Pumpkin Carving
I started carving pumpkins by myself when I was in middle school. I remember taking my time to get it just right and being so proud of my work. In 8th grade I entered a Jack-o-lantern contest at school and won! One of my teachers liked it so much he asked to bring it home. It was a carving of a cat's face. It took a while to complete but with a pattern and the right tools it wasn't all that hard to make. I let him take it and then I made another one for my house. :)
The pumpkin in the intro photo is a unicorn carving. My daughter was dressing up as a unicorn for Halloween and wanted our pumpkin to match. I guess it's a cross between a pegasus and a unicorn, since it has wings. ;)
Tips, tools and patterns to help you carve your Jack-o-lantern. I hope this lens gives you some great ideas for Halloween.
Carve-O-Lantern
These were the two patterns mentioned above. The cat and the unicorn.
Carve-O-Lantern: A Unique Way to Carve Your Halloween Pumpkins
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Basic carving tools
Dremel 764-04 Pumpkin Carving Rotary Tool includes 10 Templates
Hey...it's a "power" tool for pumpkin carving. Dads will love it.
Amazon Price: (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $44.20
Paper Magic Group Halloween Pumpkin Carving Tool Punch Wheel
This small saw is recommended for ages 9 and up.
Amazon Price: $2.49 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price:
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Pumpkin Masters CD Pattern Maker Kit
Comes with 2 saws, 1 poker and 1 scoop.
PC and Mac compatible CD-ROM with 20 Pumpkin Masters patterns and mix & match features and scenes to create your own pattern.
Amazon Price: $9.95 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price:
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Pumpkin Masters Halloween Hardware Kit (Quantity =2)
Pumpkin Masters is the brand I always use.
Amazon Price: $11.50 (as of 12/04/2009)
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Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Pumpkin Masters Power Poker and Saw
Comes with a replaceable saw attachment and a replaceable poker attachment.
Amazon Price: $6.98 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $9.99
Usually ships in 3-4 business days
Time to start!
The first three steps.
Step #1: Picking out your stencil.If you want to create a detailed Jack O'Lantern you'll want to use a stencil. You can buy them, print out free stencils, or draw your own by hand or on your computer.
Step #2: Cutting the top of the pumpkin.
As you cut, angle the knife in toward the center of the pumpkin so the lid you are creating will have something to rest on. I cut in a circle but like to add a square notched "key" in the lid so it can always be put back in the right position.
Step #3: Cleaning out the pumpkin.
Remove all of the pulp from inside the pumpkin. Separate the seeds into a bowl if you want to roast pumpkin seeds. I love pumpkin seeds! Make sure to scrape the inside of the pumpkin as clean as you can. Wipe down the outside when you are finished.
Looking for Free Patterns?
- Pumpkin Masters
- Pumpkin Masters created the first pumpkin carving kit. Their site offers carving tips, free patterns, pumpkin recipes, contests and more.
- The Pumpkin Wizard
- This site has over 500 patterns, 300 of them are free. They also have a bulletin board set up for people to ask questions and share ideas.
- PumpkinPage.com
- Jack-O-Lantern.com has all kinds of nifty stuff to look through...including a number of free patterns. You can also find out how to create personalized portrait carving patterns.
- Stoneykins.com
- This site is devoted to the art of pumpkin carving. They have over 80 Free patterns to choose from.
- Yes We Carve
- Download, carve & share your Barack O' Lantern.
What's next?
Step #4: Transfering the image onto the pumpkin.Tape the stencil to the face of the pumpkin. Start at the top, then the bottom and end at the sides. You may have to fold the stencil a bit to get it to fit the shape of your pumpkin. That's ok just try to make the creases where the pattern will be the least effected.
Using a poker tool, follow around your pattern in 1/8th inch intervals by pressing the tip into the pumpkin. You are creating the guidelines to cut later with a saw. Make sure to mark every corner and use enough pressure to pierce the pumpkins skin. You'll need to be able to see the marks clearly so you know exactly where to cut. When you finish with the stencil carefully remove it so you can refer back to it if need be.
Kits from Disney
Pirates of the Caribbean Pumpkin-Carving Kit
Includes punch wheel, plastic scoop, punch, small saw, and 6 Pirates of the Caribbean theme stencil patterns.
