How to Carve a Cornucopia Pumpkin

The cornucopia basket makes a colorful Thanksgiving table decoration.

A cornucopia is a horn-shaped basket that contains fruit, vegetables, flowers and corn. It is used at Thanksgiving to symbolize abundance and a successful harvest. Halloween falls very near harvest time and a cornucopia makes a very appropriate pumpkin carving. You can even carve the jack-o-lantern for your Thanksgiving table decor. Carving the small details of flowers and corn or the round shape of the fruit and vegetables is challenging and should only be attempted by experienced carvers.

Things You'll Need

• Newspaper
• Knife, spoon and potato peeler
• OR
• Pumpkin carving kit
• Picture printed on paper
• Scissors
• Tape (any kind)
• Flour
• Votive Candle
• Barbecue lighter or matches

Instructions

1. 

   Newspaper will expedite the cleaning up process.

   Spread the newspaper out on your working surface. Place the pumpkin in the center. Choose a pumpkin that has one flattish, blemish-free side to give you a nice surface to work with. Start by creating a 'lid' on top of the pumpkin. Cut around the top stem, holding the knife at a 45 degree angle. This will create a lid where the outside orange skin is of a greater diameter than the inside fleshy part, which prevents the lid from falling into the pumpkin. Make the hole big enough for you to stick your hand into. Remove the lid and use the spoon to remove the pumpkin pulp from the underside of the lid.

2. 

   Remove the seeds, rinse them and roast them to make a tasty snack.

   Use your hand or the spoon to scoop out the pumpkin pulp and seeds and place them on the newspaper. Use the spoon to scrape the inside of the wall you wish to carve. Use long, top-to-bottom scraping motions to remove the fleshy inside skin, until the pumpkin wall as thin as possible. Thinner walls make carving easier.

3. Print out your cornucopia picture. You can find these on the Internet. Right click on the picture and select 'Properties' from the pop up menu to determine the size of your picture. If it is too big or too small, resize it to fit comfortably on the side of your pumpkin. Use the scissors to cut away extraneous paper and tape the picture to the side of the pumpkin. Use the tip of the knife to poke holes along the outlines of the basket and the fruit. Be selective about the amount of detail, especially with the basket and with the flowers. It will be extremely difficult to carve in the details of the wickerwork on a basket. It may be easier just to make the outline instead. When you have completed the outline, remove the printed picture.

4. 

   Use a sharp knife to cut the outlines out of the cornucopia shape.

   Rub flour over the side of your pumpkin. It sticks in the knife holes and helps you see the outline you have created. Make small incisions on either side of the outlines. When cutting the round areas of fruit and flowers, make several small, straight incisions as it is almost impossible to cut curved shapes. Use the potato peeler to gouge out the pumpkin between the cut lines. You can dig all the way through the pumpkin, but it creates a lovely, subtle light if you leave a thin layer of fleshy inside pumpkin skin.

5. 

   Illuminating carved pumpkins with votive candles creates a striking display.

   Remove all the cut pumpkin bits and wrap the seeds and pulp up in the newspaper. Place your pumpkin on the table for display. Place a small votive candle in the pumpkin cavity. Light it with a barbecue lighter or through the design to avoid burning your hand.

Tips & Warnings

• Supervise children who are using a knife or potato peeler.

• Do not leave candles unattended when they are burning as this poses a fire hazard.

References

• Spook Master: Pumpkin Carving 101
• DTLK: Halloween Carving Patterns

Resources

• Spook Master: Cornucopia Pumpkin
• Ultimate Pumpkin Stencils: Cornucopia Thanksgiving Stencil