Fall is here, along with apple cider and all things pumpkin flavored. One of our favorite traditions is going to a pumpkin farm to choose a pumpkin and then coming home to carve it! I love seeing the creativity and artistry emerge from everyone I know in the form of their jack-o-lanterns or pumpkin carvings. If you have always wanted pumpkin carving as one of your family traditions but are not comfortable with spooky/scary/evil designs, then I have the solution for you!
Print these free and easy pumpkin templates to carve your own Catholic Jack-o-lantern! Four easy templates are here for you to print and get carving: Sacred Heart of Jesus, Immaculate Heart of Mary, a simple cross and a chalice and host. Simply click below and print them out, then follow the instructions below!
Download the Chalice and Host Pumpkin Template
Download the Cross Pumpkin Template
Download the Immaculate Heart of Mary Pumpkin Template
Download the Sacred Heart of Jesus Pumpkin Template
If you’ve never carved a pumpkin using a template before, keep reading (plus I have a couple nifty tips to help you along the way).
Disclaimer- carving pumpkins often uses sharp objects like knives. Please carefully supervise children around pumpkin carving activities and only allow those older and able bodied children to help carve. The little ones will have fun scooping the goo, and then lose interest and run away anyway.
Supplies:
- A pumpkin- of course!- usually a medium-large one so it’s big enough to carve
- Printed templates (from above) on regular paper (or even scrap paper)
- A push pin
- Painters or masking tape
- Scissors
- Dry Erase Marker
- Toothpicks are handy to fix accidents
- Serrated knife or pumpkin carving knives
Just a side note: I used to be so cheap and avoid spending money on the pumpkin carving kits, thinking they were a waste of money. But let me tell you, those $5 I spent has saved many fingers and makes pumpkin carving so much easier and enjoyable. You *think* they are just regular knives, but they work so much better than regular steak knives, and are not as dangerous. Seems weird but it’s true. So get yourself a set like this on Amazon, or at your local grocery store/walmart/target etc. And if you’re going to get a kit, make sure it has that short handled spoon/scraper thingy– also a life saver!
Directions:
- Cut off the top and clean out your pumpkin like usual. You don’t want any goopy stringy stuff in there. In fact, I think it helps to really scrape the sides down even further than just getting the goop out- it makes the wall a little thinner for carving. This is where that short spoon/scraper comes in handy. *Cheapness tip: If you’re going cheap- use an icecream scooper (unless you are too cheap to have one of those, in which case- go get an icecream scooper- everyone needs one!)
- Snip the edges of your template with the scissors, we want it to be able to lie ‘flat’ against the pumpkin.
- Use your masking or painters tape to tape your template to the best lookin side of your pumpkin, smoothing it around your pumpkin and allowing the sides of the paper to overlap as necessary where you snipped them.
- Use your push-pin to poke holes along the template lines into the pumpkin about every 1/8″ apart.
- Once you’ve gone over all the lines, pull off the template, you should see all your little dots from the push pins. *Helpful hint: If the push pin dots are hard to see, rub little flour over it- the flour will stick to the little holes you made.
- Now use your pumpkin knives or regular knives to connect the dots and carve along the lines you made. Helpful tip: Carve the smaller spaces first, and larger spaces last. When carving pointy things or corners, carve toward the corners from the outside, and meet at the corner.
- If you mess up and accidentally cut off a thorn or small section, use a tooth pick to reattach it.
- If you have more room on your pumpkin, add some light rays to your sacred heart or cross, by simply drawing some long skinny triangles with your dry erase marker and then carving along them. (Just rub or use rubbing alcohol to erase your dry erase lines until you’re happy with your pattern and when you’re done)
- Fill with a candle, battery candle or my favorite – Christmas lights!
Helpful hint: You can spray the inside of your pumpkin with bleach to prevent mold from growing as quickly. If you live in the south, where it is still plenty warm enough for mold to grow, this is a real issue. Many pumpkins have failed to make it to Halloween around here.
If you hate bleach, consider spraying with diluted cinnamon oil- it also prevents mold growth and smells more festive anyway.
Enjoy allowing God’s light to shine not just from your children but also from the pumpkins on your porch!
I’d love to see your pumpkins! If you try any of these share with me on my facebook page!
Thanks and may God Bless your Fall!
Kristen
