Halloween
Carve pumpkin: Use these tips to create scary, beautiful grimaces
A Halloween pumpkin can look so eerily beautiful
© Benedikt Geyer / Unsplash
Halloween is celebrated worldwide on October 31st. This is already causing anticipation among the little ones. To create the right spooky atmosphere, you need a carved pumpkin. And that’s how it works.
In the USA, people make a huge spectacle out of the spooky holiday. The more unusual the costumes and decorations are, the better. There are also many fans here in Germany. Children especially love to go around the neighborhood on Halloween evening and collect candy. However, the parents have to ensure that the home is decorated in style. At the forefront: carving scary faces into pumpkins. We’ll show you step by step how to conjure up the perfect grimace.
Step 1: Choose pumpkin
There are numerous types of pumpkin, but the well-known ones are suitable for the Halloween version Hokkaido pumpkins preferably. These pumpkins are a good size and are stable to place on the ground. You can usually find Hokkaidos in every supermarket, pumpkin patch or weekly market. If you have a pumpkin patch near you, purchasing the right Halloween pumpkin can make for a fun family outing.
Step 2: Tools
Sharp knives or cutters from the craft store are suitable tools. Small children should therefore not carve themselves and older children should only do so under supervision. Please note that only rough grimaces are possible with conventional kitchen knives. If you have no practice or little dexterity, carving with classic knives can be difficult. So if you would like to carve more delicate patterns and more elaborate grimaces, just take one Pumpkin carving kit help. This makes the works of art easier and quicker.
However, the choice of motif does not end with the classic grimace. There are also stencils that bring witches, mummies or skulls to life (for example in this one Stencil set). If you don’t use a carving set, you will also need a spoon to hollow out the pumpkin.
It’s that easy to carve a Halloween pumpkin
© Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash
Step 3: Carve pumpkin
Only a few steps are necessary to carve the Halloween pumpkin.
- First, cut a circular lid out of the pumpkin. Make sure that you start at an angle towards the middle so that the lid cannot fall inwards later. Leave the style standing so you have a practical handle and the pumpkin can be easily opened and closed.
- For the next step you will need a hollowing tool. If you don’t have a carving kit, you can use a spoon. At the end the pumpkin should still have one approximately two to three centimeters thick edge feature.
- Depending on the time and effort required, you can choose different motifs. If you use a practical stencil set, you can simply stick it onto the pumpkin and cut out the corresponding areas. If you don’t have stencils on hand, you can water-soluble pens Paint your own creations on the pumpkin. The pen guarantees that you can easily wash off the contours later and no unsightly lines remain.
Tip: Before you start carving, you can pre-punch the lines. This makes it easier and more precise to cut the pumpkin afterwards. Such tools are already included in the carving sets. Otherwise, you can use a thumbtack or pin.
Step 4: Preserve pumpkin
You can also put out a Halloween pumpkin before the holiday. Ultimately, the creations bring joy to the children and are a great eye-catcher in the house and garden. The drier the pumpkin is, the less likely it is to form mold. After carving, allow the pumpkin to dry. You can then coat the inside of the pumpkin thinly with petroleum jelly or rinse it with vinegar water. Hairspray is a good way to make the outside of the pumpkin more durable.
Step 5: Scary light show
The eerily beautiful pumpkin grimace just needs a final detail. The spooky pumpkins look particularly good as light decorations. The grimace only really comes into its own when candlelight flickers through it. It’s best to use electric candlesso you can leave your Halloween creation unattended with peace of mind.
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