Carving pumpkins is one of my favorite things about Fall. Below are some tips on improving your pumpkin carving game.

1. Use a gnarlie pumpkin

Most people want a perfectly round pumpkin, but a gnarlie pumpkin will often already have an idea of what it wants to be. Using its imperfections in your design adds a whole layer to the art, and creates a more powerful artistic piece.

2. Consider positioning

Where is the Pumpkin going to sit? You want the design to be seen easily. If the pumpkin is on the stoop, you may want to move your design toward the top. If it’s on the porch rail the side will be at eye level. 

3. Don’t carve all the way through

Rather than carving all the way through the wall of the pumpkin, if you carve partially through or peel parts with a potato peeler you’ll get an entirely different effect. This  leads to our next tip.

4. Play with light

Thinner parts of the pumpkin’s wall will allow more light through, thicker parts will allow less. If rather than cutting holes in the pumpkin you are instead carving thinner parts of the wall, this will create a gorgeous affect when you put a light inside it

5. Consider cutting the whole in the bottom

Cutting the whole in the bottom of the pumpkin, rather than the top will allow you to carve higher on the pumpkin. This is especially useful if you’ll be placing the pumpkin on a stoop.