Pumpkin Carving 101

How do you get a near two-year-old to stop stealing her brothers binky? Ask her if she wants to carve a pumpkin.

First we printed out the template we wanted to carve, then we gathered our pumpkin carving supplies.

Next Mommy cut a hole in the top of the pumpkin so we could pull its guts out.

The we have to inspect the inside of the pumpkin to see what it's all about.

Then we start scraping the guts out.

Pile of guts and seeds. Now, please take note that you should NOT leave these lying on the table or within reach of a toddler. Otherwise that toddler might consider these as a food source. Then that toddler will make the most awful faces, gag and proceed to spit out what is left of the pumpkin seed. Totally hilarious by the way.

Next you apply your template to the pumpkin. This is one that Arabella & I designed together. She loves saying moon and stars so of course it was a no brainer.

Then we take what seems like for forever and poke our pattern into the pumpkin.

After a long time of tedious carving we have a finished product. (Thank you Laura for the foil tip, never heard of that one.) After this you can line your pumpkin with foil to keep it from being burnt by the candle. I opt to use flickering tea lights, but still lined it so that it gets a better reflection and shows off the design better.

And there you have it...Arabella's first carved pumpkin. I plan on taking some pictures tomorrow evening of the pumpkin outdoors, so stay tuned to Thursday's You Capture post for those.

Have a safe & happy Halloween everyone.