We’ve been waiting for this moment for a while here at Brit + Co. We all love to get creepier than a Steve Buscemi character in an Adam Sandler movie and finally the holiday that makes it acceptable is so very near. And what could be creepier than human bones and major organs!?
Good news, you don’t need to complete your residency to get McSteamy with these pumpkorpses, but you may want to warm up with one of our classic pumpkins before you tackle an entire cage of ribs. The heart template is actually the easiest, so don’t triple bypass that one up if you’re not the most seasoned surgeon.
Ok! Let’s scrub in!
Materials:
– pumpkins
Tools:
– marker/pen
– various carving knives and scooping tools (we got our kit at Target and a fancy knife at Amazon)
– printable templates (download here)
– cutting mat
– xacto knife
– rubbing alcohol
– LED candles or votive candles
Instructions:
1. Draw a starburst shape around the stem of your pumpkin and cut along the lines until you can free the top from the rest of the pumpkin.
2. Dig out the guts with a serrated scooper if you can. Keep the seeds! (Here is inspiration for how to prepare them). Get everything stringy and slimy out of the pumpkin so it’s smooth and dry on the inside.
3. Next, take your template of choice and cut out the grey areas to make a stencil. (Tip: If you print your template out on cardstock it’s much easier to trace)
4. Use the stencil to draw the design onto the pumpkin.
5. Now you are ready to carve out the design. One thing I noticed really helped was to go over all the lines first with the xacto knife to get a path started for my blade. When carving, small, steady sawing motions work for the cleanest cuts. Also, when cutting out finer details, try to do it in sections. Once you have some of the section out, it’s much easier to perfect the edges of your design and take out more — it’s much harder to add it back if you take out too much.
6. If you still have marks left from a pen or marker, you can use rubbing alcohol to remove them.
7. Put a candle or better yet, an LED candle inside and you’re done!
Pro-tip: If you accidentally lob off an important detail of your pumpkin design, you can break a toothpick in half, jam it into the fallen piece on the side where it meets the rest of the design, and stick it back in place.
The materials for this are typical of any pumpkin carving project.
But we also designed super creepy templates that you can print! Download them here.
Start by drawing a starburst shape around the stem of your pumpkin and cut along the lines until you can free the top from the rest of the pumpkin. Dig out the guts with a serrated scooper if you can. Keep the seeds! (Here is inspiration for how to prepare them). Get everything stringy and slimy out of the pumpkin so it’s smooth and dry on the inside.
Next, take your template of choice and cut out the grey areas to make a stencil. (Tip: If you print your template out on cardstock it’s much easier to trace.)
Use the stencil to draw the design onto the pumpkin.
Now you are ready to carve out the design. One thing I noticed really helped was to go over all the lines first with the xacto knife to get a path started for my blade.
When carving, small, steady sawing motions work for the cleanest cuts. Also, when cutting out finer details, try to do it in sections. Once you have some of the section out, it’s much easier to perfect the edges of your design and take out more — it’s much harder to add it back if you take out too much.
If you still have marks left from a pen or marker, you can use rubbing alcohol to remove them.
How creepy and awesome does that rib cage look?
We continued on with our heart and skull stencils.
A job well done!
Don’t they look awesome? Now all they need is a candle and a spooky nighttime home.
And a pair of silver shoes, of course ;)
What cool pumpkin ideas have you seen? Share ideas with us in the comments below. And if you make these, be sure to send photos our way via Twitter and Facebook.
