Free Pumpkin Carving Patterns and Stencils
Is your Jack-o-lantern a simple grinning pumpkinhead? Turn him into something wild and creative with free pumpkin stencils you can find on the web. Below you'll find a list of sites offering free stencils, as well as information about tools and books that can help you create great-looking pumpkins, some videos to inspire you and some history about jack-o-lanterns..
Where to Find Free Pumpkin Carving Stencils Online
Patterns and Stencils to Create the Ultimate Jack-o-Lantern
Don't settle for a plain pumpkin! There are plenty of places online that can help you create a cool jack-o-lantern. You'll be able to carve everything from Halloween witches and ghosts to scary beasts with help from these free sites.Pumpkin Stencil Maker - Better Homes and Gardens
Stoneykins
Free Pumpkin Carving Stencils.net
Spookmaster.com
Pumpkin Carving Templates - HP.com
Kim's Free Pumpkin Patterns - About.com
Free Carving Patterns - The Pumpkin Lady
Pumpkin Cutouts - History Channel
Pumpkin Carving Templates - KOA
Halloween Pumpkin Carving Ideas - Celebrating Halloween
Patterns - Zombie Pumpkins
Nick Jr. Pumpkin Patterns
Pumpkin Stencils - Hershey TrickorTreats
Make the Most of Your Pumpkin Carving Patterns
Dremel pumpkin carving kit makes it easy to create amazing jack-o-lanterns
Dremel 7000-PK 6-Volt Pumpkin Carving Kit
Amazon Price: $18.88 (as of 02/14/2012)
If you're tired of flimsy pumpkin carving tools that bend and break, the Dremel pumpkin carving kit may be what you need. Here are some of the features of this tool:
- 6 Volt
- Two Carving Speeds
- High-Speed Cutter Accessory for Detailed Sculpting
- 10 artistic jack-o'-lantern templates
- Lightweight and Cordless
More Pumpkin Carving Tools
Pumpkin Carving Tool Set
Amazon Price: $20.80 (as of 02/14/2012)
If you want to carve intricate or extreme pumpkin patterns, you'll need the right tools to make the cuts that will turn your pumpkin into a piece of art. This set include nine carving tools to help you get the job done.
Free Halloween Photo E-Cards
Share your pumpkin carving creations with friends!
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History of Jack-o-Lanterns
Why do we carve pumpkins?
Throughout Britain and Ireland, there is a long tradition of carving lanterns from vegetables, particularly the turnip. This can be traced back to the legend of Stingy Jack, who tricked the Devil and was sent wandering the earth for eternity with an ember placed in a carved turnip. But not until 1837 does jack-o'-lantern appear as a term for a carved vegetable lantern, and the carved lantern does not become associated specifically with Halloween until 1866. Significantly, both occurred not in Britain or Ireland, but in North America. Historian David J. Skal writes,"Although every modern chronicle of the holiday repeats the claim that vegetable lanterns were a time-honored component of Halloween celebrations in the British Isles, none gives any primary documentation. In fact, none of the major nineteenth-century chronicles of British holidays and folk customs make any mention whatsoever of carved lanterns in connection with Halloween. Neither do any of the standard works of the early twentieth century."
In America, the carved pumpkin was first associated with the harvest season in general, long before it became an emblem of Halloween. The poet John Greenleaf Whittier, who was born in 1807, wrote in "The Pumpkin" (1850):
"Oh!-fruit loved of boyhood!-the old days recalling,
When wood-grapes were purpling and brown nuts were falling!
When wild, ugly faces we carved in its skin,
Glaring out through the dark with a candle within!"
Source: Wikipedia
If You Can't Carve... Cheat!
Turn your pumpkin into a pirate
Mr. Potato Head TM Pirate Push-In
Amazon Price: $14.95 (as of 02/14/2012)
Creating a pirate pumpkin from this kit is so easy, even a child can do it. Just get a pumpkin (not included) and have fun poking these pirate pieces into it. No carving, no cutting, and none of that gooey pumpkin stuff to deal with! Fun for anyone who loves Mr. Potato Head!
More Halloween Pages
Pumpkin Carving Books
If you want more help, try these books for tips and ideas
Extreme Pumpkin Carving
For advanced carvers...
Extreme Pumpkin Carving: 20 Amazing Designs from Frightful to Fabulous
Amazon Price: $9.20 (as of 02/14/2012)
Providing a new twist on a holiday tradition, this book illustrates how to carve three-dimensional faces and scenes in pumpkins using tools ranging from kitchen knives to carving gouges and chisels. Complete information is provided for getting started, including an overview of tools and tips for finding the best pumpkin to work with. Step-by-step instructions are detailed for using handy household tools to carve dramatic Halloween figures and using professional tools for creating more elaborate and intricate details. Twenty pumpkin carving patterns are provided and include full-color photographs of each finished carving.
Pumpkin Carving Videos
Instruction and inspiration for pumpkin carvers
Any Pumpkin Carving Tips?
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wiedruce
Nov 5, 2011 @ 5:00 am | delete
- Hello.. I love your lens..very interesting and full of ideas.. Thank you for sharing.
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desa999
Nov 4, 2011 @ 5:26 am | delete
- I like the layout of your lens. Very nicely done. I can see why you are so successful.
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nigel7725
Nov 3, 2011 @ 11:34 pm | delete
- http://www.squidoo.com/free-pumpkin-carving-patterns
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collettehrock
Oct 31, 2011 @ 11:24 pm | delete
- Great ideas for putting in the garden to light the way
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praise
Oct 31, 2011 @ 7:33 am | delete
- carve outside! Great lens, 5*
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poppy11
Oct 29, 2011 @ 4:55 am | delete
- Thanks for this - our twin boys keep wanting to carve their pumpkins but my attempts have always seemed pretty amateurish. Now I have no excuse!
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HuntAndFishGuides
Oct 29, 2011 @ 12:45 am | delete
- Thanks for the tips, we made a couple Angry Bird pumpkins this year and they looked cool as heck, but it just wasn't the same as carving them out.
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mnriver
Oct 28, 2011 @ 8:37 pm | delete
- Funny I never think about pumpkins til October
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Jennifer_Glennon
Oct 28, 2011 @ 7:55 pm | delete
- The best pumpkin carving tip that I came up with this year was to wait until my 4 year old was in bed. She was disappointed, but there was less blood shed.
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bloomingrose
Oct 28, 2011 @ 7:35 pm | delete
- "Vegetable Lantern." What a nice phrase! I will use that one for sure. I love our pumpkins, carved or not.
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About the Author
This Halloween Magazine page written by
lisadh
I'm Lisa, a Giant Squid with two kids, two dogs, four cats, and a Squidoo addiction. You can learn more on my lensography.
In addition to creating lenses...
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