Pumpkins are aplenty in supermarkets at the moment, but once you've taken it home, how do you do it justice in the Hallowe'en stakes
You might be inspired by the entries to our Hallowe'en carving competition, but don't know how to take it that one step further.
Never fear, we've collected a step by step guide to creating the perfect festive creation.
1. Choose a pumpkin with an irregular shape– a funny looking pumpkin has some Halloween character – and a pumpkin with a thick and dark-orange and or colourful skin.
Thumping the outside gives a clue to how thick the skin is. You want something that feels and sounds solid. More colour also tends to indicate a greater thickness.
And like any piece of fruit, freshness is of utmost importance.
2. Set up the carving area.
You need plenty of newspaper to line your table with, a few bowls of various sizes for storing things like guts, seeds, and cut-outs and a few different knives.
You are best with a small chef's knife for cutting out the top, and a couple of sturdy, sharp-tipped paring knives.
You also need a waterproof pen for drawing the design on the surface before you begin carving.
3. Cut the lid making sure to cut it wide enough to give you room to scrape out the inside easily later.
If you plan on using a candle cut out a chimney hole to allow smoke to escape.
4. Scrape the seeds out by making a scraping the seeds and soft flesh with your bare hands, and later scrape out the inside of the pumpkin with a spoon until there is about an inch or two of flesh remaining (the more complex your design, the thinner you'll want the flesh to be).
5. Use a waterproof pen to mark out your design on the skin. Remember, the design can only be as fine as the size of your knife and straight lines are much easier to carve than curves, so be aware of that as you plan your carving.
6. Start carving. Carve by plunging the knife tip into the lines and work from the centre outward.
7.Secure a normal candle inside and light it only when it your pumpkin is outside your house, and see your family and friends gawp in wonder at your skills
