Pumpkin Fun

I've never been much of a Halloween person, but I do love fall, and always buy pumpkins to decorate with. I've been wanting to carve some for years, but the mister and I never seem to make it happen- until this year. Since we're not really into Halloween, I wanted to use designs that would last into November and just feel like fun fall decor. Last week my friend Kristin reminded me about the notion of using a drill rather than carving the pumpkins and it seemed simple enough so we went for it.

Seriously- this was the easiest pumpkin carving ever. The drilling can get a little tedious, but it was so quick to make such pretty designs that it was totally worth it.

Here's the rundown on how to do it:

1. Cut the top off the pumpkin as usual, leaving an opening big enough for your hand to reach through. Set top aside.

2. Scoop out the pumpkin 'guts' using a spoon, your hands, a plastic scraper, or whatever else you have on hand that works.

3. Once the inside is all cleaned out, layout your design on the pumpkin with a pencil or pen. Since we were doing holes anyway, we used the tip of a retractable pen with the pen part retracted and just made tiny little indentations where we would later drill. If you're stuck for design ideas, just do an image search for 'drill carved pumpkins' to get some inspiration.

4. Now that your design is plotted out, get to drilling. Try using multiple bit sizes to make your pattern extra interesting. Be sure the bit goes all the way through the shell so that you don't have little bits showing once it's lit. This part can get a bit messy- little pumpkin shavings kind of fly everywhere, so make sure your work surface is covered and don't do it too close to any furniture you don't want to clean pumpkin off of.

5. Clean out any shavings that ended up inside the pumpkin, and you're ready to light it!

See- so easy. If you don't have a pumpkin already- you can easily whip up one of these in less than an hour and use it tonight!

I hope you all have a great Halloween. Since I'm in my hometown for a wedding this week, I get to see my nephews and niece in their costumes today- a special treat since they live so far away!