How to Easily Carve a Jack-o'-Lantern Without the Mess and Stress
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Does carving pumpkins freak you out? Not sure how to do it? We've come up with a simple step-by-step tutorial to teach even the most uncrafty people how to carve with confidence. It might be tempting to go all out with a Pinterest-worthy pumpkin, but even the simplest design can make a statement. Here's how it's done!
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Supplies Needed
- Pumpkin
- Pumpkin carving knife or a sharp kitchen knife
- Ice cream spade or large metal spoon
- Bowl
- Newspaper
- Dry erase marker or permanent pen
- Paper
- LED tealight candle
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Step 1
Draw a variety of sketches of your jack-o'-lantern face onto a piece of paper or print out a simple pumpkin template. Pick your favorite.
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Step 2
After picking out your favorite pumpkin variety from the patch or grocery store, draw your design directly onto the pumpkin. Using a dry erase marker will allow you even more freedom to make mistakes!
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Step 3
Cover your work space with newspaper for easy cleanup.
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Step 4
With your pumpkin carving knife, cut a circle large enough to fit your hand around the stem of the pumpkin. Make sure to cut at an inward angle so you can set the stem back on the pumpkin later without it falling through. Take off the stem.
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Step 5
Clean out the inside of the pumpkin using your hands and a metal scoop or spoon. Place the seeds and "guts" into a bowl. After you take most of the mushy stuff out, use the edge of the metal spoon to scrape the inside of pumpkin as best as you can. The dryer you get the inside of the pumpkin, the less you'll have left behind to rot. Save the pumpkin seeds for roasting.
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Step 6
Hold the pumpkin steady with one hand and use your knife to carve out the face of your jack-o'-lantern. Avoid injury by placing your supporting hand on top of the pumpkin and away from the tip of the knife. If you're using a permanent marker, cut outside of your marker lines for a clean look.
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Step 7
Once it gets dark outside, place your LED tealight inside the pumpkin and place the stem back on top of the hole. Enjoy!