How to Carve Designs In Pumpkins

A plain Halloween pumpkin is like a blank canvas. There is no limit to the kinds of designs you can carve into a pumpkin as long as you use this very simple technique. All you need is a little patience and some easy-to-find household tools.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Several sizes of flexible knives
• Rub-on transfer or stencil
• A metal spoon
• Tape

1. First, cut off the top of the pumpkin so that it looks like a cookie jar with a lid.
2. With the metal spoon, scoop out all of the seeds and stringy pumpkin.
3. Take your rub-on transfer and tape it to the outside of your pumpkin. Rub the transfer until the image comes off onto the pumpkin's skin.
4. Now you can start carving your pumpkin. An important thing to remember is to make sure to only cut out negative areas of the image. Negative areas are the background. The subject should still be connected to the main part of the pumpkin.
5. Choose your biggest knife to cut out the largest areas of the image. Swivel your wrist while going around rounded areas to make a smoother line.
6. Use your smallest knife to cut out the details. Hold the end of the knife with the tips of your fingers to do very delicate, curvy areas. Rotate the knife with the tips of your fingers as you get to curves.
7. Finish your carving by adding details. You can do this by scraping little bits of the pumpkin's skin away with the tip of your knife. This is a great way to add a little texture to your carving.

Tips & Warnings

• You can buy rub-on transfers and knives made specifically for pumpkin carving.
• Make sure children have supervision while using knives.