Pumpkins!

If you have been reading my blog since the beginning, you know that pumpkin carving is one of my favorite things ever! It's actually half the reason (or more) that I love Halloween. Last year's pumpkin was okay. Here's a pic.





Just a regular creepy face.

The year before was significantly more awesome.


The Joker from the Dark Knight. Also creepy, but way more awesome. I loved this pumpkin. A lot. However, I'm pretty sure I love my pumpkin this year even more.

But first a little bit about the actual pumpkin carving. Dalton came over, and he had never done an awesome pumpkin (by awesome I mean notjust a regular jack-o-lantern) which there is nothing wrong with that. I decided to bestow on him my years of pumpkin carving knowledge. Katelyn and Joseph are, of course, old pros of the pumpkin carving ways. Although, Joseph was a little minimalist this year.

Pumpkin Carving 101
1. Make a template. It's better if you make your own because then it's usually much more awesome then using a pre-made one. Here is mine:


This is after the carving so it's a little messy. Now, yours does not have to be as detailed as this which is another advantage of doing your own template, you can make it to your skill level.

2. Clean out pumpkin. All the gutsy guts should be out (seeds saved for eating, not doing so is a crime to the pumpkin carving community). Then you want to thin the side you are carving on. This is very important, not only does it making carving easier, but it also allows the light to come through better.

3. Tape template on pumpkin and poke holes to know where to carve. You can use the poker that comes in one of the pumpkin carving sets or use a thumb tac if you don't have one. Don't push all the way down; this is used just to mark where to cut. You may also just start carving, but I don't recommend that because it tends to be messier and a bigger hassle with all that paper. Poking holes takes more time, but I feel it is worth it for the end result.

4. Carve the pumpkin. This is when tools of the trade come into play. Depending on the detail you want in your pumpkin, you need different size knives.


When you have selected your knife, you then begin carving.


Because my pumpkin was a little green I has to use the flashlight to see the holes. Carving can be as complicated or as uncomplicated as you want. I like to use half tones, so there are parts where I only carve part of the pumpkin skin off.

5. Light 'em up!


Then I decided it was missing something so I added a bit more.


Pretty awesome right. I kind of love the Hulk. And this pumpkin might be my favorite of all time. Also, I love the fact that he looks green because I had a greenish pumpkin. .

And of course everyone's pumpkins.


Kate had to pay homage to her mish and do a Honduras pumpkin.


Dalton's very first awesome pumpkin. Batman!


Joseph's minimalist pumpkin. It's a triangle. Haha.

One other thing about pumpkin carving. Do it the day or two days before Halloween. Any earlier and the pumpkin is usually rotting by the time Halloween day rolls around and that is no good.

Enjoy carving it up! (Hmmm, that sounds a little creepy.)


I hope everyone had a grand time carving pumpkins this year and that you all have a Happy (and spooky) Halloween!