[clivehawkins]

I've never carved but was planning to with the kids classes. (Obviously not to your standard). How do you actually go about it ie preparing the pumpkin before actually doing any carving?

[mesmark]

It's pretty much - cut it open and scoop it out. However, there are some details.

1. When you cut off the top you want to angle the knife. If you cut straight up and down, the top will fall into the pumpkin when you go to put it on. Also, it's better to make several stabs so the top looks like a hexagon instead of trying to cut the top.

2. don't break off the stem.

3. When you scoop the insides out make sure you remove all of the strings and soft meat. The strings and soft meat rot very quickly. If you remove them all, then the pumpkin will last longer. So it's best to scrape the walls a little.

And that's it!