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Creative Pumpkin Carving Ideas and Patterns

Entertain the neighbors with these creative pumpkin carving patterns for your Halloween jack-o?-lantern.



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Funny Face
1/23
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.

2/23
Scarecrow on Duty

    Set a Halloween scene with this scarecrow display 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.

3/23
Beware the Pumpkins

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

4/23
Something to Crow About

    Create this eerie crow jack-o-lantern to set out on Halloween night. The watchful bird is perched on the sill of a "window" carved into a bright orange pumpkin.

5/23
Monster Mash

    Create this scream-worthy mummy pumpkin by carving oddly shaped slits into the surface of a green pumpkin.

6/23
Just for Laughs Pumpkin

    Turn on the smiles with a goofy smiling pumpkin for Halloween this year. Crooked teeth, a big nose, and expressive eyebrows add to this jack-o'-lantern's charm.

7/23
Tower of Pumpkin Power

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

8/23
Bird Brain

    This jack-o'-lantern is for the birds. Download the free pattern and transfer it onto a pumpkin. Using a knife or carving tools, cut out the openings. Cut the lid with a zigzag edge. Wind wire around the feet of the artificial birds, position them as desired (using the photo as a guide), and poke the wire ends into the pumpkin to secure the birds in place.

9/23
Rough-and-Tumble Pumpkin

    Choose a dirty or not-quite-ripe pumpkin to create a face that looks like it has bumps and bruises. Transfer our free pattern to the pumpkin, then cut out the openings with a knife or carving tool. Use a knife to slice the bottoms off two gourds. Attach the gourd bottoms in the eye openings using wooden skewers. Cut a piece of cockscomb and insert into the head opening above the right eye using wooden skewers. Hot-glue candy corn to a piece of heavy paper that fits the mouth opening (the candy will melt slightly), then hot-glue the paper inside the mouth.

10/23
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.

11/23
No Tricks, Just Treats

    Lure trick-or-treaters to the sweet stuff with this trio of pumpkins dressed as wrapped candies. The candy-lined path is sure to bring a parade of costumed ghosts, superheroes, and princesses to your door on Halloween night.

12/23
Halloween Catchphrase

    Use a trio of pumpkins to spell "boo" this Halloween. Download our free stencil and trace one letter onto one pumpkin. Gouge the letters into the pumpkins, revealing the pumpkin skin.

13/23
Drill a Pumpkin

    Whether evenly spaced dots or random designs, this pumpkin project is a quick way to decorate for Halloween.

14/23
Set the Scene

    Cast shadows on Halloween with this nighttime sky design, complete with stars, a moon, and flying bats.

15/23
Creature Cutouts

    Simple shapes carved into pumpkin shells make a bold Halloween statement -- especially when you add embellishments.

16/23
Pumpkins Aglow

    Carve a whole patch of glowing jack-o'-lanterns. This twinkling arrangement of pumpkins is perfect for greeting trick-or-treaters on Halloween night. Make a few polka-dot pumpkins (simply draw circles onto the pumpkin surface and carve) for a fun addition to your posse of jack-o'-lanterns.

17/23
Willard the Warlock Pumpkin

    Black iridescent marbles give this wrinkly old fellow (carved into a gray pumpkin) a spooky gaze.

18/23
Return of the Mummy

    Wide swaths of orange were cut away to resemble a mummy face wrapping. An eyeball and a few stray teeth add to the creepy illusion!

19/23
Boo Avenue Mansion

    Haunt your abode with a haunted house pumpkin. Use the mini mansion as a frightening centerpiece for your next Halloween party.

20/23
Monogram Pumpkins

    Let all who come knocking on your door know whose haunted lair they're approaching with a monogrammed pumpkin carved with our free alphabet stencils.

21/23
Creepin' Cat Pumpkin

    This clever pumpkin made of foam will last for many eerie Halloweens to come.

22/23
Flame-Design Pumpkin Stencils

    Create a family-friendly bonfire by carving pumpkins with flame designs.

23/23
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