Pumpkin Carving How To's  
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Draw and Cut Lid...
Draw a lid on top of pumpkin. Draw a "tooth" at the back for a guide in replacing it. Cut lid at an angle creating a ledge to set the lid back on. |
Clean and Scrape...
Clean out seeds and strings. You can clean and cook the seeds, check Tips and Tricks page for recipe. Scrape the inner pulp away from the carving area until wall is about 1" thick. |
Attach Pattern...(If doing "shadow" pumpkin, do shadow side first) Trim pattern, leaving 1/2" border around design and tape it to the pumpkin. Make it fit smoothly with small folds at slash lines that are outside of pattern. Tape folds in place. |
Transfer Pattern...
Using the tip of the poker(or a needle), poke holes about 1/8" apart along pattern lines. remove the pattern and connect the dots(or rub flour over pumpkin surface. |
Using the Drill...
Hold drill(or large nail)near the tip and GENTLY push and twist in until it's through. |
Sawing Skills...(Again, if doing "shadow" pumpkin, do shadow side first) Hold pumpkin in your lap. Hold the saw(or small knife) like a pencil and saw steadily up and down using gentle pressure. |
Sawing Design...
Saw dot to dot working from the center outward(1,2,3). Push cut pieces through with your finger. |
    Refine Shadow Carving... After carving shadow, place pumpkin over unlit candle(Pic A):Look through the carving toward the wick. The extra flesh you see will distort the shadow and must be carved off. (Pic B&C):Remove flesh with a diagonal stroke. (Pic D):Shine shadow onto light colored wall to see if further adjustments need to be made. |
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Carve Main Design...
With shadow projected on wall, tape main design in place. Remove candle and carve. |
Locate and Carve Chimney...
Anchor the candle inside and towards the back of the pumpkin. Light candle and cover pumpkin with the lid. Candle will blacken a spot under the lid. Saw this spot out to create a chimney to vent smoke and heat. |
Shadow Settings...
Place pumpkin near wall or backdrop (as shown). |
