How have you been celebrating spooky season? Candlelit strolls through cemeteries after midnight? Binging horror films with countless glasses of apple cider? Picking out the perfect costume for your Halloweekend parties? Or perhaps taking a trip to a pumpkin patch to pick out the perfect vessel for your next jack-o-lantern?
Pumpkin carving is one of those activities that sounds wonderful in theory and appears easy as (pumpkin) pie when you see it done in movies. But once you’re actually sitting at home with a giant pumpkin and a knife, it can feel pretty daunting. So much work to gut the pumpkin, and then cutting out a face feels dangerous and difficult to do well. I’d rather not lose a finger just trying to celebrate October 31st!
Thankfully for all of us pumpkin-carving novices, Grandma Babs Costello has got our backs. She recently shared a video breaking down her most brilliant pumpkin carving dos and don’ts on TikTok, and viewers have been amazed by how easy she makes pumpkin carving seem. Below, you’ll find all of Babs’ best tips and tricks, some of the replies enthusiastic viewers have left, a couple of Babs’ delicious autumnal treat recipes and even an interview we were lucky enough to receive from pumpkin carving expert Marc Evan, of Maniac Pumpkin Carvers. Feel free to share any of your own pumpkin carving tips in the comments, and let us know if you’ll be creating a jack-o-lantern this Halloween. Then if you’re interested in checking out a Bored Panda article featuring carved pumpkins that belong in an art museum, you can find that right here.
More info: TikTok
The internet’s favorite Grandma, Babs Costello, has been sharing her most brilliant spooky season tips online to help followers embrace the Halloween spirit
Image credits: brunchwithbabs
When it comes to carving pumpkins, Babs noted that the process can be much simpler than you might think
She then broke down all of her best methods for creating the perfect jack-o-lantern
Image credits: brunchwithbabs
Image credits: brunchwithbabs
Image credits: brunchwithbabs
Image credits: brunchwithbabs
Image credits: brunchwithbabs
Image credits: brunchwithbabs
Image credits: brunchwithbabs
Image credits: brunchwithbabs
Image credits: brunchwithbabs
Image credits: brunchwithbabs
You can watch the full video right here
@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
Carving pumpkins is a beloved Halloween tradition that many people take part in every year. According to Statista, over 148 million Americans plan to carve pumpkins this October, and two years ago, a whopping 151.95 million people in the US participated in creating jack-o-lanterns. To gain more insight about this fun holiday activity from an expert, we reached out to Marc Evan, of Maniac Pumpkin Carvers. Maniac Pumpkin Carvers was founded by Marc and Chris Soria, childhood friends and life long artists, who have also had a long time love of all things Halloween. The two of them have consistently pushed the envelope when it comes to what seems possible in pumpkin carving art, creating pieces that have been displayed at The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, Yankee Stadium, and across all forms of media. We asked Marc what inspired them to become pumpkin carving masters, and he told Bored Panda it was “a natural convergence and evolution”. “We love the spooky season in general, but particularly the opportunity Halloween provides for people to step out of their normal lives and celebrate in creative and unexpected ways,” Marc explained. “Halloween is a time when we all get to play pretend and rekindle that childhood sense of wonder (and sometimes fear).”
When it comes to the tips Marc would share with an amateur pumpkin carver, he told us, “Pick a good pumpkin. In tact stems that still have some green color to them are signs of fresher pumpkins. And also avoid any that have obvious signs of bruising or damage. Have a plan. If you aren’t using a template, sketch out your ideas on paper before applying to the pumpkin. Even quick doodles can help. The biggest mistake people make is grabbing a kitchen knife and stabbing right into the pumpkin. Investing in a carving kit or some nicer quality carving tools can really help take your work to the next level.”
And when it comes to which pumpkin pieces Marc has loved the most, he says he doesn’t play favorites. “We have a deep passion for our work. Whatever is currently on the carving block is often our new favorite,” he shared. “We have done so many incredible projects with dream clients getting to carve our favorite actors, musicians, and characters from movies, books and comics. Among our all time favorites are the pumpkins in our Artists Series. We have created pumpkins for institutions like the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum, attempting to honor and homage masterworks in their collections. These include pumpkins based on the works of artists like Van Gogh, Klimt, Munch, Matisse, Dali, Wyeth, and Hopper.”
“We also created an incredible exhibition of pumpkin art based on more contemporary illustrators and pop surrealists for The Cotton Candy Machine, a popular gallery that used to be located in Williamsburg Brooklyn,” Marc told Bored Panda. “It’s also always a spectacle when we have the opportunity to carve giant pumpkins. This year we carved a 1200 on pumpkin for Luna Park in Coney Island. Giant pumpkins get brought on on fork lifts and are a marathon of carving. Sometimes taking several of our artists multiple days to complete.”
Viewers’ minds were blown, and many commented thanking Babs for the tips
And while we can’t all be experts like Marc, he still think pumpkin carving is for everyone. “Pumpkin carving is a tradition that has been around for a very long time. It has origins in early European jack-o-lanterns that were carved from root vegetables. When these people brought their traditions to the Americas they adapted and incorporated the local crops which included pumpkins,” he explained. “In the early 1800s, kids started making jack-o-lanterns from pumpkins to use as scary pranks on Halloween. And by the late 1800s, carved pumpkins and Halloween parties had become popular and very fashionable among the upper class. We love that this tradition has continued on as a creative and fun outlet for people of all ages and from all backgrounds. It’s been our mission to take this nostalgic pastime and to have it be recognized as an art form, elevating pumpkin carving by pushing the amount of detail and creativity to new levels.”
