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Find a pumpkin carving pattern. Figure out what you want to do with your pumpkin. You should have a pumpkin carving pattern in mind before you select your pumpkin. In fact, it is a good idea to bring a printout of your pumpkin carving stencil with you when you are shopping for a pumpkin. Most pumpkin carving patterns are scalable but every pumpkin is a little different. It’s good to have an idea of what you want to do with your pumpkin before you buy it! That being said, there are thousands of pumpkin carving patterns on the market so you will easily be able to find one that you like and matches up with your pumpkin if you bought the pumpkin before looking at pumpkin carving patterns. Select your pumpkin! It’s always fun to go out to the field, do a hay ride and pick out you pumpkin. It’s just another fun event and is great to do in conjunction with a haunted house. However, if you do not have time this year, there are many local stores and stands that offer pumpkins.Pumpkin Carving Tools. It depends on the type of pumpkin design you are making. Wood carving tools work great for various depth cuts. It is very helpful to have different sizes of saws. There are pumpkin carving kits available. Like anything, there are very good sets and less expensive sets. It all depends on what you are trying to accomplish. We’ve seen carving kits range from $3 to $100. For simple designs, you can use an ice cream scoop and a steak knife! We have also seen people effectively employ power tools like drills, routers and Dremels. Be careful with the power tools and do your carving outside! Things move a lot faster with power tools so the pumpkin gets carved faster but mistakes happen a lot faster as well. Just proceed with caution if you use power tools! Cut the top of the pumpkin. On top of the pumpkin, draw a circle or a hexagon around the stem. The shape should be a little larger than your hand. We like the hexagon cut because it’s easier to follow with a saw (6 straight cuts). It’s important to taper the cap you are cutting out so that it is shaped like a cone. It helps to keep it in place as the pumpkin dehydrates. Scoop out the guts! Scoop out all of the seeds and guts. It also helps to thin the walls a little bit. Thinner pumpkin walls make the pumpkin easier to carve. Many inexpensive kits come with plastic scoops but honestly, an ice cream scoop works just as well, if not better. Save the pumpkin seeds! Roast the pumpkin seeds. This is just a side project to entertain you and have a snack while you’re carving your pumpkins. Of course, this is not required to carve your pumpkin but it makes the evening a little more festive. It’s pretty simple. You need a baking sheet, some butter and salt. First, wash the pumpkin seeds but don’t do too good of a job washing them. It adds a little more flavor to have some of the pumpkin guts mixed in with the seeds. We like to keep the seeds in a bowl and pour melted butter and salt over them. Spray a little oil on a cookie sheet, spread out the pumpkin seeds evenly on the cookie sheet, turn on the oven to a low heat (roughly 200 degrees Fahrenheit) and cook for 30-40 minutes. Some people make them spicy (old bay seasoning), some do a kettle corn type recipe with sugar and some have completely unique recipes. Transfer the design onto the pumpkin. If you’re an artist, you can draw the design directly on the pumpkin. However, most of us will need to print out the pumpkin carving design and tape it to the pumpkin. Then, use a poking instrument to poke through the paper onto the pumpkin tracing the outline of the design onto the pumpkin. Be careful not to move the paper around too much while transferring the design. Shade the areas that will be cut out. It helps to visualize the picture so that you can systematically carve out one piece at a time. If you use a marker to shade the areas that are going to be removed from the pumpkin, it will help you visualize the project. It is not required but we find this technique to be helpful. Carve the pumpkin. Use your tools to carve along the dotted line and cutout the shaded areas! Place a votive candle inside. Place a candle inside, light it, out the top on and turn out the lights! Be sure to take a picture and send it to us so we can post it!
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