The Best Unique Pumpkin Carving Ideas And Techniques You Need To Try This Halloween
This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s fall editorial intern Elizabeth Miller. Find them on Instagram at @Lizzy_7979. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
One of my favorite fall activities is carving pumpkins! I love crafts, but doing them by myself can get lonely. This is my favorite time of year because I can drag my family and friends into doing fall crafts for the sake of getting into the spooky spirit! Carving pumpkins is pretty simple, but year after year my friends have gotten bored of doing the same thing each time. This year, I’ve set out to look for fun alternative techniques to add a new spin to this fun tradition. Here are some of the unique ideas I found!
The Popular Pumpkin Head Photo Shoot
This idea has been popular for the last few years. Rather than carving a hold from the top of the pumpkin, people carve out the bottom and put the pumpkins over their heads! There are some photo shoot ideas in this article. This idea is great because it puts a new use to carving pumpkins. Rather than just having the pumpkins sit outside, having a photo shoot in mind gives some extra motivation to pumpkin carving! Who doesn’t want to take cute photos?
A Different Carving Technique
Sometimes adding a new spin to pumpkin carving is using a new technique. While searching for inspiration, I saw people using apple and carrot peelers to try to create layers in their carvings to add more shades of yellow and orange to their carvings. This technique allows you to make designs that are a bit more intricate because there is a wider range of colors rather than just fully cutting out sections. When you put a candle or light inside the pumpkin, the peeled sections will give the design dimension.
To do this technique, sketch out your carving in a few different colors to distinguish how deep you will cut into the pumpkin. Assign colors for depth, using two or three. To replicate what it will look like while carving without light inside the pumpkin, use black for full die cuts, yellow for when you cut away at a deeper depth, but not all the way through, and orange for when you take off the skin and a bit of the flesh. Trace and mark it out on your pumpkin, being sure to mark which sections are which.
In the tutorials I’ve seen, some people carefully cut the outline of the not-fully-cut sections and carefully shave down the sections, and others use a peeler. Both techniques get different looks, the first looking more blocked out, and the second getting a more ombre gradient. This is just because the tools are different, when you use a knife you can get more precise edges, but with a peeler, you get more control over how thin the section is.
Mini Pumpkin Lights
When I saw this idea, I almost screamed because of how cute it is! This idea uses a bunch of small pumpkins. Rather than curing them from the top, cut from the bottom. Scoop and carve like usual. Then, get some Christmas or fairy lights. Lay out the string in a line, and place the little pumpkins on top of the individual light bulbs. The lights take the place of a candle or tea light, and all the pumpkins look so nice next to each other. You can keep these on a wall in a line, such as along a railing or porch, or you can place them more randomly like to line steps or a path. Overall, it is so cute and I really want to do this with my friends because the little pumpkins are quicker to carve.
Which of these techniques are you going to try? Let us know in the comments down below!