Halloween Basics: 4 Ways to Carve a Pumpkin (Free Printables Included!)
We dug right into the Halloween spirit last week with some no-carve pumpkins, high-tech pumpkins, pumpkin seed recipes, and more. Now we’re ready to get our hands slimy with an art that dates back to 17th century Ireland and Scotland, where carved vegetables were used to light the way in the dark and were said to represent spirits and protect one’s home from evil. Though, they were at a colossal disadvantage without our awesome templates. Good news for you, today they can be downloaded right here!
Note, our mustache pumpkin is proven to ward off negativity and sadness in both children and adults. Also, some of the Brit + Co. engineers have sited improved dancing and mingling skills since its creation. It also happens to be our easiest carve today.
Ok, let’s dig in.
Materials:
– pumpkins
– various carving knives and scooping tools (we got our kit at Target)
Tools:
– marker/pen
– printable templates (download here)
– cutting mat
– xacto knife
– rubbing alcohol
Instructions:
1. Draw a starburst shape around the stem of your pumpkin and cut along the lines until you can free the top from the rest of the pumpkin.
2. Dig out the guts with a serrated scooper if you can. Keep the seeds! (we’ll show you plenty of ways to cook them up this season). Get everything stringy and slimy out of the pumpkin so it’s smooth and dry on the inside.
3. Next, take your template of choice and cut out the grey areas to make a stencil. (Tip: If you print your template out on cardstock it’s much easier to trace)
4. Use the stencil to draw the design onto the pumpkin.
5. Now you are ready to carve out the design. One thing I noticed really helped was to go over all the lines first with the xacto knife to get a path started for my blade. When carving, small, steady sawing motions work for the cleanest cuts.
6. If you still have marks left from a pen or marker, you can use rubbing alcohol to remove them.
7. Put a candle or better yet, an LED candle inside and you’re done!
Pro-tip: If you accidentally lob off an important detail of your pumpkin design, you can break a toothpick in half, jam it into the fallen piece on the side where it meets the rest of the design, and stick it back in place.
To prep your pumpkin, draw a starburst shape around the stem of your pumpkin and cut along the lines until you can free the top from the rest of the pumpkin. Dig out the guts with a serrated scooper if you can. Keep the seeds! (we’ll show you plenty of ways to cook them up this season).
Get everything stringy and slimy out of the pumpkin so it’s smooth and dry on the inside.
Next, take your template of choice and cut out the grey areas to make a stencil. (Tip: If you print your template out on cardstock it’s much easier to trace.)
Use the stencil to draw the design onto the pumpkin.
Voila!
Now you are ready to carve out the design. One thing I noticed really helped was to go over all the lines first with the xacto knife to get a path started for my blade. When carving, small, steady sawing motions work for the cleanest cuts.
BOO!
We repeated the same process with a starry-eyed Jack O’Lantern design, a shadowy cat, and a mustache.
If there’s any ink remaining on your pumpkin after you’ve carved it, use rubbing alcohol to wash it right off.
Don’t they all look darling? Ichabod Crane would totally rock these pumpkins in place of his head.
Which design is your favorite?
Now we just need to put ’em outside to keep the spooks away!
What your favorite Halloween traditions? Will you decorate this Halloween? Talk to us in the comments below.
