It took everything I had in me not to title this post “White Pumpkins Suck!” considering after finishing the design my carving masterpiece did end up looking as elegant as I had planned, which was the main objective.
However, being smaller and thinner than most pumpkin varieties, mine had an extremely stringy rind and was filled to the brim with completely sopped goo that would have constituted already being pumpkin soup without adding any extra ingredients…actually I’m pretty sure I’ve seen it thrown up before in quite a few horror movies. You could hear it slosh around inside just by shaking it a little before it became the first desired object of my annual experimental Halloween slashing practices.
White pumpkins are pretty awful to maintain after you take the knife to them. In fact, I highly recommend that you either choose a nice traditional orange pumpkin, or wait until Halloween morning to begin slaughtering. Today, my delicate soft white creation reminds me of a rotten egg, turning yellow while quickly deteriorating in strange shades of brown and orange by the hour. Should you have a gruesome pumpkin design, keep in mind this may be an added advantage. 
The bat is attached onto the stem using a toothpick, along with another scroll piece I was able to salvage. This pumpkin took me about 2 hours to complete. Should you not have lightning-fast Ninja carving abilities (defined by my Mom and husband who were witnesses), nor accurate fine-precision knife skills, you may want to omit some of the scrollwork designs included in the template. Yes, of course – I have included a free pumpkin template once again so last year’s spider web tribal pumpkin won’t get lonely. Keep in mind, if these templates do not fit your pumpkin or print out too small, you can use your printers options to enlarge the image to the appropriate size needed.
Happy carving! As for me, I’m off to mutilate a beautiful dark orange 20-pound traditional pumpkin either with the same design, or something more intricate. Maybe multiple pumpkins, you know…now that I think of it, if I had the time, I’d probably just sit around carving pumpkins all day.
Pumpkin season is not quite over yet – a Halloween full of ripping open thick orange pumpkin rinds and stringing out the guts contributes to a nicer version of pumpkin destruction called the oven!
This beautiful and delicious stuffed pumpkin recipe inspired me to search for the greatest cranberry and pumpkin fusions available as food for the soul and creative displays for the eye…
This hanging chandelier from Martha is one of the most elegant pumpkin and cranberry displays that I have found and would be a very suitable decoration for the largest dinner event of the year.
An upside-down cranberry pumpkin cake would complete the look as the perfect finishing centerpiece and a grand finale of your Thanksgiving meal.
Glass jars never fail, nor do tall pillars full of cranberries, according to BHG’s cranberry holiday displays.
Just add a few mini pumpkins in between…and a loaf of warm, freshly baked cranberry pumpkin bread set in a basket.
Only 2 more days until Halloween!
Create easy last-minute elegant Halloween decorations by using simple spooky supplies that are available everywhere such as flowers, leaves, pumpkins, ravens, and plastic skeletons. Here’s two examples of quick dark arrangements that I have completed within the last few weeks:
More ideas for original arrangements and centerpieces:
Halloween and Fall Centerpieces
My masquerade pumpkin invitation cards have been popular on Zazzle for a little while, most appropriately used for Gothic weddings and Halloween parties. This year, I decided to make the real-life versions by hand-stitching them in Venetian style with elegant black cording and beautiful rich textured fabrics. I’m holding one in my avatar…after almost 15 hours of hand-stitching and yelling obscenities at these things in standard New England tradition. lol
My piratey renaissance neighbor and friend, Faustus, from FriedMush received his skull pumpkin version today and loved it. You can order them directly on my website here: Gothic Masquerade Pumpkins or on my WebSpinstress Etsy Store. I decided to give Etsy a try for quick listings for my blog – we’ll see how it goes. Grab them quick if you’re interested – I only have a few days to ship them in time for Halloween. I’ll have them listed all year round though for Gothic and masquerade themed wedding decorations. These are the darkest, most elegant pumpkins available and you won’t be disappointed!
With an entire weekend of mixed freezing rain and huge fluffy white snowflakes falling to the ground, and now killer ladybugs and zombie bees attacking my screens today in 60 degree weather is trying to kill my Halloween inspiration. So, I turned to visions of smiling lit Jack-O-Lanterns and ripped apart pumpkin chunks to search for the perfect carving template this year.
I didn’t end up finding the perfect spider web pumpkin template, so I created my own instead. Hopefully it will keep it’s intricate slivers intact as I attempt to carve out my new masterpiece. If you’d like to print a free pumpkin template, click HERE for the full-size image…
Quick Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes:
(Makes 12 cupcakes)
1 box spice cake mix
1 egg
2 Tbsp flour
2 cups pure pumpkin puree
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup oats
Stir together spice cake mix, egg, and pumpkin. You can add nuts, dried fruit, or any other additions to the batter. Pour the batter evenly into cupcake pan. In a separate bowl, combine butter, brown sugar, oats, and flour. Spoon your brown sugar mix over the top of each muffin. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.
Need a few more festive cupcake ideas?
Try these Creepy Crawly Cupcakes for Halloween!
Toasted Pumpkin Seeds
Wash and drain your seeds and spread them on a nonstick or greased baking sheet. Coat seeds with oil. Bake for about 30-45 minutes at 300 degrees until light brown. Remove and season with salt.
Sweet or Spicy Pumpkin Seeds
Use Worcestershire sauce and butter, salt, or oil before roasting/toasting. For spicy pumpkin seeds, try cayenne, paprika, chili powder, Hickory BBQ powder, or Cajun seasoning. For sweet seeds, use brown sugar, cinnamon, and/or nutmeg before cooking. For candied seeds, stir cooked seeds in melted caramel and sugar then let cool, separated on a baking sheet.
Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Cook 2 cups of granulated sugar and 1 cup water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and stir until sugar is dissolved and golden. Keep cooking until golden brown. Stir in 2 cups of toasted seeds and pour your mixture onto a large nonstick or greased baking pan, spreading it into a thin layer. Cool it completely, then break into pieces. Keep in an airtight container.
Other Uses
Add toasted pumpkin seeds to a party mix with crackers, chips, and other nuts. Add them to a soup or salad. Use to garnish your favorite main dishes.
