This week at Yours Clothing Head Office, we discovered that a member of our Marketing team has a hidden talent… Pumpkin Carving. (Perfect timing for Halloween!)
Stacey has kindly composed a step-by-step guide (including top secret tips) that will help you easily carve the best pumpkins in town! Learn how to transform your pumpkin from pulp… to portrait!
Firstly, choose the face for your pumpkin! (We’re using James Corden as an example.) So you can see shading, print this out in black and white and make sure that the face fits your pumpkin size!
Step 1 –Carefully cut out the lid (with a sharp knife – ask an adult to do this if need be) and make sure the hole is large enough for your hand to fit in and out of it with ease.
Step 2 –Scoop out the icky pulp (you can save this to make pumpkin soup afterwards) and seeds ensuring a smooth finish to the bottom and sides. The bottom will need to be flat so that your candles balance.
Step 3 -Scrape out the inside wall of the side you will be carving your face into. It is easier to cut through a thinner wall, especially for designs that require a lot of detail. Also, the thinner the wall – the more light that will shine through.
Step 4 –Wipe the pumpkin all over, removing any residue so that you have a clean base to carve from.
Step 5 –Securely attach your stencil/ face to the pumpkin using sticky tape. Using a small knife slowly cut into the lines of the stencil onto the pumpkin to create an outline that you can use as a guide.
Step 6 –Once you have cut the outline of your stencil on to the pumpkin you can remove it (otherwise it will start to get wet and in the way). Check over your stencil guide double checking you haven’t missed any vital lines, and then go over it again to ensure your pumpkin is cut all the way through.
Step 7 -Starting with the most intricate areas start to push through the pieces so you will begin to see the cut out (If you start with the larger areas it will weaken the structure making it more likely to break)
Step 8 -Once all the pieces are removed, place your candles into the pumpkin and you will start to see your portrait pumpkin taking shape.
Step 9 – with the candles lit, check back to your stencil and gently scrape at the pumpkin removing the surface (but not going the whole way through) to create a shadow effect and carefully carve any final details.
Step 10 – Grab your audience, position your pumpkin and turn out the lights to reveal your masterpiece! (Of course, then make sure you put it in view of passers by so they can look on in oar!)
Watch how to carve a celebrity pumpkin here:
