Hey guys! So fall is in full swing over here at illistyle.  The hubby has a special series for you guys this week.  Yep, that’s right, my husband is posting today through Friday with his very own series: How to Carve a Perfect Pumpkin.  Since he is the King of Carving, I will let my man take it from here:

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This is illi’s husband.  Like most husbands, I don’t craft, I don’t DIY, and I don’t sew.  I do manly stuff like hunt bears, wrestle crocodiles, and build castles.  However, I do get crafty once a year, and that is with Pumpkins.  Ten years ago I found a site that had some cool pumpkin stencils.  I hadn’t carved a pumpkin for years, they all looked the same, what was the point?  But these pumpkins I saw online looked really cool.  So my wife and I invited two friends over and had the first of many “Pumpkin Carving Parities”.  I have now developed a “patented method” of Carving (patent application pending)  and I am known by many as an expert carver.

But let me tell you a secret, the true beauty of carving is that anyone can do it.  We have a contest every year, at one point we had 50 people enter, and we had a first-time carver win.  The secret is less skill and more patience.

Over the next few days I will have a series of posts on how to have the perfect pumpkin carving.

The most important part of carving is to use stencils, they will give you a clean, detailed image with shadowing and depth. Pretty much: your pumpkin will look awesome if you use a stencil… and there are lots out there.  You do get what you pay for, but for the cheap… wait, bloggers like the word “thrifty”… there are still thousands of free ones.  I have a two hundred page PDF I print out every year with all my collected stencils, to that I add a dozen or so more to every year, to keep up with the newest trends.  Below are my favorite sites to get stencils.

Zombie Pumpkins  This is by far the best site in my opinion.  It is the cleanest and simplest.   If this is your first time doing fancy carving, I recommend this site.  Their stencils are made in a way that just make your pumpkins look the best, and they have a great collection of movie, television, and video game themed stencils.

Stonykins    One of the largest stencil sites.  Where else are you going to find a stencil of Anne Frank?  You can buy credits for multiple stencils or buy individual stencils, so you have to decide what you want ahead of time, but they have many unique ones.

Ultimate Pumpkins    Stencils are sold in sets, but would be great for a family project.  Last year they added Angry Birds, a very popular set.  They also have lots of famous series not found elsewhere, including Harry Potter, Shrek, Simpsons, Twilight.

Disney Stencils My daughter truly believes she is a Disney Princess, so odds are this year I will be getting my newest stencils from Disney.  They are not my favorite stencils to carve, if you can find a great Disney stencil elsewhere you might be better off. (and please let us know too!)

 Extreme Pumpkins  These are very creative stencils.  This site has more flammable instructions.  Gross, strange, unique creations, not the most family friendly, more on the scary side.

Pumpkin Pile    Cheaper Stencils, with hundreds of free ones.

HGTV Basic Free, but simple boring stencils.  These are the same stencils you would get at the grocery store for $4.  Be more daring and choose something a little more fun.

Spookmaster  Lower end stencils, but a lot of them are free.  One year my friend carved “The Last Supper” from this site, it was spectacular.

The pay sites require a form of payment (like a credit card) and then you get to download a PDF.  Make sure to save the PDFs for years to come, my favorite method is to just email them to myself.  That way next year you don’t have to pay for what you already have.

So if you are ready for it, start planning a party.  My next post will be the patented method for carving, with full instructions.  So start the Facebook invites and be the cool neighbors on the block.  

Ladies, remember since this is an activity with knives, your husbands will craft with you!

 

-The King of Carving

 

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{Hey guys! It’s illi again, if you are still not convinced of how great this is: check out my man’s step-by-step instructions on how you can make pumpkins that look like the ones we have made in years past, see below – yes, those are really ours! And Tips for Throwing a Pumpkin Carving Party}

What will you carve this year?

This is not a sponsored post. We are just helping you find the coolest stencils around. Cuz we love you.

   

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