Pumpkin Carving Templates

October 31, 2007 5:49 AM

Looking some some ideas for cool jack o'lanterns? These free templates could help. From HP, Dremel (scroll down), eHow, DLTK, Pumpkin Masters, Hershey's , Reader's Digest and SpookMaster. Or watch the videos on the Do It Yourself Network for more carving tips and tricks.
posted by Pater Aletheias (14 comments total)

Bash in one side and call it a Burmese monk. No special tools required.
posted by three blind mice at 6:00 AM on October 31, 2007

The carving I've got down (I made myself some pumpkin saws this year). However, what with one thing and another, I can't do the carving on Halloween itself. I generally do it the weekend before, but this year my pumpkin got all mushy and gross after just 2 days. Is there a way to prevent that or am I going to have to figure out a way to do it on the day?
posted by DU at 6:08 AM on October 31, 2007

Speaking as a parent... and a whiner... can someone please calendarize this post for a repeat next year -- On October _2_1st?

"O'Lantern... Jack O'Lantern" (from "Carve and Let Die")
posted by Mike D at 6:19 AM on October 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

DU: I've read that covering the pumpkin with a light coating of petroleum jelly helps preserve it a while, but I haven't tried it myself.
posted by Pater Aletheias at 6:23 AM on October 31, 2007

These guys are pumpkin-carving overachievers -- outstanding in their field, you might say.
posted by GrammarMoses at 6:25 AM on October 31, 2007

I thought about a coating of vaseline on the cut parts but I had a pretty extensive design and I got lazy. Maybe hairspray would speed that up? I should practice in the off season.
posted by DU at 6:28 AM on October 31, 2007

You know who else was into Jack O'Lanterns? The Headless Horseman.
posted by Smart Dalek at 6:32 AM on October 31, 2007

From the article accompanying the link above: Professional carver Hugh McMahon of New York specializes in etching portraits into his pumpkins. He is fielding a growing number of requests to do the faces of brides and grooms. "It's a new concept in wedding portraiture," he says.
posted by GrammarMoses at 6:33 AM on October 31, 2007

Yeah, my pumpkins turned into a gelatinous pile of goo as well. And I used petroleum jelly on the carved bits and rubbed citric acid a ll over the inside. Still...goo. Icky, icky, green moldy goo. Bleh.

What I've started doing for the difficult/tricky carving is using 'craft' pumpkins and a hot (750 degrees F) exacto blade. It creates some amazing, amazing carvings. You know they're cool when kids will stand around staring at your pumpkin patch *before* they come get candy. Heh.

Seriously, craft pumpkins are about $20 each for massive ones, and once they're carved, they're good forever, you just have to find a place to store them. I stuffed last year's with tissue and put them up in the attic in a box. Throw some lavender or rosemary in the box with them, and critters/bugs won't go anywhere near the box, and then next year, you've got extra decorations.

And you can still let the kids do their jack o' lanterns a couple of days before Halloween.
posted by Peecabu at 6:36 AM on October 31, 2007 [1 favorite]

I've never heard of craft pumpkins. Sounds pretty awesome. OTOH, I want to do none-traditional pumpkins (geometric patterns, say) which I think be cooler on a regular pumpkin.
posted by DU at 6:52 AM on October 31, 2007

Hey Peecabu, got any pictures of your handiwork? I'm dying to see them.

Also, how does one heat an exacto blade to 750F?
posted by shiu mai baby at 7:16 AM on October 31, 2007

Experiment on keeping a halloween pumpkin fresh
posted by F Mackenzie at 9:06 AM on October 31, 2007

I like it traditional.
posted by Acey at 11:04 AM on October 31, 2007

Zombie Pumpkins.
posted by bwg at 3:16 PM on October 31, 2007