With October comes crisp fall air, chunky sweaters and, of course, Halloween. Did you know that more than 1.1 billion pounds of Pumpkin are produced each year in the country? But arguably the best part of the month is getting to carve your pumpkin. To make the best one to decorate your apartment, you'll need a good pumpkin carving stencil to get your design just right.

After picking up the sturdiest orange pumpkins (make sure it has the stem!) from your local farm or store, all you need is a good idea for your pumpkin carving template and the right tools to bring your spooky idea to life.

Find our best pumpkin carving tips below, along with five pumpkin carving stencil ideas to get your creative juices started. Or, if you're not up for it or you have small children, how to still decorate your pumpkin without carving.

Jump ahead:

• Basic pumpkin carving tips
• Printable pumpkin carving stencil ideas
• How to carve a pumpkin with a stencil
• Ways to decorate a pumpkin without carving

Basic pumpkin carving tips

Carving a pumpkin isn't difficult per se, but it does require quite a few steps to get it just right, especially if you're doing an intricate design. Here's how to get started.

Get the right tools

Pumpkin carving tool kits are a great start, but as your stencil design gets more complicated, start thinking about textures, details and other elements you can bring to your design. Paring knives, lemon zesters, spoons, Exacto knives and other sculpting tools can take your design to the level.

No need for a perfect round pumpkin

Think outside the box when getting your pumpkin and leave the perfect round pumpkin on the shelf. You can work the shape and size of your pumpkin into your carving — an awkwardly shaped one can add the spooky to your overall design.

Open from the bottom

We know, you're probably like, huh? I've always opened it from the top. However, if you open the pumpkin from the bottom, all of the seeds fall out at once. Then scoop out any remains — a lot easier than sticking your whole arm in there to scoop.

Clean your pumpkin outside

Before you start working on carving your pumpkin, please give it a good cleaning on the outside to ensure no traces of pumpkin meat or dirt. A clean pumpkin will help you trace better and make sure your tools can be swift when carving.

Trace the design

Pumpkin carving stencils, whether you drew them yourself or printed them out below, can help you get the design just right. Once you finalize it, grab a marker or pen, put the page on the pumpkin and start tracing the pumpkin's design. Make sure you leave enough room to maneuver your tools when carving.

Take your time

After tracing your design, pick a spot to start. Once you start carving, don't pull out the pieces as you go. Keep it as intact as possible, so there's no breakage, and it stays stable. Use different tools to approach corners, get textures and get those details right. It pays to take your time. In the end, stick your hand inside the pumpkin and push the pieces out softly. Your design will come to life.

Keep a mister handy

When you're carving the pumpkin, and the inside is losing a lot of moisture, the pumpkin will start oxidizing. To avoid becoming mushy, keep spraying it while working on it to keep it wet and easy to use.

When you're done for the day but not done with your project, mist it one last time and wrap it with plastic wrap.

Pumpkin carving stencils

You can get really creative with your pumpkin — you can make it cute or very scary, depending on your audience. Trying to pick one idea may prove to be difficult so here's five pumpkin carving stencils to get you started. And yes, we had to go timely with the last one.

When you're ready to start, simply download the stencils, print them out and get carving!

1. Frankenstein's monster stencil

Sometimes, you just have to go with the classics. Frankenstein's monster remains on theme with the holiday. Thanks to its block patterns, it's easy to carve out using this stencil but still looks real good on your porch.

• This is a good stencil to do with children since it doesn't require as much detailed work
• Don't forget to add a flickering fake candle inside after you're done to replicate the lightning that created the monster

2. Cute bat stencil

Not all stencils need to be scary. Get your kids together to carve this adorable bat stencil on their pumpkins.

• Instead of just tracing the stencil with holes, connect the dots after with a marker so they know where to carve.
• Instead of a regular white fake candle, try to find a purple or green light to make the cute bat extra spooky.

3. "Nightmare Before Christmas" stencil

What's more Halloween than "The Nightmare Before Christmas"? Everyone can do Jack, but what about Oogie Boogie? It has a few difficult details, but overall it's an approachable pattern.

