How to carve a pumpkin
And shoppers start buying fresh decorative winter produce, such as pumpkins andturban squash, in the hot, sultry days of late summer. Fruit flies will also flock to carved pumpkins and speed up the rotting process. The first step in selecting the perfect gourd is to choose a carving pumpkin rather than a pie pumpkin. Carving pumpkins are larger with thinner skin and have less "guts" on the inside.
Cut/scrape the stringy guts off the inside of your lid , and set it aside. Today’s jack-o’-lanterns may still sport scary faces, but they are more likely to be put out for fun or to welcome costumed trick-or-treaters than as an effort to scare evil spirits away. There’s also a dangerous version of ajack-o’-lantern. A poisonous luminescent orange fungus, Omphalotus olearius, is commonly known as the jack-o’-lantern mushroom! Found in woodland areas of Europe, this glowing growth clusters at the base of decomposing hardwood tree stumps. While the mushroom won’t produce a strong enough glow to power your next hollowed-out gourd, it is a great conversation starter at your next jack-o’-lantern carving party.
This article was co-authored by Amy Guerrero and by wikiHow staff writer, Hunter Rising. Amy Guerrero is an Arts and Crafts Specialist and the Owner of Sunshine Craft Co., a crafting studio based in Phoenix, Arizona. Amy specializes in macrame, DIY crafting, and teaching fiber arts. She offers monthly in-person and online workshops along with having developed a range of DIY craft kits for at-home projects. Amy holds a BS in Industrial Design from Philadelphia University.
Carving jack-o-lanterns is a popular Halloween tradition. Some like to carve scary faces, others carve silly faces and the more artistic among us carve incredible depictions of movie scenes or characters from popular Halloween and horror movies. Close-up of a jack-o'-lantern carved for Halloween night. If you find these issues as you carve, you may want to try carving another pumpkin. You can also paint your pumpkins instead of carving them, which averts the need to peer inside. Instead of candles—which make the inside of the pumpkin hot—use a battery-operated tea light that flickers or a glow stick.
Like the ghouls and ghosts who spook us every Halloween, jack-o’-lanterns—so tempting to tiny predators and susceptible to mold and rot—are not really meant for this earthly plane. If you get the big pieces of pumpkin out of the way first, KrazyKidz you can go back and clean up the edges of your design later. If you want to avoid the mess and decorate a pumpkin without carving it, then you could try painting it instead. A small paring knife or a craft knife may make it easier to work on small, intricate details.