| Jack-O-Lantern Carving |
A uniquely carved pumpkin will impress your friends, neighbors
& Trick-or-Treaters!
Carving a pumpkin into a Jack-O'-Lantern is very easy and only takes
a few basic tools. A large spoon or ice-cream scoop, a thin bladed
knife and some newspaper will get you started. Be sure that children
are old enough to handle tools, so that nobody gets hurt. Wait until
a few days before halloween to carve pumpkins. |
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| With a long, thin bladed knife, cut out the top of the pumpkin around
the stem. As you cut out the top hole, angle the knife so that the lid
and hole will be somewhat cone shaped. This will help prevent the lid
from falling into the hole. Now use the spoon to scrap the inside walls
clean. The hole should be large enough to allow you to scoop out the
seeds and stuff by hand or with a large spoon. Start cleaning the inside. |
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| Check the surface to find the best side to carve. Visualizing the
design you want to carve, use your knife to cut out the individual parts
of the face or you can pre-mark the pumpkin by using a marker to draw
the face onto the surface of the pumpkin. You can also use a drawing
to trace on to the pumpkin. Use a pin to poke holes around the drawing
than you are ready to start carving where the pin holes are. |
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| You can carve some pumpkins freehand, or you can create detailed carvings
from a stencil. Carving Stencils can be drawn either freehand onto
paper or use your computer to make your pattern from a Halloween picture.
Stencils are available free on the www. A saw for pumpkin carving
will help with detailed areas. Take your time when transferring the
pattern from the stencil, you're making guide lines for sawing later. |
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| With the saw, push the tip of the saw-blade into a pattern hole and
saw through the design lines with short back-and-forth motions. Like
playing "connect the dots." Remember that these are "saws", not knives.
You never cut with it, you saw with it. Take your time and follow the
pattern edges carefully. Align the saw blade to make the cuts straight
When making sharp corners, remove the saw and re-insert it at the new
angle. |
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| Carefully remove all of the cut pieces. Once you've removed them,
trim the inside edges of the pumpkin of any excess with the carving
saw or a small knife. We carve the excess off at about a 45 degree angle.
This allows more light to come through, showing your design to it's
fullest. You're all set to add a light to your! Electric candles should
be used in any area that is not fully fire proofed. if safe use a candle
in fire proof dish. |
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| The best way to make a pumpkin last is to slow down the dehydration.
When they shrivel up, it's due to loosing moisture. You can restore
them to original shape by soaking them in water overnight. There is
a Pumpkin saver! "Pumpkin Preserver" It's
a low cost, environmentally friendly product that slows the deterioration
of jack-o’-lanterns and contains all natural ingredients. |
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