Pumpkin Carving - Cool ideas for your project
What will you do this Halloween to make your pumpkin carving the best in the neighborhood? Your first step is to pick the perfect pumpkin. You might want a tall skinny pumpkin, or maybe a short round pumpkin is more what you are looking for. So pick your favorite then get to work. The first step to pumpkin carving is to remove the inside of the pumpkin. Most of the time a circle is cut around the stem of the pumpkin as to make a handle on the lid for easy removal. You can also cut a hole in the back. Use a knife or a jigsaw. Once this is done the fun begins. Grab a lot of newspaper and get ready! Kids like to use their hands to scoop out the insides, or you can use a wooden spoon or even an ice cream scoop. Scoop out all the seeds (save them for later) and the stringy insides, dispose of them on the newspaper. When this is done you can use your imagination to start your pumpkin carving experience. You can do the traditional pumpkin carving with triangle eyes and nose with a toothless grin. Or you can do some extreme pumpkin carving.
Helpful Hints:
Dry Erase Markers: Use them to draw the pattern you want to carve this way if you make a mistake you can easily erase your pattern before starting your pumpkin carving.
Standard Nail: Use to poke holes through pattern onto pumpkin after you have “traced” the pattern. Remove the stencil and you now know where to cut or just remove skin.
Instead of a candle: glow sticks, flashlights, road flares, lighter fluid soaked towels.
Jigsaw- sounds a little over the top but it is known to work well for pumpkin carving.
WD40: Yes WD40! Spray the outside after your pumpkin carving is finished to preserve it through the season.
Pumpkin Seeds: Do not rinse, remove string and goop. Add seasoning to taste. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes.
Lazy Susan: Place pumpkin on Lazy Susan so that you can turn pumpkin as you paint.
Corn Syrup, Red Food Coloring and Corn Starch: Makes a great fake blood when mixed together. Use on your pumpkin carving Halloween night for an awesome effect.
Toothpick: If you make a cut that you didn’t intend use toothpick to stick through the flesh side of piece and fit back into place.
For a few days in October your jack o lantern will glow as a result of your imagination and elbow grease. Pumpkin Carving is great family fun, make a day of it. Always remember to blow out all the candles at the end of the evening.