My Halloween Pumpkin-Finding and -Carving Adventures

Last year, I decided that I would start carving pumpkins for Halloween. I hadn't even had a carved pumpkin since I was much younger, but I thought it would be fun to try some of the interesting patterns of which I'd heard.

I saw carving pumpkins as a work of art, even if the carving was done from a pre-made pattern.

I went out and bought a set of pumpkin carving tools with a booklet showing different patterns that I could use. I pored over the book for days, looking at one pattern after another, trying to scope out the relative difficulty involved, and the coolness of the finished product.

I narrowed my selection down to three possibilities.

The first was a stack of pumpkins with faces, carved within a single pumpkin. I thought this design was appealing because this way I didn't necessarily have to choose just one face, I could carve a different face on each of the "pumpkins". However, carving any more intricate patterns on such a small scale would have been impossible, so I would almost have to go with the faces that were on the pattern itself. Plus, it would be difficult because this pattern required many small pieces to be cut out, and this would be my first time carving my own pumpkin.

I focused in on two other designs, one was a bat, which looked easy, and one was a winky smiley.

The Bat had several large pieces to cut out, the only tricky parts being the small eyes and mouth. The winky smiley was very easy, with mostly large chunks to cut out.

I took the patterns out of the book and set about finding pumpkins that would fit the patterns. I wanted large pumpkins with a relatively flat face.

My search took me to a Farmer's Market, which was primarily filled with Spanish-speaking immigrants selling all kinds of fruits and vegetables. Thankfully, the pumpkin merchant spoke English well and I was able to get two large pumpkins that were perfect for my project.

When I got them, it was around the middle of the month. My excitement built as I thought of how much fun it would be to carve them. I kept placing the patterns over the pumpkins to see where on the pumpkin I would want to carve them.

When the day came, about two days before Halloween itself, I laid out all my pumpkin stuff and began carving. I spent over an hour on each pumpkin, scooping it out, retaining the seeds, and getting the walls of the pumpkin thin enough.

That was actually the biggest challenge. I was scared to make them too thin, but as I scraped and scraped on the inside, and the wall of the pumpkin where I'd be doing my carving got thinner and thinner, I was afraid that I'd make it so thin that the scraping tool would punch right through the wall. I should have made it thinner than I did though, because carving the small pieces of the pattern out (like the bat's eyes) was very hard with the walls being thick.

I will know this year not to be so worried and to make the wall thinner.

After I got all the pieces cut out on my pumpkins, I sealed the cut edges and the insides of the pumpkins with vaseline. I was glad I did this, as it helped them stay fresh a little longer.

The pumpkins were kept fresh in the refrigerator until they debuted on Halloween night. I didn't get many trick or treaters, but one girl did say "I like your pumpkins!" That was really nice, and it made all the work I put into them worth it!

After that night I was reluctant to throw them away, so they featured prominently in a combined birthday party for my sister and her boyfriend. They also complimented the pumpkins, and seemed surprised at them.

As they began to mold, I had pictures taken of them so that I wouldn't really lose them, even when they had to be thrown out. Fruit and vegetable carvings are the ultimate in temporary art, as they are destined to rot.

This year I'm going to take what I learned and apply it:

1. One of the pumpkins I had gotten had a small soft spot, and this pumpkin began to rot before the other one. I learned that it's best to make sure pumpkins don't have any soft spots.

2. The pumpkins I got didn't have sturdy stems. I actually had to use a butter knife to pry them open. This isn't very safe, and should never be done with a sharp knife! This year, I'll be looking for pumpkins with sturdy stems!

3. The smaller the chunks that need to be cut out, the thinner the walls need to be. Otherwise, the light doesn't come all the way through the hole from the candle (or other light source). I actually had to use the saw to thin the walls behind those tiny holes.

4. I did do some things right! Putting the Vaseline on the cut pieces and inside the pumpkin helped to keep them fresh longer, and keeping them in the refrigerator also helped.

5. The pumpkin carving tools from the kits really work well, and by going slowly you can avoid breaking them!

I'm going to take the leap and design my own pumpkin this year, as well as use a pattern.

6. Don't put paprika on pumpkin seeds before you cook them, it scorches and turns black!

This year, I'm going to use a multicolored light inside of the pumpkins instead of candles. This way they'll really look interesting.

I haven't quite decided what to do this year yet, but I did find a turkey pattern that I'm going to be using to carve a pumpkin for Thanksgiving as well!

I'm hoping that once I gain confidence after a second wave of pumpkin carving for Halloween this year, that I'll be able to begin watermelon carving as well. I would love to make a carving for my friend's birthday parties! I've discovered a new hobby, a way to let out my creativity, and I didn't even know it was something I would enjoy until last year.

Try carving, or painting, a pumpkin yourself, maybe you'll discover that you enjoy it as much as I have!