Pumpkin Carving

Well its that time of the year again when everything gets all spooky, children get dressed up for trick or treating, houses get done up and the pumpkins get carved so i thought i would share some of my hints and tips for carving your pumpkins.

All you will need is a pumpkin (obviously) a large knife, a hacksaw blade (or pumpkin carving saw) and a spoon.

• Start by cutting the lid off your pumpkin in a large circle

• next take your spoon and scrape out all the seeds and guts of the pumpkin
• then decide which side is going to be the front on your pumpkin where your design will be
• scrape the inside of the pumpkin until its about 1 inch thick

• where you will be carving your design keep scraping until its only about 1/2 inch thick (this is where a lot of people go wrong and find it difficult to carve as they leave this side too thick)
• draw your design onto your pumpkin (i have pinched this design from a similar one i have seen on the internet)
• if you are not great at drawing you can pick up great cheap templates at this time of year

•  take your hacksaw blade (or carving saw) and start cutting out your design
• start with the little thin bits as its more stable before you have taken big chunks out of it)
• don't try and turn corners with the saw, when you have to change direction take the saw out and put it back in at the right angle

• make sure the inside base is flat (as this is where your candle will stand)
• put your candle in and light it
• turn off the lights and enjoy your creation

DO NOT THROW AGAIN THE SEEDS AND GUTS

I will be doing 2 more blog posts with yummy things you can make from what you would usually throw away.