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List Price: $14.99
Halloween Disney Pumpkin Carving Kit
Includes punch wheel, plastic scoop, punch, small saw, and 6 Winnie the Pooh theme stencil patterns.
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Amazon Price: $12.49 (as of 12/04/2009)
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Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Disney Princess Pumpkin Carving Kit
Includes punch wheel, plastic scoop, punch, small saw, and 6 Disney Princess theme stencil patterns.
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Amazon Price: $11.88 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $16.77
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Disney Princess Pumpkin Carving Stencil Book Halloween Accessory(B68)
Includes 7 Disney Princess themed patterns.
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Hard to find Disney Carving Kits
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Finishing up
The final 3 steps
Step #5: Carving the Jack O'Lantern.Start with the smallest shape that will be removed. Using a small carving saw, push the tip of the blade into the pumpkin and start following the dots. Use short back and forth sawing motions. Don't rush and pay close attention to corners. Gently push out the pieces you cut. Make sure the check the inside of the pumpkin when you are finished and clean out any pieces that have fallen in.
Step #6: Protecting the Jack O'Lantern.
When I'm done carving the pumpkin I coat all of the cut surfaces with petroleum jelly. I don't do the inside, but if you want to keep your Jack O'Lantern for a while it is best to coat the inside as well. This helps keep the pumpkin from drying out too soon. You don't want a shriveled up moldy pumpkin right away after all of your hard work!
Step #7: Mmm Mmm Good
If you have cinnamon handy sprinkle some on the underside of the lid. When the candle is lit and it warms up the pumpkin your jack-o'-lantern will smell like pumpkin pie.
Patterns for football fans
Washington Redskins Pumpkin Carving Kit
Comes with six Washington Redskins patterns, glue stick, carving tool, and pumpkin scoop.
Release Date: 03/09/2009
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $6.99
Usually ships in 24 hours
Baltimore Ravens Pumpkin Carving Kit
Comes with six Baltimore Ravens patterns, glue stick, carving tool, and pumpkin scoop.
Release Date: 03/09/2009
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $6.99
Usually ships in 24 hours
Denver Broncos Pumpkin Carving Kit
Comes with six Denver Broncos patterns, glue stick, carving tool, and pumpkin scoop.
Release Date: 03/09/2009
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $6.99
Usually ships in 24 hours
Green Bay Packers Pumpkin Carving Kit
Comes with six Green Bay Packers patterns, glue stick, carving tool, and pumpkin scoop.
Release Date: 03/09/2009
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $6.99
Usually ships in 24 hours
Oakland Raiders Pumpkin Carving Kit
Comes with six Oakland Raiders patterns, glue stick, carving tool, and pumpkin scoop.
Release Date: 03/09/2009
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $6.99
Usually ships in 24 hours
Patterns for baseball fans
Boston Red Sox Pumpkin Carving Kit
Comes with six Boston Red Sox patterns, glue stick, carving tool, and pumpkin scoop.
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $6.99
Usually ships in 1-2 business days
New York Mets Pumpkin Carving Kit
Comes with six New York Mets patterns, glue stick, carving tool, and pumpkin scoop.
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $6.99
Usually ships in 24 hours
New York Yankees Pumpkin Carving Kit
Comes with six New York Yankees patterns, glue stick, carving tool, and pumpkin scoop.
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $6.99
Usually ships in 24 hours
Chicago Cubs Pumpkin Carving Kit
Comes with six Chicago Cubs patterns, glue stick, carving tool, and pumpkin scoop.
Amazon Price: $9.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $6.99
Usually ships in 24 hours
Chicago White Sox Pumpkin Carving Kit
Comes with six Chicago White Sox patterns, glue stick, carving tool, and pumpkin scoop.
Amazon Price: $6.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $6.99
Usually ships in 24 hours
What about those mini pumpkins?
