Halloween just isn’t complete without a carved pumpkin sitting on your front porch! But all of us aren’t artists or surgeons and a well-thought-out idea often doesn’t translate well in the end. For those of us whose carved pumpkins aren’t exactly art gallery-worthy, here are some easy and fun ideas so we can be proud of the finished product!
Put your drill to use. If you’re not handy with a knife, use your drill instead. Drill holes around the pumpkin or use various size drill bits to make different-sized holes. Either way, your polka dot pumpkin that will look beautiful with candlelight showing through.
Chisel instead of carving. Instead of taking a knife all the way through your pumpkin, just sketch your design and chisel the outline. Then leave it as is or use acrylic paint to paint the inside of your design.
Make a skyline. Straight-line carving is much easier than curves, so stick with the basics with this plan. Draw or paint a building outline on your pumpkin and then just carve out the windows and doors. If you’re feeling ambitious, try this approach on several pumpkins and create a skyline effect.
Create an outdoor scene diorama. Cut out a large hole in the side of the pumpkin and fill it with outdoor items like leaves, sticks and rocks to create a miniature outdoor scene. Add fun figurines inside of it to increase its whimsy.
Spell words. Stack pumpkins one of top of each other and carve out a single letter in each pumpkin to spell out a word. FUN and BOO are easy ones to start with!
Copy the sky. Use your drill again, but be more strategic with your dot placement in order to recreate the most popular of constellations. Grab several pumpkins and light them from within to make a beautiful night sky on your front porch.
Make street numbers. Highlight your home’s address by putting your street numbers on your pumpkin. Or stack pumpkins on top of each other and just carve one number per pumpkin. Use Vaseline around the edges to preserve your artwork and hopefully you can display your street number pumpkins all fall.
Think outside the pumpkin. Use your pumpkins as functional holders that won’t require much pumpkin-carving skill. Cut off the top of the pumpkin and fill with ice to create an ice bucket or place a pot inside to create a fun flower pot – perfect for hosting succulents for the month of October!