To ask you for your best pumpkin carving advice

[Piccalillisnooze]

I loathe doing it and am crap at it. Need to do a massive one for child’s uber competitive school - they’ll never win due to how much effort other parents put in but any pointers welcome pleaseeee! I don’t want him to be embarrassed! And yes, it is a weird one where it’s def the parents who do it - who’d trust a five year old with a knife?!

Don't use a knife. Fork out £1.50 or whatever for a pumpkin carving set at Lidl or coop. Worth every penny. Especially if it comes with a book you can use a design out of, or print one off the Internet.

I'll post some of mine in a tick!

I print templates off the internet to do mine. I then stick the template to the pumpkin (after removing the top and scooping out the inside) and use a wee poking device to mark round the template. Remove template and put a little flour over the markings so you can see them better. Use little pumpkin saws to carve around the dots. I have a pumpkin carving kit from the supermarket

I'm nearly at my limit for photos. Here's the last 2 years. My puking squash is still my favourite. Everyone goes "ewwww" so I do a squash or pumpkin every year .

Some I have done in the past

Oh, and I use glowsticks to light them up. Also, I don't have kids.

I used battery operated tealights for mine last year

Yes, you need a pumpkin knife!

Don't even carve it, there are some brilliant ideas for pumpkin painting

I prefer using a grapefruit knife to carve the pumpkin. It's sturdier, as I find the knives in the pumpkin carving kits bend to easily. Agree with poking the holes into the design before carving. I also use an led light that changes colours. Here are a few I've carved.

If you don't have a glo-stick or tea light, a rear red light for a bicycle is a great substitute.

Is there anyway to make the pumpkins last longer once carved? I've tried smearing the inside with Vaseline but it didn't really work.We have to do ours on the 25th and I'm not sure they will last till the 31st.

As above, print design from internet, stick on to pumpkin, I use a drawing pin to the stick through the lines on the template to make a dotted outline on the pumpkin. I then use a big knife to cut well inside the dots, then go round the actual dots with a tiny pumpkin carving knife from a kit.

Apparently dunking them in a bleach and water bath once carved makes them rot slower or spraying with WD40.

Best one I ever did had a (pretend) sword stuck through its head with the “brains” spilling out and red paint all over it. It had a shocked expression
Everyone loved it

This is exactly what I need, ahhhhh amazing carving vipers. These are amazing. Okay, where are you printing designs from? I’ve had a look on Pinterest but a bit overwhelmed.

www.dltk-holidays.com/halloween/mpatterns.htm I've done a few from here

Use a sturdy ice cream scoop to scoop out the middle, much easier than a spoon. And the cheap supermarket kits do indeed make carving so much easier.

I love this thread. I've grown my own pumpkin this year so I need to put extra thought into what I carve!

I've named him Pumpy

I just Google. Easy pumpkin ideas. Or creative ideas. Print and use as a stencil.

I use a melon baller to scoop out the insides - smaller than an ice cream scoop, but sharper. Apple corer for anything requiring small circles, eg eyes. And as others have said, pumpkin carving kit.

These were my favourites!

To make it last, don't cut the pumpkin or scoop it out at all. Just carve it partially through the rind. Obv you can't then put a light in it but it will last well.

These are brilliant. I love the puking squash. And Pumpy

The best one I have done was carved out witchy shoes/striped tights poking out of them like the Witch of the East - can't find my photo of it now but I found the template on t'internet.

Last years carving!

If you are doing a big picture or complicated one get craft scalpels from craft shops. They make it easier to do more intricate work and peel away the skin to leave shading etc.
Go on have fun you might surprise yourself, just google pumpkin templates and print them off. Maybe have a practice run first?

I have no idea why I put myself through this torture every year

Show them what you think of the competition. Bonus is they'll probably not do it next year.
Not my effort - saw it online and had to share.