Spooktacular Spark Contest: Alberto the Mustache

I started by cutting out the top of the pumpkin. I used a kitchen knife and cut out a square shape around the stem.

Here's the top completely separated. Notice the guts. I combed through all of the guts to find the pumpkin seeds and saved them in a bowl.

Next, I cleaned out the heart of the pumpkin and all of his guts. The ice cream scoop worked well for gathering up all the pulp, and then when it got more difficult, I used the edge to scrape.

Heart of the pumpkin completely cleaned out. Looks pretty empty in there.

Next I taped on template, then I used a small screwdriver to punch holes from the template to the pumpkin.

Here's the outline of the template on the pumpkin. Alberto is starting to take shape!

I used a small knife to connect the holes I made with the screwdriver to cut out the shapes from the pumpkin. The small knife was a good choice because I could get around the corners easily.

Snack time! After I finished carving Alberto, I washed all of the pumpkin seeds and preheated the oven.

Then I spread them out onto a baking sheet, sprinkled on some seasoning, popped them in the oven, and enjoyed a well-deserved snack of roasted pumpkin seeds.