Pumpkin Carving Tips

By: Sarah Z.

• When carrying your pumpkin, never hold it by the stem. If you break the stem off, the entire pumpkin will rot faster.
• Keep your uncut pumpkin in a cool and dry place, because warmth and light will quicken the rotting process.

• When thinking about your pumpkin design, consider adding a few more gords to impact your display.
• Mix a gallon of water and teaspoon of chlorine bleach. Then use this mixture to wipe the outside of your pumpkin. This will prevent mold.

• When you are carving your design into your pumpkin, use a sawing motion. This will be done with a straight edged knife and pure force; the pumpkin might get damaged as well as the knife.
• When you are removing all the seeds from the inside of a pumpkin, remove all of it. If you don’t, mold will start appearing and spread all over your pumpkin.

• If you are too lazy to scrape out the inside of a pumpkin, another option is to buy a hollow acrylic or craft pumpkin. This has the same look as a pumpkin, but they can last longer.
• Buy a carving kit. The kit provides tools that make the carving process easier and your work more precise.

• Use designs other than faces. You could carve moon, cats, or haunted houses. Be creative!
• If you want to light up your jack-o-lantern, use an electric light instead of an actual flame. The heat of an actual fire will cook your pumpkin. You probably don’t want your jack-o-lantern to turn into pumpkin pie.