Tips for Carving a Pumpkin
With Halloween quickly approaching, head out to the pumpkin patch, or even your local grocery store, for the best selection of pumpkins to carve. With a few pointers and tools, you can go beyond the basic triangle eyes and toothy grin and be the envy of the neighborhood with the coolest Jack-o’-lantern on the block.
Although a regular kitchen knife will do the job, purchase a pumpkin carving kit from your local grocery, drug, or craft store. The kits are designed for safety and ease of use. One of the easiest ways of carving an impressive looking pumpkin is to purchase a Jack-o’-lantern stencil set. These are available at craft stores or free online. Those with more artistic skill can free-draw a design.
Clean out the pumpkin
Wait until the day of, or the day before Halloween to carve your pumpkin to avoid a rotten Jack-o’-lantern. Cover a table with newspaper and have a spoon or scraping tool nearby. First, use a marker to draw a circle around the stem large enough to fit your hand inside the pumpkin. An adult should cut around the line with the saw tool. Cut at a 45 degree angle to prevent the lid from falling inside the pumpkin. Set the lid aside and scrape all the seeds and strings inside with the spoon or scraping tool. After carving your pumpkin, roast the seeds for a tasty autumn snack.
Carving
To create a pattern, draw directly on the pumpkin or draw on tracing paper. If using a candle inside the pumpkin, make sure to cut out large enough pieces to keep the candle well ventilated. Using the poking tool from your carving kit, poke holes around the lines of the pattern. At this point, it’s not necessary to poke all the way through the pumpkin, poke far enough to see the holes on the pumpkin.
Have an adult carve from dot to dot using the saw tool and pull out the cut pieces. Start carving in the center of the pumpkin with the smallest features and carefully work towards the outside of the pattern. If you accidently cut off a piece that wasn’t supposed to come off, reattach it with a toothpick.
Creative pattern ideas
This Halloween go behind the grin that you’ve always used before and think of more creative ideas. For example, carving a spider pattern into the pumpkin will give trick-or-treaters the creeps as they approach your home. Simply, use a marker to draw a spider body and eight legs onto the pumpkin. Cut out the pattern and add a candle or a battery-operated flameless candle to the inside. To add to the mood, place fake spider webs around the Jack-o’-lantern.
To make a witch, draw spooky eyes and a mouth. After cutting out the pattern, paint the pumpkin green and top off with a witches hat when it’s dry. Put a broomstick nearby.
Disney’s Family Fun magazine has many creative patterns for carving the best pumpkin ever.Family Funhas ideas such as a fish family, bats, ghosts, cats, and many other easy, but creative ideas.
Once you’re done carving, proudly put your Jack-o’-lantern on display, but make sure to place it away from any flammables. With these tips for carving a pumpkin, you should be able to kick your pumpkin carving skills up a notch and have the coolest pumpkin on the block.
