Pumpkin Carving Pics

Don't let the grainy cell phone pics fool you - my Strongbad pumpkin rocks! It was my first try at carving a pumpkin using a template and now I'm kicking myself for not trying that method out years ago. It looks incredibly complicated, but it's really quite easy (as long as you're long on patience).

I printed out the pattern and then glued it right onto the pumpkin. I cut along the lines just using a basic paring knife and then went a little deeper once I had the pattern all cut properly.

My biggest tip for successful pumpkin carving? Scrape your pumpkin out from the inside really *really* well. You don't have to do the whole thing, but on the side that you're going to be cutting your design out of, it makes a big difference if you can shave that down to an inch or so in width. Makes cutting the smaller pieces much easier.

Happy Halloween!