80+ Easy Pumpkin Carving Ideas That'll Wow Everyone | The Exploreist (2024)

By Todd Maurer | Updated: March 09, 2024

Alright, that’s all the awesome pumpkin carving ideas we gathered after spending hours scrolling the feed of #pumpkincarvings on Instagram. Many thanks to these creative and talented artists and Halloween enthusiasts, and if you have other great ideas that should be on this list, leave a comment below.

If this is your first time carving a pumpkin, here are tips to help you get started.

Tips to Carve a Pumpkin for Halloween

1. Pick a Perfect Pumpkin

   Before we start carving our Halloween gourds, let’s talk about how to pick a perfect one. The best candidate is one that’s bright orange, firm, and solid, with no soft spots, cuts, or other damages. Depending on your design, you can also consider mini-pumpkins, white pumpkins, or those with bumps on them.

2. Gather Supplies and pumpkin carvers

   Once you have found that perfect pumpkin, what you need then is a bowl, water, paper towels, a scraper or spoon for cleaning the inside of the pumpkin, some tiny saws, and an awl. There are kid-friendly carving kits on Amazon, which costs only a few dollars and come with everything you need.

   You might also want to grab some spray paint, linoleum cutters, and drill bits if you want to make a colorful and elaborate one.

3. Choose a Pumpkin Design

   Once you have had the tools and the pumpkin to work on, it’s time to select a design you like. Think of a character you want to portray on your pumpkin, and then pick one with a shape that works to your advantage.

4. Start With The Bottom or Top

   When it comes to the first cut, you can either start from the top or bottom, depending on your design. The best way, in our opinion, is to cut a lid off the bottom, which helps to hide the cut and to add and position the candles later.

5. Create a Chimney

   If you cut the lid from the top, consider creating a smoky hole, which acts as a draft that draws the air in when you light up the candle and helps it burn brighter.

6. Cut out The Pulp and Seeds

   Next is the fun part — you get to clean the pumpkin inside out. Preparation is 90% of pumpkin carving, so it’s really important to do a great job on this. We’re using the measuring cup, which is our favorite tool for cleaning a pumpkin.

7. Draw Your Design on The Pumpkin

   You can draw your design right onto the pumpkin or print or draw it on a piece of paper first and then cut your drawing out to attach it to the pumpkin using duct tape. There are also free pumpkin carving stencils and templates online to help you easily transfer artwork to your pumpkins.

8. Start Making Some Tough Cuts

   Once the art is attached to the pumpkin, take a drawing pushpin and start outlining your art. Go along the edge of every line of your drawing and put a series of holes into the meat of the pumpkin.

9. Use Your Scraps Creatively

   Don’t throw away the pumpkin shells you just cut off. Make a tongue, pipe, or hair accessories and use toothpicks to add them to the carved pumpkin.

10. Light up Your Carved Pumpkin

    The final step is to light up your pumpkin! You can use candles, which can be messy, or battery-powered lights that simulate a candle flame. You can also use tea lights, flashlights, or your Christmas lights, which also add some festivity.

    Lastly, keep the pumpkin seeds you just scooped and roast them into the classic Halloween snack. Check out thispostfor a more detailed carving tutorial.

Now, put out your mason jars, Halloween costumes, Halloween decor, or whatever you need to make your home a haunted house and get the party started. If you’re looking for more Halloween crafts to keep yourself or the little ones busy,hereis a list.