Books on the subject
Pumpkin Carving
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Extreme Pumpkin Carving: 20 Amazing Designs from Frightful to Fabulous
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Amazon Price: $10.17 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $14.95
Used Price: $6.72
Usually ships in 24 hours
Extreme Pumpkins: Diabolical Do-It-Yourself Designs to Amuse Your Friends and Scare Your Neighbors
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Amazon Price: $11.16 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $13.95
Used Price: $1.72
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Extreme Pumpkins II: Take Back Halloween and Freak Out a Few More Neighbors
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List Price: $13.95
Used Price: $0.01
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Great Pumpkins: Crafty Carvings for Halloween
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Amazon Price: $12.78 (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $14.95
Used Price: $2.00
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Pumpkin Carving Tool Box
Pumpkin Carving Tool Kit
$7.99
15 piece set includes:
5 stencils, 2 candles with safety holders, marking pen
pumpkin scoop, carving tool, designer tool, etching tool & box
Pumpkin Decorating with Oriental Trading
)
Pirate Pumpkin Decorating Craft Kit
$3.99
Kit includes self-adhesive foam pieces, yarn and wooden beads
to decorate 12 pumpkins.
)
Masquerade Masks Decorating Kit
$14.99
Kit includes 12 masks, 48 marabou trims, feathers, 72 pompoms, 60 chenille stems,
252 plastic jewels, 12 elastic bands and 89 stickers.
)
Pumpkin Carving Tool Kit
$5.99
Kit includes 12 assorted 6 1/2" x 7" paper patterns, 2 saws, 1 scraper scoop,
1 drill and 1 pounce wheel.
A Fantasy Pumpkin
The Midnight Hour
This was originally posted on hallmarkmagazine.com which has since ceased publication.
What You'll Need:
1- 12" tall pumpkin
4- 4" tall gourds
4- ornate drawer pulls
3- ornate metal belt buckles
1- ornate lamp finial
2- 1/4" dowel rods (cut to the approx. diameter of your pumpkin)
Pencil or marker
Knife
Craft glue
Heavy-gauge florist's wire
Cordless drill fitted with 1/4" bit
Instructions:
1. Trace the inside of each belt buckle onto the pumpkin and cut to create openings for two windows and a door.
2. Glue the hardware over the openings.
3. Remove or cut down the stem until it's even with the flesh of the pumpkin, and twist the finial into the top.
4. Drill a hole through the center of each gourd.
5. Insert one dowel rod into the holes of two gourds to create an axle, and secure with glue. Repeat to create a second set of wheels.
6. Finish off all four wheels by inserting a drawer pull into the outside hole of each gourd for hubcaps.
7. Line up the two sets of wheels next to each other at about the same width as your pumpkin. Then wrap wire from one dowel rod to the other to fasten the axles together and to create a webbing for the pumpkin carriage to sit on.
8. Gently place your carriage on the wire.
For illustrated instructions take a look this Pumpkinhowto.pdf
Pumpkin Stands
Witch Halloween Pumpkin Stand for Jack O Lantern
Amazon Price: $19.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
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Vampire Halloween Pumpkin Stand for Jack O Lantern
Amazon Price: $19.99 (as of 12/04/2009)
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Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Tag Halloween Party Wrought Iron Pumpkin Stand, 10.625" Tall
Amazon Price: (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $29.99
Topperscot New York Giants Pumpkin Bumpkin Pumpkin Holder
Amazon Price: (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $19.99
Topperscot Oakland Raiders Pumpkin Bumpkin Pumpkin Holder
Amazon Price: (as of 12/04/2009)
List Price: $19.99
Pumpkin Seeds!
This is what I used last year. If you have your own pumpkin roasting experiment let me know the results! I really want to find the perfect "recipe".
Ingredients: seeds from 1 pumpkin, 1 teaspoon of butter, and salt.
Instructions: Place the seeds in a strainer and rinse them. Drain them and let them dry. Preheat Oven to 250 degrees. Melt the butter and coat the pumpkin seeds. Place the seeds 1 layer deep on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle them with salt. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown, stirring 2 to 3 times.
An alternative to carving
Mr. Potato Head Pumpkin Decorating Kits
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Pumpkin Carving on Squidoo
Do you have any pumpkin carving tips to share?
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- RollingLuggage RollingLuggage Nov 9, 2009 @ 4:36 pm
- Wonderful lens & Great information
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- nukemdomis nukemdomis Oct 31, 2009 @ 9:02 am
- Unlike yourself, my templates are trashed after carving. Where are your Squidoo pumpkin carving patterns? I saw them here before?
