Everyone has their “go-to” techniques when it comes to carving pumpkins but Babs with @brunchwithbabs has a few tips to save the mess and speed up the carving.
“It is a treasured tradition in our family to carve jack-o-lanterns for Halloween,” Babs said on TikTok. “But with all the yuck and mess, sometimes my kids would quit the project before we even started. Babs’ Do’s and Don’ts for Pumpkin Carving, saves the mess and speeds up carving so you can have the perfect jack-o-lantern with no mess and no fuss. Happy Halloween!”
She shared her handy tips in her TikTok video and they include:
1. Carve from bottom. That way you have the stem to hold onto and you can easily slip the pumpkin right over a candle or flashlight.
2. Hold the pumpkin in your lap to carve. You will have a much steadier pumpkin to cut.
3. Use a red dry erase marker to sketch your design. It erases easily and if you miss a spot, it blends in.
4. Use a hand mixer to clean out your pumpkin.
5. Use cookie cutters and a rubber mallet to carve your design.
6. Cover all cut surfaces with Vaseline to keep the pumpkin moist after carving. Pumpkins should last 1 to 2 weeks carved!
7. Sprinkle some cinnamon on the inside top of your pumpkin for a pumpkin spice smell when a candle is lit inside the pumpkin.
@brunchwithbabs Do’s and Don’ts of Pumpkin Carving It is a treasured tradition in our family to carve jack-o-lanterns for Halloween. But with all the yuck and mess, sometimes my kids would quit the project before we even started. Babs’ Do’s and Don’ts for Pumpkin Carving, saves the mess and speeds up carving so you can have the perfect jack-o-lantern with no mess and no fuss. Happy Halloween XO Babs 1. Carve from bottom. That way you have the stem to hold onto and you can easily slip the pumpkin right over a candle or flashlight. 2. Hold pumpkin in your lap to carve. You will have a much steadier pumpkin to cut. 3. Use a red dry erase marker to sketch your design. It erases easily and if you miss a spot, it blends in. 4. Use a hand mixer to clean out your pumpkin. 5. Use cookie cutters and a rubber mallet to carve your design. 6. Cover all cut surfaces with Vaseline to keep the pumpkin moist after carving. Pumpkins should last 1-2 weeks carved! 7. Sprinkle some cinnamon on the inside top of your pumpkin for festive pumpkin spice smell when a candle is lit inside the pumpkin. #pumpkincarving ♬ original sound – everyone’s grandmother
Not everyone may want to carve from the bottom, because it will be easier to swap out candles from the top. Also we wouldn’t recommend children or folks that may be a little clumsy carve one in your lap – it’s safer to do it on a table in case things get slippery with a knife. But we love the hand mixer tip and vaseline tip. Those are new tricks for us that we can’t wait to try.
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