Pumpkin Carving

Today's prompt for the Autumn Blog Challenge is "How would you carve your jack-o-lantern this year? Funny, scary, not at all?"

Sophia and Olivia like to draw faces on pumpkins and carve them. Some are happy faces while others are scary faces.

We carved five pumpkins last year.

(Taken on October 30, 2011.)

Last year, in 2011, Olivia tried her hand at carving her first pumpkin. Up to that point, she drew the faces on the pumpkins and I would carve them for her. 

She tried lots of different ways to hold her pumpkin in place while she carved it. Using her feet seemed the best way for her to hold the pumpkin still.

Olivia carving her first pumpkin.
(Taken on October 30, 2011.)

A couple of years ago, in 2010, we used patterns to create images on the pumpkins. The first step was using a tool to punch holes in the pattern so that the image would be transferred to the pumpkin.

Olivia marking the pattern on the pumpkin.

(Taken on October 23, 2010.)

The next step was to take another took and carve the shell to different depths. In that way, the candle light would shine through the pumpkin skin and give different shades of light to the image.

Sophia carving her pumpkin.

(Taken on October 23, 2010.)

Whenever we are carving pumpkins, it seems like the dogs are interested in what we're doing. The cats avoid the kitchen (where we carve pumpkins) during that time.

Gretel watching intently as Sophia carves the pumpkin.

(Taken on October 23, 2010.)

Olivia's finished pumpkin in 2010 was a moon with some stars.

Olivia's moon and stars pumpkin.

(Taken on October 24, 2010.)

Sophia's pumpkin was of a cat. It involved both cut-out sections as well as sections that had been scraped, but not cut all the way through the pumpkin.

Sophia's cat pumpkin.

(Taken on October 24, 2010.)

2009 marked the first year that Sophia carved her own pumpkin. Up to that point, she drew the image on the pumpkin (just like Olivia did) and I carved them.

Sophia with the design she wanted to carve.

(Taken on October 30, 2009.)

It looks like during 2009, the girls had similar ideas about how a pumpkin should look.

Olivia with the face she wanted carved on her pumpkin.

(Taken on October 30, 2009.)

One of the things that we enjoy after we're done carving pumpkins is making toasted pumpkin seeds. They are great eaten as a snack or as a topping on a salad.

Montague watching Olivia separate the seeds 
from the stringy part of the pumpkin.
(Taken on October 30, 2009.)

In 23-24 days, we'll be carving pumpkins. We have found that if we carve them and put them out too many days before Halloween that they don't look as nice as they did the day we carved them.

The first pumpkin Sophia carved by herself.

(Taken on November 2, 2009.)

Until that time, we'll be keeping an eye on the pumpkins growing in the pumpkin patch. The girls may already have their eye on a pumpkin or two they want to carve.