13 Unique Pumpkin Carving Ideas

Before beginning, you should have all pumpkin carving tools and materials close by. While you may purchase pumpkin carving kits, for most projects, you will need these tools:

• Serrated knife, with a thin blade, or a straight-edged blade
• Utility knife, for detailed cutting
• Large spoon
• Power drill (optional)
• Sharpies or other dry erase markers

You will also use the following materials for your pumpkin carving ideas:

• Pumpkins and various gourds, like squash
• Pumpkin carving stencils
• Two medium bowls
• Candles, including string lights, tea light or battery-powered LED
• Candle holders
• Matches or lighters with extended nozzles
• Materials to line your workspace, like paper grocery bags

You may want to start with some easy pumpkin carving ideas, especially if new to decorating or working with young children. You can’t go wrong with the classic jack-o’-lantern, also called the smiling jack, cutting out only eyes, nose and a mouth. Inserting lighting, like a tealight candle, helps bring your creations to life.

• You should first draw the design with thick lines. While you can draw freehand, using a pumpkin carving stencil can reduce mistakes. But these can also become part of the final design.
• Scrape off the surface to save on carving time, without risk of permanent damage.
• For a more stable workspace for your easy pumpkin carving ideas, cut a hole on top. But a hole on the bottom better retains the gourd’s shape and hides electric cords.
• Keep the stems, as they make great noses and help display expressions.
• Depending on the weather, carved pumpkins usually rot between 3 days and 2 weeks.
• To prolong pumpkins, keep them shaded and off the ground, with fans to repel bugs. You can apply a thin petroleum jelly layer to carved surfaces. Spraying the interiors with a solution of one tablespoon of bleach and one gallon of water may help.

With enough space, Halloween pumpkins can serve as an effective billboard for different sayings. You can greet trick-or-treaters with sweet statements of kindness or encouragement. Show your sense of humor with sarcastic statements or short jokes. Or make visitors stop in their tracks by carving some deep, profound thoughts.

A pumpkin or gourd is a good surface to capture images of those closest to you, even pets. While you will need a decent photo, you can draw on the image freehand. It may be simpler to use a pencil and tracing paper, drawing over it with a black marker, if you’d like. You can then start carving out the image. This process can work with any images, such as landscapes.

A carved, empty pumpkin is a wonderful vessel to spotlight your favorite movies, musicians and more. Try stenciling and cutting out TV and movie quotes or song lyrics. You can also honor your sports heroes by displaying their jerseys or faces on a pumpkin.

When carving, you can incorporate other purposes, ideal if you have limited space. Trace the bottom of a bowl on the front of a medium-sized pumpkin. After removing the guts, insert the bowl and fill it with candy or other treats. For an added touch, scrape or carve on an image. Or add ice and use the pumpkin as a drink bucket. Carved, empty pumpkins and gourds also work as attractive planters.

There is no reason to stick to traditional, medium-size, orange pumpkins. Tiny pumpkins make for scary, funny or pretty party centerpieces, as well as jack-o’-lanterns. Purchase differently colored pumpkins or use non-toxic paint to dye regular ones white or other colors.

Use carved, emptied pumpkins for fun activities for friends and family at neighborhood parties. You can set up a beanbag toss game with carved, large- and medium-sized pumpkins. Stack two, with the medium one on top, using skewers to keep them upright. Players will toss beanbags into the holes, winning points when they land in the holes.

Let your Halloween decor take off, with space-themed pumpkin carving ideas. Use differently sized pumpkins to portray constellations and stars. Cut holes in the bottoms, scoop out the guts and paint them black. Carefully draw planets and small holes for stars with a pencil. Then use a power drill to mark key points. With a large-eye sewing needle, thread waxed twine, orange or another color between these points.

Turn your home into a farm or zoo with these funny pumpkin carving ideas. You and your kids can cut out a barn-shaped opening in a pumpkin and lay down straw. Paint small pumpkins to look like cows or other animals, gluing on ears, snouts and tails.

You can also design a turtle, cutting open and emptying a large pumpkin for the body. Turn it over and make a rounded notch for its head, a small squash. Glue on two peppercorns or black buttons for eyes. Place the head under the body, slightly sticking out. Cut two small, yellow gourds in half lengthwise for the feet, attaching them with toothpicks. Use green, outdoor acrylic paint to complete the turtle.

For more funny pumpkin carving ideas, cut a big mouth in any size squash. Push artificial nails into the mouth’s edges for teeth. Carve out circular eyes and pop in some Styrofoam eyeballs, gluing on black buttons for pupils. Go for more laughs by putting items between the teeth, like an apple or a smaller pumpkin, with a scared face drawn on with a marker.

Depending on your sense of humor, a puking pumpkin is a memorable addition to your front yard. Just carve an expressive face, with a gaping mouth. Then, put all that pulp and the seeds to good use, placing them in and out of the mouth.

For a simply sinister theme, let your creepy pumpkin carving ideas run wild. Display cut-out skull faces or other Halloween-themed images. Apply black or red spray paint to a white pumpkin to increase the scares. Add to the night’s eeriness by carving an evil face on a pumpkin, paint it purple and insert a glow stick.

Use the eyes to convey your creepy pumpkin carving ideas or other expressions.

• Apply black spray paint inside, so it emerges from the eye holes, to bump up a jack-o’-lantern’s creepiness.
• Carve a single, ominous eyeball, with red paint for the veins.
• Use a melon baller to cut out multiple eyes, inserting split radishes to expose the white interior. Beans can be used as pupils, secured with toothpicks.
• Zippers, along with their cloth backgrounds, make great eyebrows or mouths, attached with black push pins or thumb tacks.