31 Jack-O-Lantern Faces ideas jack o lantern faces, pumpkin carving, jack o lantern
Then, scrape the inside of the pumpkin with your spoon to remove any soft tissue and prevent rotting. Now, cut out your design with the knife using an up and down motion along each line you drew. Finally, set a candle or light inside of your carved pumpkin and put the top back on.
You won’t have a lid to fall in as the pumpkin softens. Be sure to consider the ugly, asymmetrical pumpkins, as you can often use their shape as part of your design. Read on to learn more about how to carve a pumpkin and why we carve them in the first place. Pumpkins are not gourds, even though pumpkins and gourds are both used for fall decorating.
This article was co-authored by Amy Guerrero and by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising. Amy Guerrero is an Arts and Crafts Specialist and the Owner of Sunshine Craft Co., a crafting studio based in Phoenix, Arizona. Amy specializes in macrame, DIY crafting, and teaching fiber arts. She offers monthly in-person and online workshops along with having developed a range of DIY craft kits for at-home projects. Amy holds a BS in Industrial Design from Philadelphia University.
Draw the proposed cut on the skin with a felt tip marker. I recommend drawing the opening on the bottom of the pumpkin. First clean the seeds you collected by removing all the large bits of pulp with your fingers. In hot weather, storing your jack-o’-lantern in the refrigerator when not displaying it is a great way to extend its life, if you have room. A pumpkin with an intact skin will stay fresh and good for many months.
Like the ghouls and ghosts who spook us every Halloween, jack-o’-lanterns—so tempting to tiny predators and susceptible to mold and rot—are not really meant for this earthly plane. If you get the big pieces of pumpkin KrazyKidz out of the way first, you can go back and clean up the edges of your design later. If you want to avoid the mess and decorate a pumpkin without carving it, then you could try painting it instead. A small paring knife or a craft knife may make it easier to work on small, intricate details.