Carving pumpkins

Carving pumpkins

Soon after fall arrives, everyone starts looking for that perfect Halloween costume and making plans for the up coming Halloween parties. Halloween decorations are big, as big as Christmas. The biggest tradition is having a great big pumpkin to sit on the front porch. Many will leave the big pumpkin on the porch and wait until Halloween night to carve it into a jack-o-lantern.

Carving a jack-o-lantern comes from earlier times in Ireland where people used other vegetables like the turnip as a jack-o-lantern. Although the original reason for creating the jack-o-lantern to scare off evil spirits is rarely used today. Some say the tradition was created from the Irish legend of a man named Jack that had tricked the devil. This is a great story to tell on Halloween night.

Choosing your pumpkin design:

There are plenty of great web sites that offer free pumpkin designs you can print out and use as a stencil. You may also choose to draw your own design on a piece of paper, and trace onto the pumpkin using transfer paper. For our family we use one large pumpkin to sit out by the treat bowl. And two medium size jack-o-lanterns for the porch stairs and a few smaller jack-o-lanterns to decorate the inside of the house.

Choosing the right pumpkin for carving:

You should choose a pumpkin that has little to no blemishes or dark spots on it. A ripe pumpkin with a nice bright orange color. The size of the pumpkin, depends on your pattern you choose. The pumpkin needs to be big enough to fit the whole design. If you have little children, get them their own smaller version pumpkin to draw on. When carrying the pumpkin do not carry it by the stem, as this may brake off the stem. Carry the pumpkin by holding it from the bottom.

Cleaning out the pumpkin: save those pumpkin seeds.

Place pumpkin on top of newspaper or wax paper on the table. You will need a sharp knife to cut out the top of the pumpkin. Use a soup ladle to scrape out seeds and put seeds into a bowl. Clean out the whole inside of the pumpkin removing the seeds and membranes. Scraping the bottom of the pumpkin to create a flat surface for your lighting.

Once the pumpkin is all cleaned out, its time to add your design.

To apply your design to the pumpkin, use a black transfer paper available at craft stores. Tape the transfer paper to front of the pumpkin, using masking tape. Second tape your design over the transfer paper. Using a pointed object like a pencil or pen, trace over the design. This will transfer the design to the pumpkins skin. Remove the paper and using a the tip of the carving tool or a metal skewer make a dotted lines along the design. Now take a carving tool and begin cutting along the dotted line. When done you will have a great jack-o-lantern, all you need now is a light to make it look spooktacular.

Lighting your jack-o-lantern, the more traditional way is to insert a lit votive candle into the jack-o-lantern. Today we have No flame candles that operate on a batteries. Which is a great alternative to the traditional fire burning candles. Not only are they safe, but it beats relighting the candle when its blown out by the wind.

Enjoy your Halloween and stay safe.