Less than two weeks till Halloween and I couldn’t be more excited. I’m sure I’ve said it before, but after my birthday, Halloween is my favorite day of the year. A day where you get to enjoy/make fun of “things that go bump in the night” and eat all the candy you want, guilt free. …although, I already to the latter on a regular…
Lucky for you, I fought the urge to turn October into “The 31 Days of Halloween” here at homestilo. Still, I have to get some posts in, so I thought I’d leave you for the week with a few pumpkin carving tricks. After all, what’s Halloween without a jack-o-lantern?
1. When cutting your pumpkin’s lid, hold your knife at a 45° angle towards the center of the pumpkin. This will keep the lid from sinking in when you place it back on.
2. Before starting, wipe your pumpkin down with a house hold cleaner like Windex. It will clean bacteria off and give your pumpkin a nice clean glow.
3. Depending on the size of your pumpkin, you can use a long handled spoon, an ice cream scoop or even a melon baller to scoop out the insides
4. If you cut something out by mistake, use a toothpick to affix back into the pumpkin
5. Work from the center out, this will keep pressure of already carved spots
6. When you are done with your masterpiece, cover the edges and inside with a coat of petroleum jelly. This seals in the moisture and keeps mold at bay.
The Mr isn’t into the whole Halloween thing. So this year, I decided to theme our jack-o-lantern with a character I knew he’d enjoy, using a Kermit The Frog template I found online.
{all images homestilo}
I love halloween too. My girls have already been dressing up all week and one of them insisted on going as a witch to nursery today! Looking forward to doing my pumpkin – thanks for the tips!
International Halloween- I love it!
I just got a huge pumpkin yesterday! Can’t wait to carve it…thanks for the great tips.
Ha! Love your Kermit pumpkin! I’m terrible at carving, so these tips will definitely come in handy 🙂
I haven’t carved a pumpkin since my childhood, when my dad made a jack o lantern that was so terrifying it sent me into hysterics. This year was the first year we made food with the pumpkin we bought! I love the Kermit carving, adorable.
As you know halloween is not celebrated in Finland but when I saw a pumpkins on the store I almost bought one. Now that I saw your carved pumpking I wish I had bought it. Yours is so cool!
those are really great tips. i don’t think i have ever carved from the center out which may be way my pumpkins are always a little on the butchered side. and the petroleum jelly, who would have thought?! one trick i learned this year from a neighbor is to sprinkle cayenne pepper on the edge of your pumpkin if you have pesky squirrels – but i just can’t bring myself to do it – it seems kind of mean.
I will have to file the cayenne pepper tip for future use. I’ve also heard if you sprinkle with cinnamon, you’ll have the scent of pumpkin pie wafting in the air.
I love haloween is too. ssaludos
Angelica
I’ve not carved a pumpkin in over 15 years! This brings back so much memories.
Those are really good tips – especially the one about petroleum jelly. I haven’t carved a pumpkin this year but maybe it’s time this week
Kermieeee! I love that you chose Kermit for your pumpkin! I have never carved one in my life. Maybe I should give it a try next year!
Halloween is not such a big thing here in New Zealand. The kids like to go ‘trick or treating’ – the offer of free lollies (candy) is too good to pass up! But it’s nowhere near as huge as it is in the US. I’ve been very impressed with all the pumpkin decorating I’ve been seeing – lots on Pinterest – so cool! x
I carved my first pumpkin last year and it was harder than I thought it would be – I could have really used these tips! We will be carving ours this weekend so I will be sure to come back here for these!
Petroleum jelly? Whaaaa? Great advice, I will def do that … that is if I finally get time to do any carving. I LOVE the Kermit pumpkin!!! I would LOVE a 31 days of Halloween posts! 🙂