{"id":5743,"date":"2022-10-19T09:10:06","date_gmt":"2022-10-19T09:10:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.geranium.com\/blog\/?p=5743"},"modified":"2022-10-18T21:33:27","modified_gmt":"2022-10-18T21:33:27","slug":"to-carve-or-not-to-carve-pumpkin-decorating-tips","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.geranium.com\/blog\/to-carve-or-not-to-carve-pumpkin-decorating-tips\/","title":{"rendered":"To Carve or Not To Carve – Pumpkin Decorating Tips"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Picking the Perfect Pumpkin<\/strong>
\nPumpkins are as unique as the people who carve them. With so many sizes, shapes and types of pumpkins, the choices are endless. It\u2019s always fun to take a trip to your local pumpkin farm and enjoy the charm of the season. Check out our earlier blog<\/a> for tips on picking the perfect pumpkin for your Halloween creation. You may want to consider different types of pumpkins<\/a>, or other gourds to add a twist to your d\u00e9cor.<\/p>\n

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Pumpkins & gourds come in all shapes, varieties and colours<\/p><\/div>\n

Have Your Tools Ready<\/strong>
\nFind an area with lots of room. Lay down garbage bags or newspapers for easy cleanup afterwards. Have a plan and make sure you have everything you need, whether it\u2019s paint and pins, stencils and stickers, or carving tools and scoops close at hand.<\/p>\n

Prepping Your Pumpkin<\/strong>
\nBefore you begin, wipe down the outside with a diluted bleach, or a vinegar and water solution. Removing dirt, mold and microbes prevents it from rotting<\/a>. If you\u2019re carving your pumpkin the next step is to make your opening. A neat trick is to open pumpkins from the bottom. By doing this, you keep the nice shape of the pumpkin, including the stem, and it makes it easier to add your candle in the base. As a bonus, most of the seeds and goop settle at the bottom, so by creating the opening here, it makes cleaning much easier.<\/p>\n

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Scooping out the inside is easier when you cut from the bottom<\/p><\/div>\n

Let\u2019s Get Decorating<\/strong>
\nThe ideas are endless \u2013 so we\u2019ve picked our top five.<\/p>\n

Carved Pumpkin<\/strong>
\nThere\u2019s just something about the traditional carved pumpkin. The carving, the scooping, the creating. And whether you\u2019re a stencil lover or a freehand aficionado, there\u2019s no limit to the possible ideas. Check out this complete guide<\/a> to pumpkin carving ideas.<\/p>\n

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The classic carved pumpkin<\/p><\/div>\n

3D Pumpkins<\/strong><\/span>
\nAcorns, sunflower seeds, dried leaves, or even candy corn \u2013 all you need is some imagination and a little hot glue to turn your pumpkin into a masterpiece, like the nature animals from Good Housekeeping<\/a>. Or the candy corn hedgehog<\/a> from BHG. Looking for more inspiration? Pinterest<\/a> takes this a step further with owls, lions, even puffer fish!<\/p>\n

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Thanks to Good Housekeeping<\/a>, Pinterest<\/a> and BHG<\/a> for these ideas<\/p><\/div>\n

Painted Pumpkins<\/strong><\/span>
\nA great alternative to carving, painted pumpkins are great ways to decorate for the holidays. Be sure to thoroughly clean and dry your pumpkin, then let the shape of the pumpkin inspire your design. You can spray paint, or brush paint your creation, and if you have enough time, add a sealer<\/a>. Whether it\u2019s your favourite movie character, or your favourite home d\u00e9cor, here are a plethora of painted pumpkins<\/a> for inspiration.<\/p>\n

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Painted pumpkins from Sunset Magazine<\/a> and Glaminati<\/a> for inspiration<\/p><\/div>\n

Fairy Garden<\/strong><\/span>
\nYou enjoyed Pickering\u2019s Fairy Tours<\/a> so much you wanted to share it at home. Creating a Fairy Garden Pumpkin<\/a> can be a piece of cake, or pumpkin, with these easy tips<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Adventure In A Box<\/a> shows how to make these Fairy Garden pumpkins<\/p><\/div>\n

Double Duty Pumpkins<\/strong><\/span>
\nJack O\u2019Lantern and a treat bowl all in one, affectionately known as the Snack-O-Lantern<\/a>! Simply clean and carve the pumpkin as you normally would do, but make the mouth double-extra-large!<\/p>\n

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Shout out to The Food Network<\/a> for this Snack-O-Lantern<\/p><\/div>\n

There\u2019s no denying that the good old Jack-o’-Lantern remains the king of fall decorating and deserves a special place by your front door. From funny to scary to cute, there are plenty of twists to traditional pumpkin carving. Let your imagination run wild and have a wickedly good Halloween!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Picking the Perfect Pumpkin Pumpkins are as unique as the people who carve them. With so many sizes, shapes and types of pumpkins, the choices are endless. It\u2019s always fun READ MORE ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5744,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37,10,36,8],"tags":[317,911,318,121,884,492,499,125,795,1016,123,860],"class_list":["post-5743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-diy-outdoor-living","category-lifestyle","category-outdoor_entertaing","category-outdoor-living","tag-autumn","tag-autumn-activities","tag-fall","tag-halloween","tag-halloween-decor","tag-halloween-diy","tag-october","tag-painted-pumpkins","tag-pumpkin-carving","tag-pumpkin-tips","tag-pumpkins","tag-types-of-pumpkins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5743","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5743"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5743\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5759,"href":"https:\/\/www.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5743\/revisions\/5759"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5744"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5743"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5743"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.geranium.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5743"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}