The Face of the Pumpkin

When those young ghouls and goblins come to your house looking for their bags of candy, they are going to be expecting that you share in the holiday spirits. This not only includes participating in the trick or treating, but in the decorations and fun as well. One of the simplest yet traditional ways to show your festive spirit is with the use of jack-o-lanterns. These carved out pumpkins are a fun creative way to bring joy to the young kids coming by your place. If you've never carved a jack-o-lantern before; trust me, now's the time to learn. It is not very hard, and you will definitely enjoy the creative process.

First, you will need the tools. At the minimum you'll need a newspaper, large spoon or some sort of scoop, and a sharp blade of some sort. When it comes to your blade, it is best to find a sharp, flexible, sturdy knife, as this will make the cutting much easier and the detail work more precise. Some carvers also believe you should sharpen the blade as you work. This will ensure easy cuts and hopefully less accidents. Some other tools which could be useful are carving tools, like chisels, and perhaps hand saws.

To begin the carving process one must start by cutting off the top or bottom of the pumpkin. I prefer to cut my opening in the top as I feel it is easier to light this way. But some others enjoy cutting out the bottom and when it comes time to light, placing the whole pumpkin back over the light source sitting on the bottom opening. Whichever you choose, remember to cut the opening with the blade on a diagonal-with the inside of the hole being a smaller circumference then the outside of the hole. Otherwise, the lid will fall right through the opening.

After the opening has been cut out, it is time to gut the pumpkin. For the rest of the carving process, make sure to use the newspaper (or other similar covering, such as a garbage bag) as a placemat to protect the surface of your floor or table. The guts and juices can become very messy. To gut the pumpkin feel free to reach right into the gourd and start pulling out all the stringy guts and the seeds. When you got most of it out, use the spoon or scoop to carve off the inner membrane of the walls, and remove the rest of the moist insides. You can use this for recipes or incorporate it into your compost heap.

After the inside is good and clean, it is time to start carving your image. Some people trace the image onto the pumpkin first. This helps to see the dimensions and symmetry before just taking a knife to the flesh of the fruit. Then take the blade of the knife and cut out your design. I like to carefully cut deeper and deeper along the same line for more depth control. Sometimes you don't want to cut all the way through, since when you leave some of the wall behind, it creates different shading and shadows to the image. This is easiest to do with carving tools but can be achieved with a flexible knife.

Once the image has been cut out, you can now illuminate your jack-o-lantern. It is now typical to use a candle to accomplish this goal. Stick the candle into the center of the pumpkin, light, and the replace the top. You have now created a memorable image, the ghost and ghouls of all ages will enjoy when coming to your home on Halloween night.

Source: http://ezinearticles.com/6263842

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