Halloween is all about scary costumes and spooky pumpkin carving ideas to decorate your home, greeting your trick-or-treaters. Decorating a pumpkin is one of the largest symbols of this holiday and is a fun way to get all family members to participate. They can be very challenging, requiring some creativity and ingenuity.
Luckily, if you are not a creative person, there is plenty of inspiration out there to help you. With templates to help you carve your pumpkins, the sky’s the limit to what you can create. Below we have gathered together a fantastic collection of pumpkin carving ideas to help get you started. Enjoy!
Items needed for your pumpkin: 1. Petroleum Jelly. You have worked so hard to carve your pumpkin, you should preserve it to last until trick-or-treating is over. What you want to do is coat the inside of your pumpkin with a thin layer of jelly after you have finished carving it. 2. Power Tools. Yes, grab your drill, put in a drill bit, and use it to place strategically placed holes. Drill holes in varying-sized circles. Get creative, you could turn your pumpkin into a disco ball or a polka dot pattern. 3. Pumpkin Carving Kit. These come in really handy for those that need some extra creative help. 4. Dry-Erase Markers. We used to use pencils and sharpies to sketch out spooky designs on our pumpkins. But this is much smarter, if you mess up, you can erase and start over! 5. Artificial Light. Candles are a thing of the past. Now you can use glow sticks, a pumpkin light stand (this has a cord, but is ideal since you can plug it into a timer), Christmas lights (white or multi-color), LED lights, mini LED flashlights, and flameless candle tealights.
Be sure to also check out: 37 Spooktacularly amazing outdoor Halloween ideas
1. Cookie-Cutter Pumpkin
You need two items for this trick, a cookie cutter, and a rubber mallet. After you decide on the overall aesthetic of your pumpkin, gently hammer your cookie-cutter shape with the mallet. You can either use this as a stencil or punch right through the pumpkin. (via Jessi Burrone / Lauren Conrad)
2. Pumpkin Luminaries
Illuminate the walkway leading up to your home with these miniature carved pumpkin luminaries. Hang them with heavy-gauge wire and shepherd’s hooks. Put in some battery-operated tea lights and you are all set! (via BHG)
3. The Polar Bear Pumpkin
Also known as albino or snowball pumpkins, the polar bear pumpkin variety is very trendy. This white pumpkin looks like it has seen a ghost! (via Daily Mail)
4. Harvest Display of Pumpkins
A cool collection of carved pumpkins for Halloween: the polar bear, tiger kakai, jarrdale, knuckle head and yellow. (via Shannon Bryan / Maine Today)
5. One Too Many Pumpkin
Now, this is one awesome pumpkin carving idea! An heirloom variety, it looks like a bloodshot eyeball. They are round to oblong and they are apparently hard to find but if you do find one, the seeds are excellent toasted. (via Shannon Bryan / Maine Today)
6. The Laughing Pumpkin
Fun for kids, this simple pumpkin carving idea comes with a traceable pattern to help you with your carving. To illuminate within, use a battery-operated candle. You can find the printable stencil here. (via BHG)
7. Stacked Pumpkin Display
Carve faces into heirloom and orange pumpkins to create a cool visual display for your trick-or-treaters. (via Pinterest)
8. The Pumpkin Who Ate a Pumpkin
Create a mean, scary pumpkin by carving out a larger pumpkin and place a smaller pumpkin in his mouth. (via Pinterest)
9. Flower-Power Pumpkins
Use a simple pumpkin carving pattern for your design, add some fresh or faux flowers and greenery and you have yourself a nature-inspired jack-o-lantern. You can find the full tutorial at the link provided. (via BHG)
10. Polka-Dot Pumpkin
Pull out your drill for this one. You can go random or you can mark out where you want your pattern to be with a marker. Don’t get the holes too close or you will overlap. To illuminate, buy a set of LED battery-operated string lights. (via Good Housekeeping)
11. The Nightmare Before Christmas
A white pumpkin (you can get this look by spray painting an orange pumpkin white) features Jack The Pumpkin King from The Nightmare Before Christmas. The designer used a Warren Pumpkin Carving Tool. (via Carrie K. / This Old House)
12. Scary Monster Pumpkin
