Pumpkin Carving

I was going to title this post “Jack O Lanterns”, but I don’t think all pumpkin carvings are actually Jacks unless they have the triangle eyes and nose. 

My daughter called me up to say her work place and her apartment are doing a pumpkin carving contest so she wanted us to carve pumpkins together. 
I had just seen large pumpkins at my local Food Lion grocery store for 1.99. That was the cheapest I had seen them all year, so I snatched up a couple of them before they were gone. 

It was also my husbands birthday so my daughter wanted to spend the day with him. We had a nice dinner and birthday cheesecake to follow. After dinner we prepared to carve our pumpkins, but first we each guessed the weight of one of the pumpkins. The one who was furtherest way from the actual weight had to do the dishes. 

My daughter decided to make her pumpkin into a Frankenstein. It was her first time carving a pumpkin so it was quite a challenge for her. 


I think her Frankenstein turned out great. 
We usually opt to paint our pumpkins each year so they will last longer and a lot less messy.

I carved mine into a VW inspired camper van. I thought I was never going to get that outside layer off and almost gave up several times. Once I had it skinned, I cut out the windows. I will never try to carve such a big pumpkin again. Wheew!


While we did the carving, we had the seed from each pumpkin baking in the oven. I do not like to see them go to waste. The aroma of the roasted seeds filled the air. They turned out delicious and make a great snack. 


It’s always fun when my daughter comes over and we do the kid like crafts we used to do. 

At the end of the night, she had to go back to her place and..... I had dishes to do. 


Do you decorate for Halloween? 
I do not usually decorate for Halloween but do decorate with a Fall theme and may add a little ghost or spider to the decor as is gets closer to Halloween night. 

Do you carve or paint your pumpkins?
Do you like the creative carvings or do you like to stick to the traditional Jack O Lanterns?


8 comments

  1. Your pumpkins turned out great! We used to carve pumpkins but a couple years ago all three of my boys informed me that they don't really enjoy it and I never did either so we happily gave that tradition up. Thanks for sharing with us at Encouraging Hearts and Home. Pinned.

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  2. You both did an excellent job of carving. Love that it was your daughters first time carving.
    I do just a tiny bit for Halloween but do a lot of Fall decorating. Even that is starting to feel like 'too much' as I am going simpler every year. Christmas is my exception though. lol xo Diana

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  3. Excellent jobs on the pumpkins! I'm impressed! $1.99 sure is a great price.
    No,I don't decorate for Halloween.
    Don't get pumpkins anymore either. No one sees them anyway living on a dead end country road.

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  4. Your and your daughter's pumpkins are great! I love them. Your daughter did great and first time out. She must be an artist at heart! My daughters usually carve some very unusual pumpkin creations. I have fun watching them!
    Dolly

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  5. Away from the kids, we seldom do anything but serve Trick or Treaters, probably be none this year.
    BUT, but I am amazed at the carving, both of them are great. How stinking original, NEAT job.
    Oh yeah and Happy Birthday to Saint Nick.
    Sherry & jack, we are headed back to Btown for a few days to attend a closing.

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  6. In general Halloween is not celebrated in this part of Spain but more so All Saints Day which is the 1st November and a national holiday. This is when they honour the memory of the deceased loved ones. Sometimes the kiddies in the schools have a party where they dress up in Halloween costumes. Last year some of the children were going door to door Trick or treat but it didn't go so well for them because the people didn't understand it. As a child,at home in the UK, we never celebrated All Hallows Eve as it was called then in that way. It was more creepy jokes or dares played on our friends. We were more focussed on the preparation for Guy Fawkes Day. Now it is celebrated in the North of Spain because Galicia has strong Celtic roots and Halloween originated from the Celtic Samhain festival. They call Oct 31st the Night of the Pumpkins.
    I must say those carvings you and your daughter have done are impressive...very original!! Enjoy your Halloween festivities :-) Amanda x

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  7. You two did a great job Lisa! Such cute pumpkins! It's funny because I hate the taste of pumpkin, but I enjoy looking at them and the scent lol. I haven't done anything for Halloween in almost two years. I might do a makeup look this year. Have a great weekend!

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  8. You VW Van-o-lantern is so clever. and cute! We don't do much pumpkin carving around here, but I always enjoy seeing the creativity of others.

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