How to Paint and Carve a Pumpkin
- 1). Plan what you want to carve and paint on your pumpkin. Decide what parts of the pumpkin you want to paint such as hair, eyelashes and ears and what parts you want to carve like the eyes, nose and mouth. Draw a picture on a piece of paper of what you want to carve on the pumpkin so you can trace it onto the pumpkin or copy it freehand.
- 2). Lay out several old newspapers on your table and place the pumpkin on top of it. Take a wet paper towel and clean the outside of your pumpkin.
- 3). Cut a circular lid around the top of the pumpkin stem with your knife. Be sure your hole is big enough to stick your hand through.
- 4). Start scooping out the stringy pieces and seeds of the inside of your pumpkin with your ice cream scoop. Use your spoon to scrape the insides of the pumpkin to get out all of the stringy stuff.
- 5). Set the pumpkin seeds aside on a paper towel. (To make a tasty snack, rinse and dry them, then spread on a baking sheet and bake them in the oven for 20 minutes at 350 degrees F. Sprinkle with salt.) Scrape the inside walls thoroughly for carving.
- 6). Tape the paper pattern you created onto the pumpkin. Fit the picture around the pumpkin.
- 7). Poke the pushpin into the pumpkin along the pattern lines. Poke the holes about 1/8 inch apart.
- 8). Lift up the pattern occasionally to see if your pushpin picture is clear enough to follow with your hand saw, then carve it. Push your saw in and out slowly and carefully.
- 1). Lightly mark what you want to paint on the pumpkin with a pencil. Mix the fluorescent paints and use various size paintbrushes to paint details on your pumpkin. Smaller brushes work best for eyelashes and other thin lines.
- 2). Wear a smock to avoid getting paint on your clothes. Rinse your brush in between paint colors.
- 3). Let the paint dry completely. Put the candle inside the bottom of your pumpkin and set outside on your doorstep with other pumpkins. Light the candle.