16 Creative Pumpkin Carving Ideas
When Halloween rolls around each year, it’s not hard to feel giddy and excited for what’s to come. That being - pumpkin everything! Pumpkin decorations, pumpkin spiced lattes, pumpkin candies, pumpkin pie and, of course, that yearly trip to the beautiful pumpkin patch to pick out that one perfect pumpkin to carve and place on your front porches and stoops.
Are you stumped on how to carve a pumpkin? Or are you in need of some fresh ideas this Halloween? Or perhaps your carved pumpkins never last! We have all these answers and more. If you are looking to take your pumpkin carving skills up a notch, or if you are just a beginner looking to get started, these 16 pumpkin carving ideas will be sure to impress your neighbors and all those adorable trick or treaters. While the typical triangle cutouts are always fun, why not get a little more creative this year? These pumpkin carving ideas will have you saying “Happy Halloween” in no time!
You’ll learn the best tools for the job (including how to carve a pumpkin with almost no effort at all!), easy pumpkin carving ideas, faux pumpkin carving ideas, inspiration for carving pumpkin faces, and how to preserve those carved pumpkins so you can enjoy your creativity a bit longer.
Easy Pumpkin Carving Ideas
There’s no doubt that carving a pumpkin is fun. However, sometimes carving a pumpkin can be a lot of work too! Did you know that there is actually a much easier way to carve a pumpkin? Use your power tools! This is a great time to get the old power tools out of the garage and put them to good use. You absolutely can use your power tools and drills to create some of the wildest pumpkin designs - all without breaking a sweat.
You can also use cookie cutters to carve a unique pumpkin. And don’t forget that pumpkins can make great entertaining vessels for your next party!
Here are some easy pumpkin carving ideas to get you started. Please make sure to always take the proper safety precautions when working with any power tools.
1) Easy Pumpkin Carving Idea with a Drill
You may wonder how to even get started using your drill to create a carved pumpkin. In this tutorial, all you need is a little painter’s tape to mark your design, a skewer to make some tiny poke holes, and then your drill will do the rest. You don’t even need to scoop the pumpkin first! Once your design is drilled, scoop the pumpkin out and insert an LED candle for a gorgeous glow.
See post: Kathy Woodard @ TBD•TGG•DYSS|DIY Pumpkin Carving with a Drill
2) Create a Geometric Design with an Oscillating Tool
Just one tool will give you a modern and unique looking carved pumpkin. Enter the oscillating tool. This tool will scoop out the pumpkin and also create the lines for your design. Simply trace out a geometric design on your pumpkin and let your oscillating tool do the rest. There are many geometric pattern inspirations for you to try. Chevron, lines, and shapes can all be created with this tool.
See post: Remodelando La Casa - Cristina| Pumpkin Carving…The Easy Way!
3) Pumpkin Carving Idea Using a Drill, Hot Glue Gun, and Spray Paint
Perhaps you’ve already created a pumpkin with a drill design. Or maybe you’re just looking for that perfect finishing touch. Here’s a great idea for spray painting your pumpkin after you drill your design. A little hot glue can also be used to create a puffed up design on your pumpkin. The spray paint takes this to another level! Lucky for you the sky's the limit on the color choices!
See post: Hester van Overbeek|Pumpkin 'Carving’ with a Drill and Glue Gun
4) Pumpkin Carving Idea Using Cookie Cutters
What if you don’t own any power tools? No worries, let’s go to your kitchen instead! Cookie cutters make fantastic tools for carving pumpkins. After scooping out the inside of your pumpkin, just use your favorite cookie cutter shape and a hammer to help wedge the cookie cutter through your pumpkin. You can create these shapes all the way around the pumpkin and light it up afterwards! How fun!
See post: Amanda C, Hometalk Team|Cookie Cutter Pumpkins in 20 Minutes
5) Party Pumpkin Carving Idea
Throwing a Halloween party? Then you will love this idea! Just take a pumpkin and a smaller sized bowl that will fit inside the pumpkin. Scoop out the inside of the pumpkin and carve the edges, you can even put glitter on them. Place the bowl inside the scooped out pumpkin, fill with ice, and cocktails are ready to be served!
See post: Amanda C, Hometalk Team|Autumn Party Pumpkin Bowl for $10
6) Easy Coastal Pumpkin Carving Ideas
Do you live near the beach or a coastal town? Take some inspiration from this gorgeous roundup of coastal carved pumpkins. You don’t even really have to carve these pumpkins! These pumpkins were made by etching the design into the top layer of the pumpkin. They certainly create quite a splash!
See post: Maya @ Completely Coastal|Creative Coastal, Beach & Nautical Pumpkins & Carved Jack O Lanterns
Carving Pumpkin Faces
If power tools aren't your thing don’t worry, you can still carve a beautiful pumpkin. Or a scary one with a face to match! If you need inspiration for creating pumpkin faces, then look no further than these projects.
7) A Passion for Pumpkin Carving
With tons of designs to inspire you, these pumpkin carving creations will make you want Halloween to be here now! It’s really amazing what you can create from one pumpkin.
