a Touch of Sunkist: How To Carve a Pumpkin

Nhat and I woke up early this morning to start our Insanity Workout and let me just say that it's going to be a long 60 days. I realize that we definitely need to be more strict with how we eat. I couldn't even do the whole fit test. And I actually run 3-5 days a week! This is a completely different level of workout than I'm used to. I need to be on top of my health. Nhat was able to do more of the fit test than I was, but he wasn't feeling too good afterwards. hehe.

On a more happy subject, I finally carved my pumpkin! I've only carved two in my lifetime, this being the second one. I wanted to give a tutorial just for fun. This is a basic tutorial for beginners who need a little guidance on the basics of how to carve a pumpkin. =)

1. Pick a pumpkin. I like round fat ones. Nhat actually picked this one out but he did a good job.

2. It helps to have the right tools. You can use stuff you have at home such as a knife and spoon, but these pumpkin carving tools make life so much easier and they're very cheap. We bought these in a set that came with a little booklet with pumpkin face templates. You can also find templates online.

3. Using a serrated tool, carve a circle on the stem side of the pumpkin. Make sure the circle is a good size so you can fit your hand through it to scrape the insides of the pumpkin. My circle could have been a bit larger.

4. Using a large spoon or scraping device, scrape the seeds out of the pumpkin and save for later use or discard. It is important to scrape the seeds to prevent the pumpkin from rotting and will also give your pumpkin a more clean look.

5. Find a template and using tape, attach to the pumpkin.

6. Use a sharp tool to poke along the template to make an imprint onto the pumpkin.

7. Remove template and use a serrated tool to carve the pumpkin face.