors. I originally intended to make a bobble head but it didn’t work out and I ended up not using the angle connectors. The original hinges weren’t quite right either so I used the ones in the second pic.
Here is a printable picture of the clown on the box to use as a template:
Make the box
My box is a 14″ cube. Measure and cut and choose which side will be your front. Attach the lid with the hinges, then remove the lid. (The lid will not close over the pumpkin head, but it will be difficult to attach the lid with the pumpkin head in place. This way you can place the screws back in the original holes with the lid open.
Take a small block of 2×4 and drill a1″ hole to slide your PVC. Attach the 2×4 to the bottom of the box from below. Place the end of the PVC pipe into the hole and secure to block with screws.
Make the crank
Using a hacksaw, cut the bicycle hook as shown. Measure the width of the metal shank and drill that sized hole in the wooden knob. Attach knob to shank with glue. Allow to dry.
Painting
Paint the outside of the box Christmas Red. The inside of the box is black and the inside of the lid is white with black stripes. The crank and the accordion neck are both black.
Use a black paint pen to draw in the face on the pumpkin head. Drill a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin head so that it will sit on the PVC.
Now you are ready to draw the clown.
Draw the Clown
Using the picture as a template, sketch or trace the clown onto the front of the box with a pencil. Use acrylic paints to color in the lines, then use the paint marker to define the lines. Don’t worry about details. Remember who drew this clown originally. No, not production artists on a movie set, little Halloweentown creatures who just before were turning dead rats into hats. The clown is beautifully imperfect and the imperfections are what add to its authenticity. Allow the clown to dry. Reattach the lid, attach the accordion neck using screws, and screw on the crank and your project is complete!
If you have any questions, please leave a comment or email me at scarydad@scarydad.com
Happy haunting!
Hello Scary Dad,
Fun (and deadly accurate) piece of work you have there.
I’m a pretty good writer…not so much a craftsman, unfortunately. So I was wondering if I could commission you to make one of these amazing Jack O’Lantern in the Box toys for me.
Sending you an email.
I was wondering is there anyway to make this pop up?
Sure there is. You would need a spring coil in the neck. There are actually kits you can buy to make your own Jack-in-the-boxes, although the ones I’ve seen are for smaller, toy-sized Jacks. I’m sure if you look hard enough you can find a kit though. This one was meant to be still from the beginning. I came this close to giving him a bobble head but changed my mind in the end.