Practice Creative Pumpkin Carving for Charity with Free Halloween Stencil Downloads

Halloween pumpkins, a traditional hallmark of autumn, have become ornate and artistic holiday craft projects in recent years. Simple jack-o-lanterns with triangle eyes and noses and square-toothed grins may still abound, but detailed design masterpieces are now popular for autumn holiday decorating.

This year, Better Homes and Gardens (BHG) is offering a variety of free pumpkin carving stencils to benefit a handful of popular charitable causes and help Halloween enthusiasts with this creative undertaking. Web users simply choose and download the designs they like. For each free download, BHG promises to donate $2 to that designated outfit.

The company is offering a total of $5,000 in the Halloween pumpkin stencil design program, which boasts seasonal patterns representing these charities: Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Humane Society of the United States, March of Dimes, Rebuilding Together, and Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

BHG's charitable pumpkin stencil designs include a cat, a dog, a butterfly, child and adult hands, Halloween bats, a house, jack-o-lanterns, a pink ribbon pattern, and a welcome sign.

How do you use Halloween pumpkin stencils?

First, pick your jack-o-lantern design, either from the BHG charity collection or another source. The internet abounds with free downloadable and printable Fun Free Pumpkin Carving Stencils for Halloween.

Download and save the pumpkin pattern to your own computer. Edit the design, tailoring it to your chosen size, before printing it out on plain paper. (Here's a Halloween hint: larger pumpkins are easier to carve, particularly if you choose more detailed designs.)

Tape the pumpkin carving stencil on a clean, dry, hollowed-out pumpkin. Use a large pin, a sturdy nail or another sharp object to punch through the paper and create a design outline on the pumpkin.

Remove the stencil, and begin carving, etching and scooping out the design. Place a candle inside the finished pumpkin, light it, and place your creative Halloween jack-o-lantern on display on your front step or in another prominent place.

How will you decorate your own Halloween pumpkins this year?

Will you carve, paint or otherwise adorn these harvest holiday favorites?

For those seeking simpler ways to decorate these festive orange gourd-like squashes for the trick-or-treating season, Pumpkin Pointers can be practical and helpful.

Plenty of people perform pumpkin crafts without ever reaching for knives, saws and other carving tools. The main point is to have fun and make merry memories, as for any festive holiday. Be sure to have a camera handy to snap shots of your Halloween pumpkin designs!

More from Linda Ann:

7 Simple Ways to Decorate Halloween Pumpkins

Simple Steps for Carving Artificial Pumpkins

Tips for Decorating Your Trick-or-Treat Sack