Coddled by the warm summer sun during the growing season, pumpkins are ready for picking from the vines come October. While some will be made into Thanksgiving pies or used for other seasonal dishes, many will become decorations for one of the most hair-raising nights of the year. Whether used outdoors to line a walkway or indoors as a centerpiece for a frightful Halloween table display, carved pumpkins can help you haunt your home for the holiday.
Many farms offer the familiar wagon ride to the pumpkin patch so that children and adults alike can select the perfect pumpkin for a jack-o'-lantern. There's something immensely satisfying about being in a field surrounded by dozens and dozens of the chubby orange globes and deciding which one (or two or three) to bring home with you. But in case you don't live in a rural area, you can find plenty of pumpkins at many home and garden centers in the weeks leading up to Halloween. The glow from an illuminated jack-o'-lantern is synonymous with Halloween, but you don't need to limit yourself to the traditional carved-pumpkin countenance. There are several alternatives, from stained-glass pumpkins and gourds to pumpkins adorned with tiny white lights.
No matter which design you decide to use, it's essential to use the correct tools for carving. You may already reach for a standard carving knife from your kitchen drawer, which is perfectly fine. However, a hole saw can help create a more elaborate face. Try using other tools, such as drill bits, melon ballers, hole cutters and linoleum cutters. The designs you create are limited only by your imagination.
Try carving a pottery-inspired pumpkin: Select a few wood-carving tools (available from art-supply stores) to make perforations in the pumpkin in a desired pattern. Place masking tape around the pumpkin's circumference for a guideline and continue the pattern, adding more bands of cuts as you circle around the pumpkin. You can also create shapes using small cookie or canape cutters to cut out portions of the pumpkin skin to make dazzling designs. Any design is easier to carve if you first trace it onto the pumpkin skin before you begin to carve. Keep in mind that once a pumpkin is carved, it will soften faster than an uncarved pumpkin.
Find other pumpkin-carving ideas in our Pumpkin Carving Gallery of Ghoulish Designs.
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