This is one creative pumpkin, with large teeth and tongue and a frightened baby pumpkin! Get colored gourds for the stems to make the ears and the bottoms of the gourds cut for the eyes. (via Pinterest)
13. Car and Camper
This is the perfect pumpkin design for the outdoorsy person. A car and camper can grace your front doorstep. Small colored gourds can be attached with a toothpick for the wheels, door handles, and curtains. A gouging tool will help you to outline the car and camper doors. You can download the patterns and transfer them onto your pumpkins. The car carving pattern can be found here, while the camper carving pattern can be found here. (via BHG)
14. Toothy Pumpkin
Add a little spooky onto your doorstep with this toothy pumpkin… just add a wig and a scary hat. (via Martha Stewart)
15. Pumpkin Bonfire
This will require a little extra time, but how cool would this be? You will need about 10 to 12 pumpkins to pull off this bonfire effect. Pumpkin carving tools will also be needed. Each of them requires flickering votive candles to bring the flames to life! You can add them to a table, or place them on the ground with some logs around them. Get the flame-shaped stencil at the link provided. (via BHG)
16. Toothpick Face
This simple pumpkin can be designed by carving out a face and leave a gaping mouth to fill with toothpicks for teeth. (via Pinterest)
17. Pumpkin Eating Little Pumpkin
A green heirloom pumpkin with some pointy teeth and a tiny sad-faced orange pumpkin. (via Pinterest)
18. Mean Pumpkin Devouring Baby Pumpkin
Love this design of a large orange pumpkin with a mean-looking face, chomping down on a little sad-faced pumpkin. Use the stem as the nose of the small pumpkin. (via ihappyhalloweenpictures)
19. Spooky Pumpkin Face
Different from a traditional pumpkin where you would carve around the stem for a lid and carve out the pumpkin guts. This one keeps the stem on for the nose and creates a chillingly spooky face! (via Pinterest)
20. Extreme Pumpkin Carving
If you are into extreme detail in your pumpkin sculpting, then this one has your number… love this scary face! (via Ray Villafane)
21. Party Pumpkins
These pumpkins sure know how to party! This could be a lot of fun to re-create, just add your favorite beer. (via Pinterest)
22. A Vomiting Pumpkin
Just pull the guts of the pumpkin through the mouth to re-create this look. (via Pinterest)
23. The Homer Simpson Pumpkin
Re-create the face of one of your favorite cartoon characters to greet visitors to your front door. (via Family Holiday)
24. Tattoo Artist
If you are creative, this carved pumpkin will appeal to your senses. This silly-faced jack-o’-lantern is covered in shallow carvings, showcasing the pumpkin’s light-orange interior. (via DIY Network)
25. Mickey and Minnie Mouse Pumpkins
Carve out your favorite Disney characters on pumpkins, your kids will love these! (via Pinterest)
26. Pumpkin Biting His Tongue
This artfully carved, old man pumpkin is biting his tongue. (via Villafane Studios)
27. Enchanted Pumpkin Face
An heirloom pumpkin has been artfully crafted to perfection. (via Villafane Studios)
28. The Zombie Pumpkin
This artist is a huge fan of The Walking Dead, which was the inspiration for the carving of this zombie pumpkin. Have a look at the link provided for a speed video of the carving and a quick tutorial on how to get started. (via The Stylish Geek)
29. Frankenstein Jack O’ Lantern
Welcome your trick-or-treaters with this pumpkin carving idea looks like Frankenstein. Get the full tutorial in the link provided. (via DIY Network)
30. Toothy Grin
This menacing pumpkin is all about the teeth. Yikes! (via Kyle Nishioka / DIY Network)
31. Pumpkin Owls
These innovative owl pumpkins are designed out of larger pumpkins with smaller pumpkins and gourds used for the smaller details. String lights are used to illuminate. Get the full tutorial on the link provided. (via William Abranowicz/ Martha Stewart)
32. Undead Pumpkins
These googly-eyed monster pumpkins can be made by following the tutorial on the link provided. All you need are some white pumpkins and some plastic eyeballs for the main concept. (via Johnny Miller/ Martha Stewart)
33. The Baby-Eating Yard Monster
A large pumpkin has been carved into a monster. The arms are supported by a rebar, while a onesie is stuffed with leaves to look like the monster’s victim. Creative! (via Popular Mechanics)
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