Pumpkin Carving Crafts

It’s finally that time of year when all of us grown-ups stop pretending that we don’t love arts and crafts. Out come the pumpkins and carving tools, we lay paper down on tables, and we get to work. Whether you’re into the tried-and-true classic with triangle eyes and a toothy grin, or you think more out of the box with scraper tools and a masterpiece in mind, we all like carving pumpkins for the same reason: it’s FUN.

Cozy Pumpkin Cottage

This season, we tried our hand at something a bit different. We collected natural materials from a nearby park- sticks, leaves, acorns, pinecones-- and made a cozy pumpkin house (inspired by this Better Homes & Gardens article). Although carving kits have made huge technical advancements since my childhood, we skipped the extra fancy pieces and used a grapefruit knife to help with the scraping. 

After scooping out all the goopy bits and marking the design with pencil, we scraped out shading for the doors and window. Then, we carefully cut holes for the windows. Last but not least, we made framed the windows with tiny twigs, and (with the help of a hot glue gun) added some acorn and pinecone friends as decoration. For a gal who sometimes carves a pumpkin mouth with teeth going the wrong way in, I think it came out pretty good. We're hoping some friendly halloween spirits visit our little pumpkin cottage.

Your Turn to Try

Check out the design we took on, or make your own Duckfeet pumpkin with our printable template!