How to Carve a Fancy Pumpkin

By eHow Holidays & Celebrations Editor

Carve a Fancy Pumpkin

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With this technique, you remove the tough orange skin from some areas and carve out other sections completely to let the light from a candle or small flashlight shine through.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

Votive Candles
Paring Knives
Peelers
X-Acto Knives
Pumpkins
Spoons
Votive Candleholders
Pumpkin-carving Sets

Step1

Select a pumpkin with a smooth surface.

Step2

Draw a pattern on a separate piece of paper. Some suggestions are bats, skulls, spiders and ghosts.

Step3

Cut away the top section of the pumpkin surrounding the stem, and remove any seeds and pulp from inside.

Step4

Follow the pattern and draw the design on the pumpkin, thinking about which areas you'll cut out completely, and where you'll remove just the orange skin. Areas where the orange skin is left in place will appear darker than those where the skin is removed. In the case of a ghost, for example, you would completely carve out the eye holes and perhaps a mouth, but remove only the pumpkin's skin in the area of the ghost body.

Step5

Cut an outline around your design using a sharp knife.

Step6

Remove the areas that are to be completely cut.

Step7

Cut around any raised areas, such as folds of fabric or spider legs.

Step8

Slowly and carefully remove the orange skin from the desired areas with a vegetable peeler, an X-Acto knife or a dedicated pumpkin carving tool. Take your time, as this is the hard part. Variations in depth will create a more interesting design.

Step9

Place a votive candle or battery-powered light inside the pumpkin to create an eerie glow.

Tips & Warnings

Have a selection of tools on hand: sharp paring knives, an art knife, vegetable peelers, or best of all, a dedicated pumpkin-carving kit.
A slip of the knife can sometimes be mended by pinning the skin back in place with a toothpick.
Try cutting off the bottom of the pumpkin and removing the insides from this end, especially if the pumpkin is lopsided or the stem is very small.
Be extremely careful. Carving tools are sharp.
Be especially careful with candles near small children.

Comments

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 If you have the variable speed tool with the new chuck for holding bits, you can use the new rotozip bits to cut, slice and shave the flesh of the pumpkin. I've found you should use the variable speed tool for ease of use if you're a beginner or a pro.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 I use a clay carving tool called a clay loop to remove the skin only. Make sure that you remove the skin deep enough so light can get through. If I'm not sure I'm going deep enough, I take my pumpkin into a dark room and shine a flashlight into it.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 After you use the pumpkin, the top will shrink and fall in on your candle, so cut out the bottom instead. Cut several vent holes in the top.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 To transfer your patern to th pumpkin tape it on and use a toothpick to poke little holes along the lines. keep them very small so they dont show when your done carving. After you have poked the holes along your patern, remove the patern and rub flower over the area. The flower gets in the little holes and makes it very easy to follow the lines.

Anonymous said

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on 11/22/2005 Spread petroleum jelly anywhere you remove skinn or cut into th pumpkin. This will keep your pumpkin rom drying out. if your pumpkin tries to shrivel soak it in cold water for a couple hours and it will perk up again.

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