Have you carved your pumpkins yet? We haven’t, but at our house we take this craft very seriously. My husband is amazing and has the patience to do some very intricate designs, often piecing things in with toothpicks as necessary. I do not have the same patience. I’m all about unique. I like to find an easy pattern that has a unique quality to it.

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We always find our patterns online. There are some free pattern sites like this one and this one. And, of course, some adorable ones at FamilyFun.com.

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Here are some tips we’ve learned over the years that may help you.

1. Use one of your kitchen knives to cut the top (or bottom) out of your pumpkin. Or, a nice jab saw if you have one lying around (we do and it’s our favorite!). This tool is also good for large pattern cuts (for people like me with no patience). Look through your household tools for saw blades of all sizes for the best results.
2. Purchase a $1 Store plastic tablecloth to do the gutting on and then just roll it up and throw it away. I like to have two cloths – one for gutting and then I do a quick clean up (including the pumpkin itself) and put a clean one down for the rest of the carving. To me, it’s worth the $2 to save on the clean-up.



3. To clean the guts, we just use regular metal kitchen spoons to scrape.  I guess those little plastic scoops work, but metal ones work great! Save the seeds to eat later if your family likes them.
4. It is often recommended to use a sharp tool to transfer your pattern onto your pumpkin (poking holes around the taped-on design). I actually prefer to just use a Sharpie marker to copy the pattern over. You can use a Magic Eraser to remove marker after. This works especially well if you are doing a simple pattern. My husband does the hole poking thing. Whatever works for you is great!
5. Rub the cut edges with petroleum jelly to help prevent rotten edges. Also, keep them outside where it is cold. They last longer. Most jack-o-lanterns last about a week in cooler weather.
6. TOOLS – This is my #1 biggest hint. Forget those lame pumpkin carving kits. Instead, purchase an inexpensive wood carving tool kit that you can use for years. It doesn’t matter if it’s a really good kit because you are using these tools to carve pumpkins and not wood. Especially if you are going to carve a detailed pattern, I recommend the wood tools. I carve simple patterns and I still use and love our set. You can also use pottery tools!