To make your pumpkin stand out, you will need to decorate it with some great craftsmanship. It’s not difficult to do, but it does involve a little time. Here are 8 easy steps on how to properly carve and decorate your pumpkin into the Halloween masterpiece you’ve always wanted.

1. Gather your tools: Make sure you have these basic tools before you start carving: small and large spoon, carve stick, and a few rags. The small spoon is for removing the seeds from the pumpkin, the large spoon is for carving out the guts of the pumpkin, and the carve stick is for helping in removing the guts of the pumpkin. The rags are for wiping off all of that messy pumpkin goo that comes out of the pumpkin as you’re carving it.

2. Cut off top: Using your large spoon cut off top of your pumpkin so you can easily remove all of those seeds from inside.

3. Scoop out seeds: Scoop out all of those yucky seeds with your small spoon into a bowl or baggie that you can throw away later.

4. Clean up mess: Clean up all that messy pumpkin goo using those rags we told you to get earlier as you scooped out those nasty seeds earlier

* Here are some tips that will help you decorate your pumpkin from top to bottom.

* Use a black marker and draw the design you want on your pumpkin.

* Trace the black design on the pumpkin with a toothpick or the end of a paintbrush.

* Cut out the shape using a sharp knife. Make sure to cut out inside the lines.

* Put a small dab of glue in the middle of each cut out piece of pumpkin. Put one large piece back on top of another and hold them together for at least 5 minutes.* Let it dry overnight, then using a toothpick put the smaller pieces back into place over the large piece.* Glue one small piece to each side of the face, by cutting off 2-3 inch pieces and gluing them to each side of the face.* Decorate with glitter, paint, or other decorative materials!**Tip: When using glitter try mixing in some extra glue and water first before putting it on your pumpkin so it stays on better.”**

Let’s be honest here. When you think of decorating pumpkins, what comes to mind? Pumpkins, right? Well, it’s time to get creative and try something new this year.

Circle and other shapes are great but there are so many more options available. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. The Alien Egg – This is the first thing that popped into my head when I thought about pumpkins and aliens. If you are going for an alien theme this one is perfect! You can have the egg cracked open or closed. It would be super easy to make too. Just use a black marker and draw an alien face on your pumpkin with the mouth open, and maybe some eyes peeking out of the cracked area. Use pieces of string around the middle to make tentacles coming out of the sides where the shell is broken open. Voila!

2. Jack Skellington – Jack Skellington is a perennial favorite for Halloween decorating, so why not add him to your pumpkin collection? All you need is a white pumpkin and some paint to make his classic black and white face!

3. Carved Faces – This is my favorite kind of carved pumpkin because it doesn’t require any messy carving! If you don

There are several ways to do this. The first is to use a marker and draw on your pumpkin the features that you want. Don’t try to get too elaborate with this because if it doesn’t look good you can always paint it later on.

Another way is to make stencils for your pumpkins so that you can paint more intricate designs. To do this you will need something like a cookie cutter or a small lid from a jar or even from a plastic bottle as long as you can trace the design on it and cut it out. Then tape it onto your pumpkin, and then paint over it with your desired color.

You could also use paper towels or white printer paper and draw the design on them first and then tape them onto the pumpkin. If you don’t have anything like that, you can use newspaper but be careful not to tear them because they will rip very easily. However, once again, if they don’t look good then don’t worry because you can always paint them later on.*

**DIY Pumpkin Carving Supplies List:

Pumpkin carving tools such as an X-acto knife, a pumpkin carving kit and/or a spoon, etc.

Pumpkin carving patterns or stencils (you can also draw your own patterns)

Paint brushes, paint (if you are painting your pumpkin), and paintbrushes (if you are not painting your pumpkin)

A sturdy, flat surface on which to work

Paper towels to help clean up your mess (don’t use newspaper as the ink will bleed through to the pumpkin)**

“Step 1: Purchase pumpkin. Decide on size based on how many guests you are expecting. Be sure to purchase a jack-o-lantern from a reputable source such as the Old Farmer’s Market in the middle of town. Step 2: Remove stickers and string from pumpkin. Remove stickers by using a damp cloth or baby oil. Remove string by cutting with a butter knife or razor blade.”

Tone:jovial