Halloween 2012: Pumpkin Carving Ideas

by Emily Sutherlin | October 29, 2012 at 04:23 am

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Whether you're carving, decorating, or using this classic fall gourd for Halloween inspiration, our pumpkin ideas will excite you all season.

Etched Pumpkins

Chris Soria and Marc Evan of Maniac Pumpkins use pumpkins as blank canvases for intricate portraits, fantastical monsters, and tongue-in-cheek replicas of famous art. Chris and Marc suggest using linoleum cutters for etching, as in the haunted hosue pumpkin here.

Fanged Pumpkins

Grouped together on the mantel, Drac-o'-lantern and tiny winged pals create a Transylvanian scene. Run-of-the-mill pushpins turn into devilish red eyes.

Gourds in the Graveyard

You can carve just one frightful tombstone or enough gruesome grave-marker pumpkins to haunt an entire cemetery. The more, the scarier

Funny Face Pumpkins

No need to worry about your carving skills with these goofy pumpkins -- their crooked smiles are charmingly imperfect. Mix it up by scraping off a facial feature or two (rather than carving all the way through) to reveal the pumpkin flesh underneath.

Scarecrow on Duty

Set a Halloween scene with this scarecrowdisplay on a front porch chair or yard bench. Pose the artificial birds as desired, then wire the pieces in place to keep the display intact throughout the season.

Spectral Pumpkin Silhouettes

A ghostly pair pose in profile -- immortal souls captured in pumpkin flesh for eternity (or at least as long as the squash stays fresh). These pumpkins are carefully carved so that their curved stems stand in opposing arabesques.

Beware the Pumpkins

Letters or words carved into your pumpkins send your guests a spooky message. Carve one letter or word per pumpkin.

Witch Jack-o'-Lanterns

Bumpy, lumpy, and greenish gray, these Hubbard squashes have the perfect complexions for making warty witch jack-o'-lanterns.

Tower of Pumpkin Power

This impressive tower of pumpkins includes faces that are whimsical, scary, and downright silly.

Cemetery Markers

These pumpkin versions of grave markers are far more creative than the expected wooden or foam ones. Create a design on a computer, print out, enlarge, and carve into a fresh or faux pumpkin.

2 Faced Pumpkin with Wall Projection

In case its startling greeting didn't scare you, this pumpkin also projects a leering visage onto the wall behind it.