How to Carve and Shave Pumpkins is easy.

It doesn't do it justice to call us the crazy pumpkin people.When someone asks me at the gym, "Are you the pumpkin people I've been hearing about?", I always laugh because being the "pumpkin house" was never something that we wanted to be.It happened.After putting our kids to bed, we decided to carve pumpkins in our garage.We went to the store at midnight to buy more pumpkins because we were having so much fun.We carved pumpkins.Even though we have moved three times since we started the tradition, we cannot help but continue the pumpkin parade.

We are pretty much experts when it comes to carving pumpkins.Since I did not graduate with a degree in pumpkin carving, that may be a stretch.We carve a lot of pumpkins every year, and they aren't just jack-o-lantern faces.

Some fun tips and tricks that we have learned along our journey of becoming the crazy pumpkin people will be shared in this fun post.

file: "content.jwplatform.com/videos/ARpPjMVX-ZJJehr

Cut off the top of the pumpkin with a saw.This is a better option than trying to cut the top off with a knife, right?

This is the most common complaint we have heard over the years, and it helps if you put on your gloves.

You can start mixing pumpkin guts with the end of your paint mixer after you have your hands protected from the goop.It will loosen the guts from the outside wall of your pumpkin.It is.Is.Awesome!Depending on the size of your pumpkin, you can choose between the two sizes of the mixers.

Take your scraper and thin out the inside of the pumpkin wall.This helps to get your pumpkin ready to carve.You may need to use a clay loop tool if you have an extra thick pumpkin.

You need to choose a pumpkin pattern now that your pumpkin is ready to carve.We have a post about the top pumpkin carving pattern sites.

We got a pumpkin pattern from J.We couldn't find the ball at Pumpkinglow.com when we tried to link to it.If you're looking for a similar pattern, we found one here.

You need to transfer the pattern onto the pumpkin after you have chosen it.You can either trace your pumpkin pattern with Saral Transfer (Tracing) Paper or poke it with a pushpin to mark it.The blue transfer paper works great.

You can put transfer paper on the pumpkin with the dark blue side facing it.You can trace your pumpkin pattern with a pen.

When you remove your pumpkin, be careful.We save our patterns so that we can look at them when carving.

The XXXX'd out portions are supposed to be shaded when looking at a pumpkin pattern.If you have the right tools, you can shade a pumpkin.We like to use wood carving tools and shading cutter to do our linoleum work.

Remove the outer skin of your pumpkin.The light will shine through the shaded areas if you have thinned out your pumpkin well enough.

When we start cutting our pumpkin design, we always start in the center and do the smallest cuts first.It will help you in the long run.If you wait until the end to cut a small area, you will be more likely to break the pumpkin and need to put it back together with a toothpick.

Don't worry, just use a little bit of super glue to glue it back together, it's not an emergency.It works well.

It's important to cut the pumpkin with carving tools.There is no reason why you should use a kitchen knife to carve pumpkins, I remember cutting the pattern with a knife when I was a kid.We do not live in the dark ages.You can get a pumpkin carving kit.I promise you will not regret it.

If you need more precision when shading, you can use linoleum cutters.

You need to thin out your pumpkin wall a little more if you can't see the light shining through it.

If you want your pumpkin to last longer, put it in a bucket of water for a few hours.It will last longer if you do this every day.

Some of the amazing carvings from our pumpkin display of 2012 can be seen here.

If you live in the Southern Utah area and would like to come and see our pumpkin display on Halloween night, email me and I will send you our address!

The Home Depot sponsored this post.The products used to carve pumpkins can be found at The Home Depot.That's it.

I love your writing.Thanks for posting, I just want to say thank you.I am using all of your tips and tricks in my classroom this week as we carve pumpkins.I saw this post and thought that I could do this with my kids, because they asked to do it.If you want to check it out, I gave you the credit in my recent post.Thanks again!

Wowza!Who carved that pumpkin?It's amazing!They must have been carving pumpkins for 8 years.That's right!

Not a fan of the product placement.I feel like you have taken something simple and joyful.Just sayin.

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