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- cconiam cconiam Oct 29, 2009 @ 8:30 pm
- Wish I had seen this a couple weeks ago...we do an annual family punkin carving challenge...LOVE the fantasy pumpkin (cinderella's coach)...and love the cinnamon idea...great lens!! =)
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- ideadesigns ideadesigns Oct 29, 2009 @ 11:12 am
- You really poured your heart into this lens! Great pictures and ideas. I've featured this lens on my carving lens! 5 stars! http://www.squidoo.com/pumpkincarve
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- AppalachianCountry AppalachianCountry Oct 26, 2009 @ 10:53 am
- We enjoy pumpkin craving. Thank-you for all the step by step and stencils. Fun lens.
5 stars*****
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- NaturalVamp NaturalVamp Oct 23, 2009 @ 5:01 pm
- Thanks for the step-by-step, on the cat carving dahling. So much easier to follow allong.
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- jgelien jgelien Oct 21, 2009 @ 5:33 pm
- There are some really cool carving ideas here. I can't wait to give it a shot.
Love the lens.
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- michelle vu michelle vu Oct 20, 2009 @ 10:56 pm
- i love your lens! a lot of useful tips on how to master the art of pumpkin carving. I always thought it was a messy job and all (taking out all the insides), but I assumed wrong. I loved the cat stencil that you applied to the pumpking, very creative and artistic. Back in my childhood, my family and I used to carve out pumpkins, basic face with the angry eyebrows and all, I couldn't help but to reminisce back to my past when we were all so happy as children and getting all excited for trick-or-treating. As I said, very useful tips on carving, stenciling, etc..I will use this as a reference to carve out my pumpkin for next week!
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- ambalajecatering ambalajecatering Oct 20, 2009 @ 6:39 am
- Well, Hallowen tradition is starting to grow in "adepts" in my country. It`s a relatively new tradition here, as we are part of the ex-communist countries.
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- lasertek lasertek Oct 14, 2009 @ 9:13 pm
- Nice! I like the unicorn pattern. Thanks for sharing what you know.
Visit my lens as well if you got the time. Thanks again.
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- Kim lim Kim lim Oct 13, 2009 @ 4:04 pm
- good ideas. and i am going to buy one pumpkin and carve it myself on Halloween =D
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- Lori Ellis Lori Ellis Oct 13, 2009 @ 1:00 pm
- Great ideas! So many fantastic pumpkins!!! I guess people get the wrong idea that it is alot harder to carve fancy pumpkins then it really is.(although some look like they take alot more work then others) I remember my Grandmother painting pumpkins aswell! I do think that carving the design is a more traditional method and alot more fun! My favourite part as a kid was pulling out all the insides. (guts)
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- saranyaf saranyaf Oct 12, 2009 @ 6:01 am
- awesome info, cool idea
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- Tipi Tipi Oct 7, 2009 @ 7:06 pm
- This is a real beautiful pumpkin carving lens, great job creating a work of art.
Happy Halloween!
Susie
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- sandyspider sandyspider Oct 3, 2009 @ 8:30 am
- Great lens! Congratulations on your purple star! I will lenroll this into my Halloween lenses.
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- andreaberrios andreaberrios Oct 2, 2009 @ 7:35 pm
- Awesome lens, lensrolled to all my Halloween lenses. Congrats on your purple star!! 5*
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- jptanabe jptanabe Sep 6, 2009 @ 9:17 am
- We used to carve pumpkins, but never got as ambitious or successful as these! Love that cat!
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- fanfreluche fanfreluche Sep 6, 2009 @ 4:07 am
- Your cat Jack O' Lantern is beautiful! You have talent. I'll try one this year, my son is now 2 and i think he'll enjoy that.
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- MiaBellezza MiaBellezza Aug 21, 2009 @ 10:28 pm
- This looks like so much fun. Great photos too 5*!
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- likeapenguin likeapenguin Apr 30, 2009 @ 9:41 am
- This is going to come in handy this year! I always was curious about how to do this ...
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Thanks!
This the most visited lens on Squidoo October 29-31, 2007.
by Christene
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