Fall is here, Halloween is just around the corner and pumpkins are everywhere! But what to do with your pumpkin? Well, there are multiple ways to decorate either to be festive for Halloween or just decorate for Fall.
The fan favorite is carving the perfect pumpkin with fun designs or classic cutouts, but here are some tips and tricks to make it an easier experience. But beware — a huge mess will occur!
- Always use a sharp carving knife and cut away from your body to risk any bloody pumpkins. Then you will want to cut the top of the pumpkin out and scoop out all the guts, either with a large spoon or your hand.
(Side tip: if you love to eat pumpkin seeds, save them for later to bake, salt and eat for your pleasure!)
- Now you’re ready to pick a design! You can either buy a booklet from the store with stencils ready to go, print out cool pictures or ideas online or get even more creative and sketch out your idea. Once you have your design, use a dry-erase marker, grease pencil or a washable marker, so when you are done carving it’s much easier to wipe away any lines left afterwards.
- Finally don’t forget to treat your pumpkins to make them last.
- According to https://goaptive.com/keep-pumpkins-from-rotting, there are several options: petroleum jelly or vegetable oil rubbed all over the pumpkin to keep it hydrated and prolong bacteria and molds growing on it.
- Give your carved pumpkin a bleach bath with one tablespoon of bleach and a quart of water (don’t forget to use gloves), dunk the pumpkin for about 20 minutes then rinse it off with cold water. This will help your pumpkin avoid bacteria and mold.
Now at last, you have your spooky, artsy or cute jack o’ lantern and all you need is a candle.
If taking out the guts of the pumpkin and making a huge mess isn’t your cup of potion, another fun way is to shave your pumpkin. Shaving your pumpkin will require more fancy tools such as a wood carving set, a chisel or a pumpkin shaver.
It’s similar to carving, but you will not cut the top, but go straight to picking a design and outlining it onto a pumpkin. Next, chisel away the lines carefully, and when the design is done go back and fix or smooth the lines down. Treating your shaved pumpkin afterwards is still important to keep it as fresh as possible.
Another fun way to decorate a pumpkin this season is to paint it! With endless ideas and plentiful colors, your imagination can run wild with painting a pumpkin.
- First things first pick the pumpkin with the smoothest surface possible. Then take it home, give it a good bath and make sure it is completely dry. Next, seal the pumpkin with a paint sealer to help keep the paint sticking to the pumpkin. If that’s too much for you, you can skip this step.
- Then pick your paint.
- Acrylic paint is known to be the best paint because it is water-based and it dries quicker, so if you mess up you can wipe it away.
But here are many more options for braver souls.
You can use spray paint for a faster painting time. Just by choosing a stencil and cutting it out, simply spray it with the colors you choose and it’s done! Make sure to give each color a good coat of paint and ample drying time in between or you may cause drips that don’t look smashing.
Another option is chalk paint, which you can buy at the store. This kind of paint will give your pumpkin a more matte-look, if you want that kind of aesthetic. It will require more time to paint because it needs more drying time and layers to cover the pumpkin.
If all those options are still simply too messy for the goblins or ghosts at home, just go to the market or pumpkin patch, pick out cool pumpkins or gourds in different shapes, sizes and colors and create decorative centerpieces that you can put inside or outside your home.