Pumpkin Carving Success

I have to start this post by telling you that you should read this first.  Last year I shared our evolution of pumpkin carving, which started with real thoughtful, time consuming carving, proceeded by drawing on our pumpkins with sharpies and ended last year with not even purchasing a pumpkin but just holding on up for a picture at the pumpkin patch.  

Basically it comes down to the fact that pumpkin carving is hard work and I'm lazy about it.  However, having a baby means stepping up our yearly traditions and no more faking it by just taking pictures.  (Okay, we could actually fake it since Addilyn won't remember but we won't get away with it for long).

So we decided to actually carve our pumpkins this year, motivated by the fact that I have always dreamed about putting my baby in a pumpkin.  But I was dreading the actual pumpkin carving part, which is why I was SO glad that I got a chance to try out the Pumpkin Masters Carving Kit, which you can buy at any local grocery store or Target or Walmart. 

I got a large amout of books and supplies to test out and I can honestly say that made a huge difference.  I knew we wouldn't have too long to carve our pumpkins, as Addilyn can only be entertained by watching us for so long.  Thankfully we managed to carve both our pumpkins in less than an hour.  

My least favorite part of pumpkin carving is the scooping out of all the disgusting goo and pumpkin insides. This tool made a world of difference as I could just scrap it all down to the bottom of the pumpkin and then pull it all out in just a few handfuls.  I also hate craving the top part and am afraid of using knives, but this kit comes with a little tool that makes it easy and safe for kids (or adults that are babies like me). 

The kit came with a lot of different design options and tools to help make them.  I picked this circle design and taped it to the pumpkin to outline part of it.  I then made Chris do the rest of the "hole punching" and I moved on to write Addi's name in the other pumpkin.  
There was this sweet razor tool that just took off the skin of the pumpkin so you could carve letters and designs.  I used this for the sides of the other one too.  

Clearly this is how you hold a razor for a picture.

Now I failed to get a good picture of this and am saving the lights for halloween but Pumpkin Masters has these flashing lights that you can put inside, which made our holey pumpkin look pretty sweet.  

Only one of our many tools broke (probably from Chris jamming it too hard in the pumpkin), which means we'll have all of these to use next year.  
And while my dream did come true of putting a baby in a pumpkin it took quite a few not so successful shots that are worth sharing. 

Pumpkin Masters is searching for the best carving talents and is giving away six prizes, including $5,000 for the best pumpkin.  Share a picture of your carving via instagram or twitter with #PumpkinMasters2013, submit via facebook or send an email to social@pumpkinmasters.com to enter.  View details: here.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.