“We started carving as kids, but have been pro pumpkin carvers since the early 2000s,” Marc told Bored Panda. “It’s been amazing sharing our work with people all across the globe as all things pumpkin have exploded in popularity.” If you’re interested in checking out the amazing work of the Maniac Pumpkin Carvers, you can find them on Instagram right here, where they share their latest creations as well as time lapses and behind the scenes process videos. And for information about the various classes, events, custom carvings, content creation, and other services that Maniac Pumpkin Carvers provides, you can find their website right here.
One thing we can’t forget when carving pumpkins is safety. When I was a kid, my mother used to give my brothers and I small pumpkins to paint, rather than carve. She was concerned we would hurt ourselves by carving pumpkins, and understandably so, as the number one cause of injuries around Halloween is pumpkin carving. According to US News, between October and November 2018, 44% of Halloween-linked injuries in the United States began with the simple act of carving a pumpkin.
“There is a reason Halloween is called ‘fright night’ — it is, after all, the spookiest night of the year. But there is another interpretation of that term that concerns orthopedic surgeons in the emergency department: a spike in trauma injuries,” Dr. Craig Phillips, an orthopedic hand surgeon and an American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons spokesperson, told US News.
If you’re planning on carving a pumpkin this year, be sure to remember all of Grandma Babs’ tips to stay safe and to create the best looking jack-o-lantern your neighborhood has ever seen. But if you’re worried about getting hurt, you can always opt for simply baking some of her Halloween goodies instead. We’d love to hear what artwork you plan on creating on your pumpkin canvases in the comments below, and then if you’re interested in seeing some of the most impressive jack-o-lanterns in the world, don’t forget to check out this Bored Panda article next.
Babs even shared some of her simplest and most delicious recipes for Halloween treats
@brunchwithbabs 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Bread 🎃recipe below🎃 When you have a taste for pumpkin and there is no time to fuss…this is one of my favorite go-to seasonal treats. It is so easy and so yummy (and vegan!) It really satisfies that pumpkin craving and is the perfect afternoon snack or breakfast. Treat yourself and make this yummy 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Spice Loaf! I can’t keep it around when my Grandkids are over, that is for sure! 🎃. XO Babs 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Bread 🎃Ingredients: 2 Ingredient Pumpkin Spice 1 box spice cake mix 1 – 15 ounce can pureed pumpkin 🎃Instructions: In a medium bowl, mix the spice cake mix and pureed pumpkin until thoroughly combined. Spread mixture into a greased loaf pan. To get that “bakery look” score down the center of the bread with a butter knife. Bake at 350°F for 55-60 min. Cool completely. Slice and serve. #pumpkinbread #pumpkinloaf ♬ original sound – everyone’s grandmother
@brunchwithbabs Get my cookbook 🎃 link in profile 🎃. Mrs. Williams’s Peanut Butter Bars 🍫🥜recipe below 🍫🥜 Two of my favorite comfort foods in one easy treat! My dear friend, Joan Williams, first brought these bars to our Growing Tree Nursery School Annual Halloween party (I was dressed as the Cat in the Hat – each and every year;) and they became an instant hit around the school and especially with my family. Think candy meets cookie meets delicious! Happy Halloween XO Babs Mrs. Williams’s Peanut Butter Bars 🍫🥜Ingredients: 1 lb powdered sugar 2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1 cup smooth peanut butter 1 cup butter, melted 1 – 12 ounce bag semi sweet chocolate chips, gently melted 🍫🥜Instructions: To a food processor, add the powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs, and peanut butter. Process until combined. With the motor running, drizzle the melted butter through the tube into the mixer until thoroughly combined. Evenly spread the peanut butter mixture in a 10” x 15” rimmed baking sheet. Pour the melted chocolate over the peanut butter layer, and spread evenly with an offset spatula.Refrigerate for 10-20 minutes, or until cooled (careful not to chill too long or the chocolate will crack when cutting. If you cool for longer than 20 minutes, bring to room temperature before cutting.) Cut into 2-inch squares, and serve. These are best within the first 2 days, but you can store in an airtight container in the refrigerator, layers separated by parchment paper, for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 6 months 🍫🥜 XO Babs #halloweentreat #halloweendessert #peanutbutterbars ♬ original sound – everyone’s grandmother
Gotta respetctfully disagree with #2 and #3 - #2, if you slip, that knife is going into your leg not a table; #3, half the fun of carving pumpkins is getting in there and grabbing all the slimy guts
The hand mixer thing didn't work at my pumpkins. But the cinnamon smell is fantastic!!! My son was very happy about it.
Gotta respetctfully disagree with #2 and #3 - #2, if you slip, that knife is going into your leg not a table; #3, half the fun of carving pumpkins is getting in there and grabbing all the slimy guts
The hand mixer thing didn't work at my pumpkins. But the cinnamon smell is fantastic!!! My son was very happy about it.
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