• Start with the smallest mouth details first and then work your way up.
• When you tape the stencil to the pumpkin, make sure it's as flat as possible. This will help you get all the details right when tracing it.

4. Bigfoot stencil

Bigfoot has been seen everywhere from Oregon to Virginia so the legend continues to capture the attention of fans. Did you know that Georgia has a museum with Bigfoot artifacts?

• Our favorite mystery beast that roams the forest is a great character to replicate on your pumpkin.
• If you want to make this stencil more difficult, instead of cutting out the body, use a zester to make the hair instead.

5. Coronavirus stencil

The year 2020 didn't quite turn out how we expected it with the coronavirus and never-ending quarantine. But who says we can't spook trick and treaters with an ode to the virus and this unprecedented time.

• This stencil of the virus will help you replicate the shape of a virus on your pumpkin with ease.
• While the curves of the virus will prove to be a little difficult, just take your time while using one of the carving tools.

Download the stencils

How to carve a pumpkin with a stencil

Ready to start carving your very own pumpkin? Follow these 10 steps with only a few materials to bring your stencil to life and spook every single one of your neighbors.

Materials

• One pumpkin
• Sharpie marker
• Knife
• Pumpkin carving kit
• Tape
• Scissors
• Newspaper
• A handful of flour

Directions

1. Set a newspaper down to keep the area clean while you carve the pumpkin.
2. Set the pumpkin down. Draw a circle around the stem or bottom and use a knife to cut a small circle out of the pumpkin. Set the knife at a 45-degree angle as you carve.
3. Pull the top (or bottom if you chose to go that route) and empty the pumpkin. Scoop out all of the stringy pumpkin guts and seeds out.
4. After your pumpkin is completely clean inside and out, cut your stencil as close to the drawing as possible. Leave an inch or two around.
5. Tape the paper stencil to the side of the pumpkin you have chosen for the drawing. Make sure that all sides are taped down and secured — this will help you carve more easily.
6. Poke holes around your stencil to trace the drawing and make an outline for you to carve later.
7. Remove the paper stencil and you're left with your outline of small holes.
8. To make them more visible, grab a handful of flour and rub it over the holes.
9. Start carving your pumpkin using the tools that you'd like using the tips we gave you above.
10. Keep misting as you carve and once you're done, clean off the area, take your pumpkin outside and place a fake candle inside to display your artwork.

Other Halloween pumpkin decorating ideas

If you have small children or aren't up for carving (it's messy, we get it!), you can still join in on the fun with the following no-carve ideas:

• Crayon drip — Glue unlabeled crayons at the top of the pumpkin by the stem using craft glue. Apply medium heat to each of the crayons for 30-60 seconds and move the pumpkin as it drips down for a cool effect. Here's an easy tutorial.
• Paint — After wiping down your pumpkin, use acrylic or house paint to paint your pumpkin. Choose a few spooky colors or make it into a rainbow. Here's a fantastic DIY tutorial.
• Stickers — Pick up a few Halloween-themed sticker sheets and let your kids go to town on decorating small pumpkins.
• Pushpins — Use push pins of different colors to create a cool design on the pumpkin. You can paint the pumpkin first or go with the natural orange to make your push pin design standout.
• Cheesecloth — Make a cute mummy out of your pumpkin with cheesecloth, googly eyes and glue.
• Glitter — Draw a few large dots with Elmer's glue and shake some glitter over them for a cute polka dot effect. Just make sure to lay down some newspaper to catch the mess.

Take the top prize for your pumpkin

Whether it's your neighborhood Halloween contest or with your friends and family, the key to walking away with the top prize for best pumpkin is a good plan. Wow your competitors with these detailed pumpkin carving designs, then light it up at night with small lanterns to spook them while trick or treatin'.

The post Pumpkin Carving Stencils for Halloween (Printable) appeared first on Apartment Living Tips - Apartment Tips from ApartmentGuide.com.