See post: Life with Lorelai|Pumpkin Carving
8) Unbelievable Pumpkin Faces
You won’t believe the realistic features of these pumpkin faces! These pumpkin carving ideas will be sure to inspire your next pumpkin project. Check out all the pumpkin faces inspiration below.
See post: Coco Tree Service Corp|Amazing Halloween Pumpkin Carvings
9) Pumpkin Faces You Need to See!
We typically only carve one side of a pumpkin but what about using the entire pumpkin to create a head complete with facial features? Using a Dremel tool can help kick your pumpkin skills up a notch. There’s plenty of pumpkin carving ideas here to spark your creativity!
See post: Dee W|A Whole New Level of Pumpkin Carving!
Faux Pumpkin Carving
If the thought of a messy, goopy pumpkin is enough to keep you away, then how about the idea of faux pumpkin carving? No mess, low expense, and you can pull them out of storage year after year after year!
10) Carving Faux Pumpkins with No Special Tools
You might be wondering how in the world you could carve a faux pumpkin? You might be surprised to learn that you need nothing more than a kitchen knife and your creativity to get the job done. Trace a design on your pumpkin and use a simple serrated knife to carefully cut it out. Slow and steady wins the race and always be careful with knives! Don’t forget the orange lights!
See post: Chas’ Crazy Creations|Carving Faux Pumpkins
11) Faux Pumpkin Carving with Stencils
For an even easier spin on carving your faux pumpkin try using a stencil instead of freehand drawing your design. Craft stores such as Michael’s and Joann’s, and even Amazon, have plenty of stencil designs for you to choose from. Use the stencil to cut out your design and voila! A professionally faux carved pumpkin is yours for the taking!
See post: Royal Design Studio|Halloween Stencils to Carve a Faux Pumpkin
12) Faux Carved Pumpkin Centerpiece
Another entertaining idea for you! You can make this project with a faux or real pumpkin. You just need to scoop out the inside of the pumpkin if you are using a real one. Use the inside to hold a beautiful arrangement of flowers and greenery. Or keep with the Halloween theme and fill it with cobwebs and spiders or black spray painted branches. Either way it’s sure to be a conversation starter for your next fall or Halloween party!
See post: Adrienne Carrie Hubbard|Crafty Little Gnome|Carved Pumpkin Centerpiece
13) Faux Carved Pumpkins that Do Double Duty!
What’s better than one faux carved pumpkin? Two faux carved pumpkins! Here’s an ingenious idea to carve some faux pumpkins for Halloween, and then create a fall/Thanksgiving inspired design on the reverse side, which essentially allows you to use them for months at a time spanning over two holidays! Your local craft stores, like Michael’s and even Target, sell faux pumpkins and they can be a great bargain if you pick them up out of season. Get all the details for this two-in-one project below!
See post: Angela, Blue i Style|Reversible Pumpkins for Halloween and Thanksgiving
How to Preserve Your Carved Pumpkin
Now that we did all this work we want to make it last, right? Try these easy pumpkin preserving ideas to make your beautiful creations last!
14) Homemade Carved Pumpkin Preserving Spray
This homemade pumpkin preserving spray is easy to make and contains no bleach! This spray consists of just water, borax, and a few essential oils. All you need to do is spray it on those beautiful, creatively carved pumpkins you just made and they will last a lot longer for you. No mold or bugs!
See post: Alexis @ Chemistry Cachet|Homemade Carved Pumpkin Preserving Spray - No Bleach!
15) Another Easy Way to Preserve Your Carved Pumpkin
Here’s another easy way to preserve your carved pumpkin using something you probably already have at home. Simply rub it all over with vaseline or petroleum jelly, including the inside of the pumpkin and all the cut areas. It will last that much longer for you. Easy peasy!
See post: Lisa Schulze| Preserve Carved Pumpkins
16) Preserve Your Carved Pumpkin with This Grocery Store Spray
A trip to your local grocery or hardware store to pick up this spray will ensure your carved pumpkins last all season, and they have the video footage to prove it. Watch the video to find out the winner of this pumpkin preserving contest!
See post: Wet & Forget|The BEST Way to Preserve Pumpkins
Are you truly inspired by these amazing pumpkin carving ideas? We learned that power tools can create some pretty intricate pumpkin designs and that they will make the process much faster and easier for you. But don’t forget that other tools can work too, like cookie cutters and a scraping tool to etch in your creative designs.
We also learned that carved pumpkins can make a great centerpiece, whether it’s to hold drinks or a beautiful flower arrangement. And now you know what to do with all those faux pumpkins! You can really take them to new levels with all these faux pumpkin carving ideas.
Pumpkin faces can be really scary (in a good way) and very inspiring! You’ll be sure to impress all your friends and neighbors with a carved pumpkin face this year. Go for it!
Finally, don’t let all your hard work go to waste. We included three great ideas for preserving your carved pumpkins. All of them are very easy to implement too!
Do you have a unique pumpkin carving idea? Why not share it with us through Hometalk? Be sure to upload a picture and post your project so we can see your creativity and try it out for ourselves. And don’t forget that Hometalk is not only a great source of inspiration, but a helpful one too. Your friends are just waiting to answer your questions in the DIY forum.
We can’t wait to see what you come up with next!
Written for the Hometalk community by: Karen | Decor Hint
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