How to Carve a Pumpkin Easily

Don’t you just love it when the fall season hits and decorations start going up for Halloween and Thanksgiving! Vacation plans for the holidays start coming together. Someone somewhere always starts the countdown to Christmas and holiday parties start to fill up the calendar! Children are so excited for the Trick or Treat candy and as the weather cools, food plans are made for the Thanksgiving celebrations. Families are deciding whose parents they will visit and there are jack-o-lanterns and pumpkins on everyone’s doorstep. Here is a method to make your own carved pumpkin to decorate your front step for the holidays!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Pumpkin
• Carving tools
• Candle/glass votif
• Spoon or scoop
• Patience!

1. Use a sharp knife (like a boning knife) to cut a hole for the pumpkin. Usually it is done on the top, but if you flip the pumpkin over and cut the bottom - it is much easier to light the candle. Just make sure when you make the cut you face the knife towards the center of the pumpkin. In the back cut a small notch so you will know how to place the pieces back together later.
2. Know use a large spoon or ice cream scoop to clean out the inside pulp. Save the seeds for a nice snack for later. (Here is a great recipe for roasted pumpkin seeds: http://www.pumpkinmasters.com/recipe_view.asp?recipe_id=6)
3. Now paste on your paper template, molding the paper to the pumpkin. Alternately you can draw the picture directly on the pumpkin using a water washable marker.
   
   Here are a couple of links for free online templates:
   a. http://www.dremel.com/en-US/projects-and-community/PumpkinTemplates.htm
   
   b. http://www.pumpkinmasters.com/free_patterns_main.asp
4. Now if you are using a device like a dremel, trace the pattern using the low setting and then the high setting for larger areas. Otherwise you can use a sharp tool to poke little pokes through the paper into the pumpkin so you can see the outline.
   
   I highly recommend getting the dremel as it makes the carving so much easier and it is relatively inexpensive. Here is the information as listed on Amazon.com: Dremel 764-04 Pumpkin Carving Kit includes 6-Volt Minimite Cordless Rotary Tool $19.00.
5. Once you have carved to your heart's content, remove any paper templates, or wash off the marker, soak the pumpkin in a bucket of water to prevent the pumpkin from shriveling. Let it air-dry completely and then rub a small amount of petroleum jelly on the cut areas to keep the edges from drying out.
6. Now insert a light source such as a tea candle in a glass votive.
   
   That's it!
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Tips & Warnings

• Here is a fun site for men who want a little more aggressive carving: www.ExtremePumpkins.com