Now, Pumpkin Carving 101 presents the fun stuff–carving your pumpkin!  Using your tools, you will find creating your pumpkin art is easier than you may think!  A few days before you will be displaying your pumpkin, gather everything you need, and follow these tips:

Cleaning out the pumpkin is messy, and best done on a paper-covered table or done outside.  Before you get started, wipe the outer shell with some kind of disinfectant cleaner to help stop the growth of natural germs that break down the pumpkin.  Instead of cutting out the top for a lid, remove a circle in the bottom or a square in the back.  This will make placing your light much easier.  Use your carving tool kit’s scraper to remove the fibers and seed from the inside of the pumpkin.  Once the inside is clean of seeds and pulp, use a solution of ten parts water to one part bleach to spray the inside of the pumpkin to help stop it from molding quickly.

Traditional jack o’ lantern faces are great and always a hit, but if you are looking for a little more for your carving, use a template!  Choose from these printable templates available from SheKnows, or create one of your own!  Your stencil should be complementary to your skills, or if the kids are helping, find an easy one, and print.  Tape it to your cleaned-out pumpkin, and use a push pin to create a dot-to-dot line.  This creates a dot-to-dot pattern. Saw along these lines using your kit’s small saw or any pointed serrated knife. You may find more scraping necessary to remove the thick inside of the pumpkin once all of your cuts have been made.

Once the carving is complete and the mess is cleaned up, it will be time to preserve your giant squash as well as choose a light source. Battery-operated tea lights are perfect for lighting your jack o’ lantern, and last for several hours, as well as being safer than a traditional candle.  Once you purchase an inexpensive pack, replace the batteries when the old ones die, as the LED bulbs inside last much longer than any wax tealight candle.  Find more tips for keeping your jack-o’-lantern fresh and lighting ideas in this article from HGTV.

Keep the pumpkin-carving safe:  supervise younger children, and even help them when they want to use tools to cut the pumpkin’s new face.  Most children love cleaning out the “guts” of the pumpkin, so for a healthy treat, have them pick out some seeds for washing and roasting.  Most of all, have fun, and make memories!

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Gone are the days of using Mom’s best kitchen knife to carve a simple jack o’ lantern with triangle-shaped eyes and a toothy grin.  Pumpkin carving is an art for many, but even those who are not so talented in that department can fake it with all of the tools and tricks available!

Pumpkin carving kits are available at many retailers, and you do not have to invest more than $20.00. Basic kits usually contain a utility saw, hand “drill,” and scraper.  Pumpkin Masters is the leading producer of carving tool kits, and you can be certain your kit will be perfect for the beginner or the experienced carving artist!  Their basic toolset, along with other decorating kits, can be purchased for less than $15 at Lowes home stores.

If you are in the market for a beginner kit, such as a child-safe set, Best Products has a list of beginner sets, as well as other gadgets and tools that would be more fitting for adults.  All of these items are $25 or less.

If you are ready to step up your carving mastery, there are plenty of tools that are not necessarily made for carving large orange squashes but work well for creating a professional-looking piece of pumpkin art. Check out these picks from Bustler,  which includes a set of pottery tools, a cookie-cutter kit, and a power drill set, all perfect for creating the perfect jack o’ lantern.

Different tools create different results:  children can use metal cookie cutters to punch out shapes; for a lantern look, use a power drill and different-sized bits; and if you want to make your pumpkin look like a work of art, use a set of linoleum tools.

Gathering your pumpkin and tools are just the beginning! Stay tuned for more Pumpkin Carving 101, when we discuss choosing a template, carving your artwork, as well as keeping your jack o’ lantern fresh!

Access Teri’s one-stop Orlando FL home search website.

Teri Isner is the team leader of Orlando Avenue Top Team and has been a Realtor for over 24 years. Teri has distinguished herself as a leader in the Orlando FL real estate market. Teri assists buyers looking for Orlando FL real estate for sale and aggressively markets Orlando FL homes for sale.

You deserve professional real estate service! You obtain the best results with Teri Isner plus you benefit from her marketing skills, experience and ability to network with other REALTORS®. Your job gets done pleasantly and efficiently.  You are able to make important decisions easily with fast, accurate information from Teri. The Orlando Avenue Top Team handles the details and follow-up that are important to the success of your transaction.

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