I know it is hard to believe, but at age 48, I had never carved a pumpkin in my life. Now that I have nieces nephews at an age where they can appreciate this holiday tradition, I thought I would try my hand at it, and give you folks that are thinking about doing it for the first time, a nudge in the right direction. You will find some tips here that will make your pumpkin carving go smoothly the first time around.

 

 

 

 

Supplies needed:

 

• pumpkinpumpkin carving kit and/or paring knife
• large spoon or ice cream scooppen or marker
• vaseline
• toothpicks (only if you mess up)
• latex gloves

 

Step 1: Buy a pumpkin in a shape that will work well with your pumpkin design. Try to find a pumpkin with a good long stem, so you can remove the top easily. If you don't have a clue what to carve in your pumpkin, buy a pumpkin carving kit. It should come with a booklet of designs to choose from. Your carving does not have to be a picture, it could simply spell out "Happy Halloween!"

Step 2: Draw a circle at the top around the stem. Make it large enough so you will be able to scoop out the insides.

Step 3: Using your paring knife (I found this worked better that one of the knives that came in the kit) cut out the top at an angle so as to leave an edge. This way when you replace the top it will fit snugly and won't fall inside the pumpkin. Make some kind of mark on the pumpkin  so you know which way the top fits back on.

Step 4: Scoop out all the seeds and stringy pumpkin guts. On the sides you are going to carve you may want to scoop as much of the sides away as you can as it is a bit harder to carve a design in a thick wall.

Step 5: Draw your design on the pumkin with your pen or marker. If you can't draw well enough to feel comfortable doing that, you may tape a picture of something you want to carve and then pierce the pumkin with a push pin all around the design to know where to carve.

Step 6: Carve out your design with your pumkin carving kit knives. You may find that they work better for intricate designs than a paring knife, since they are smaller tools. Options in carving are to keep some of the pumpkin skin in place (nat carving all the way thru, just removing the orange skin) but carve the skin thin enough to show light through it.

Step 7: Place a candle or tea light at the bottom of the pumkin toward the back. Replace the pumpkin top. Let the candle burn for a bit. Take the top off. Where you see soot on the lid, cut a hole in the pumpkin to allow the smoke to escape. Replace the lid again.

 Tips and Warnings:

• Carved pumpkins have a short shelf life. They will wilt and dry out quickly. To keep the  moisture in your pumpkin, rub vaseling all over the inside of the pumpkin and over the carved portions.
  
• Other alternatives are to buy a pumpkin bath at the grocery store. This consists of some powder you mix with water and plunge your carved pumkin into. Then you refridgerate it for 24 hours prior to using it. This bath keeps down the growth of mold and helps keep moisture in the pumkin so it does not wilt as fast. Your pumpkin can then stay good up to two weeks using this pumpkin bath
  
• Other alternatives are simply to keep the pumpkin in the fridge when not in use. Without any preventive measures your pumpkin can last anywhere from a day to three or four days.