With Halloween right around the corner, pumpkin carving is a popular activity. There are so many different designs and ideas that come with pumpkin carving, with the hacks below it will make your carving experience much easier. These hacks will also give you some ideas to try out some different designs that you may not have thought of before.
1. Use a Dry Erase Marker- Using a dry-erase marker will make your outlining process much simpler. If you make a mistake it is easy to simply wipe it off rather than the typical approach by using a permanent marker.
2. To light your pumpkin, many people are using artificial candles rather than the real candle. The best way to light up the whole pumpkin is to cut a hole in the back rather than the top that way the light can reflect from the top allowing for more light.
3. If you are carving the top of the pumpkin off to make a lid, cut a notch so it is easy to find where to place the top back on.
4. Use an ice cream scoop to clean out the "guts" of the pumpkin. Not only will this help scoop everything out easier, but it will make the walls of the pumpkin thinner to make it easier to carve.
5. If you want to make a simple design with stars or other shapes, cookie cutters can be a good option.
6. To make certain sized holes a drill it the best way to make sure the circle is even.
7. If you sprinkle the pumpkin with cinnamon, make sure to wipe of the access as this could be flammable. But once you put a candle into the pumpkin after you have sprinkled cinnamon it will make your home spell like pumpkin spice!
8. After carving your pumpkin, to keep it fresh rub petroleum jelly on the parts that you carved. It will keep it fresh much longer.
9. To add a more simple glow, adding twinkle lights to a jar and then setting them in the pumpkin can give a light glow that might not be as bright as normal candles.
10. Print out a pattern to follow.
11. Instead of completely carving the pumpkin, it can be a fun design to try to etch the pumpkin. This is the process of removing the first layers of the pumpkin but not going all the way through.
12. Once the pumpkin is carved you can dye the "flesh" of the pumpkin with food coloring to add some fun colors.
13. Turn your pumpkin into a vase, get a bouquet from the store and cut the stems to fit into the pumpkin.
There are tons of fun ways to carve/ decorate your pumpkin for the holiday season check out full ways here! Have a great weekend!
