Eight Pumpkin Carving Tips to Create Your Own Jack-o’-Lantern

Halloween is just around the corner, and we all know Halloween porch decoration is never complete without some carved pumpkins at the doorsteps. According to the legend, jack-o’-lantern is believed to protect your home from evil spirits, ensure a good harvest and peace for the rest of the year.

Making jack-o’-lanterns not only helps you to bring a hollow feel but also helps add an eerie touch to your home decor. Your choice for carving patterns can be anything, from simple figures and logos to celebrity faces and famous movie characters.

But if you’re an amateur at carving pumpkins, we have got you covered with eight pumpkin carving tips that will be of great help to you in creating your own Jack-o’-Lantern.

Choosing the Right Pumpkin

While decorating for Halloween, you need to be careful in choosing the right pumpkins for carving, painting, cooking, and fall décor.

The first tip we will toss at you, is to choose a fresh pumpkin among the lot. It becomes important that the pumpkin you are choosing is rock hard and comes in deep orange color. Just make sure that the pumpkin you are buying is not soft and mushy because it will end up decaying fast.

The health and freshness of the pumpkin determine how good your Jack-o’-Lantern will turn out to be. The Pumpkin should be firm all over and without any brown and/or soft spots, meaning it is infested and wouldn’t stay for long. Also, make sure that the pumpkins don’t have thick walls with a nice flat bottom.

Take a glance at the stem and analyze if it is fresh or not. The stem must be hard, dark green or black in color, and attached with the pumpkin without wiggling. Most importantly, do not hold the pumpkin from the stem because this might lead to breaking of the stem and also damage your pumpkin.

The shape and size of the pumpkin also decide what you can design on it. Round or oval pumpkins with flat bottoms are easier to carve. It is recommended to go for an oblong-shaped pumpkin rather than a round one.

Image: Pinterest

Image: RD

Using the Right Tools

Instead of heading out to the market to get a carving kit, it is better to explore your kitchen first. One needs to make sure that he keeps pumpkin carving safety tips in mind before engaging in the process. A serrated knife and cookie cutters can be used for carving different patterns, while a large metal spoon is perfect to take out the pumpkin seeds and clear jack guts.

Once you are done clearing, cutting, and carving the pumpkin as per your desire make sure you use toothpicks to give the finishing touches and correct mistakes. In case you are willing to hit the market and have plenty of pesos in your purse don’t be shy to buy a paring knife, melon baller, keyhole saw, chisel, and a power drill and carve like a professional.

Image: Pinterest

Image: Martha Stewart

Also Read: 30+ Cool and Inspiring Pumpkin Carving Patterns for Halloween

Cutting the Lid

The second and the most difficult aspect of carving a pumpkin are to cut the lid. Before you start piercing the heart out of the pumpkin it is important to wash it properly. The next step is to chop the top but do it with artistic precision.

Cutting the lid (the top part with stem) is the most crucial task, as one wrong move and the lid will fall straight into the lantern. Use a simple chef knife to cut the lid with extreme precision. Star from drawing and then cut on an inward angle so that the lid doesn’t slip into the pumpkin when you put it back.

Image: The Kitchen

Image: Pinterest

Scooping Out Everything from Inside

Once you are done buying the right tools, the next step includes putting them into use. After cutting the lid, the next step includes removing all the pulp fabric and seeds from the belly of the pumpkin. We would recommend you, clean the pumpkin properly and make space for the candle to be placed inside the pumpkin. Bring a metal spoon into use to scrap all the fabric and seed out.

You can even do it with your hands as well. It is a fun part of pumpkin carving that you can enjoy with your kids. Pumpkin seeds make a good snack and they can also be used in decoration too.

Image: Pinterest

Drawing the Design

If you wish to be a pro at pumpkin carving, start from scratch.  It is better to first draw the design you wish to carve on the pumpkin, this will help you craft an easy and mess-free pumpkin carving project. Simply use a marker or stick the print of the design you wish to create as a stencil on the pumpkin, trace the design and carve it out gently.

Image: Pinterest

Cutting the Design

As we said before, if you are not familiar with how to carve a pumpkin and this is your first try, it is better to go for easy projects first. To carve like a professional, you need to use special carving tools with sharp edges that help in carving out intricate details easily.

While carving the pumpkin, never cut in angels, rather it is best to cut straight. You can even store scrap pumpkins as they can be used for additional visual details. It is better to start from the center and then move outside rather can cutting the boundaries first.

Image: Pinterest

Image: The Kitchen

Image: Lauren Kreps

Adding Finishing Touches

If you want to be fancy with pumpkin carving, then you must try shaving the skin off the pumpkin. It adds a shadowing effect to the pattern and you are able to carve different designs – including celebrity faces, movie characters, and anything you like.

Clay sculpting tools are extremely useful to add the final finishing touch to the pumpkin design. In addition to this, make sure you use toothpicks to clean your pumpkin properly and give it a very neat and clean look.

Image: Pinterest

Keeping it Fresh

To keep the pumpkin fresh and beautiful for a long time we also offer you a pumpkin preservation tip that you can apply and make your Halloween more beautiful. One simply needs to add petroleum jelly around the corners of the carved areas, which will seal the moisture within. If it still shrivels, put your pumpkin upside-down in ice-cold water for approximately eight hours. Repeat the process multiple times to revive the health and freshness of the carved pumpkin.

Image: Pinterest

Add Cinnamon for Fragrance

This may sound strange and amusing but the best way to keep the bad odor away is to add cinnamon to your pumpkin. If you are using candles for light, then it’s obvious that your jack-o’-lantern will smell like a pumpkin pie. To avoid the situation, simply sprinkle some cinnamon on the lid which spruces a fresh fragrance that does not smell like pumpkin at all.

Image: Pinterest

So what are you waiting for? Gather your pumpkin carving tools and start carving a DIY pumpkin for October 31. Make sure your jack-o’-lantern is different and better than your neighbors, and don’t forget to share your designs with us.