Creating the Stencil

• 1). Scan your photograph into your computer, upload it from your camera or phone, or download it from an appropriate website.
  
  
• 2). Open the photograph with your photo-editing software and erase any sections that you do not wish to carve onto your pumpkin. Re-size the image until it is 2 or 3 inches shorter than your pumpkin.
  
  
• 3). De-saturate the picture to grayscale. If you are using Adobe Photoshop, do this by clicking "Image," then hovering your mouse over "Adjustments," then clicking "Desaturate." If you are using GIMP, click "Tools," then hover your mouse over "Color Tools," then click "Desaturate." Other photo-editing programs should explain how to desaturate in the "Help" section.
  
  
• 4). Increase the contrast to as pure black and white as you can manage. If you are using Adobe Photoshop, click "Image," then hover your mouse over "Adjustments," then click "Brightness/Contrast." If you are using GIMP, click "Tools," then hover your mouse over "Color Tools," then click "Brightness/Contrast." For either program, drag the contrast slider as far to the right as possible and click "OK."
  
  
• 5). Posterize the image. This reduces the number of pigments to either pure black and white or to black, white and medium gray. A black and white image is easier to carve but is less detailed, while a black, white and gray image is more difficult to carve but has more complex shading. If you are using Photoshop, click "Image," then hover your mouse over "Adjustments," then click "Posterize." If you are using GIMP, click "Tools," then hover your mouse over "Color Tools," then click "Posterize." For either program, if you want a black and white image, enter "2" when prompted for the number of posterizing levels; for a black, white and gray image, enter "3."
  
  
• 6). Review your pattern to ensure there are no "floating" black or gray sections. A white section represents an area where you cut away the pumpkin, so a black or gray section surrounded by white would have to float in midair. If you have any floating black or gray sections, you will need to use a marker to connect them to the nearest black or gray section after you print the pattern.
  
  
• 7). Invert the colors if you find a floating section that you simply cannot connect to any other black or gray section without making the pumpkin look sloppy. This will turn the black sections to white and the white sections to black. In Photoshop, click "Image," hover your mouse over "Adjustments," then click "Invert." In GIMP, click "Tools," hover your mouse over "Color Tools," and click "Invert." Draw a thin white border around your picture, then erase small pieces of it until you have enough of a border to make the pattern stand out but not so much of a border that the black sections float.
  
  
• 8). Print the pattern and add any necessary black lines to connect floating black or gray sections to other black or gray portions of the pattern. If you had to invert the image, draw a thin white border around your picture in pencil, then erase small pieces of it until you have enough of a border to make the pattern stand out but not so much of a border that the black sections float.
  
  
• 9). Cut diagonal lines from the corners of the page toward the center without actually cutting into the design itself. This will allow you to lay the pattern flat against the pumpkin.
  
  

Carving

• 1). Cut a lid away from the pumpkin with the butcher knife. Angle the knife inward slightly so the top of the lid is wider than the bottom, which will prevent the lid from falling into the pumpkin. Cut a small notch crossing from the lid to the surface of the pumpkin, so you will be able to line the lid up later.
  
  
• 2). Scoop away the seeds and strings with the metal spoon. Scrape the bottom of the pumpkin with the spoon to make it as flat as possible. This will help prevent your candle or pumpkin light from falling over when you light the jack-o-lantern.
  
  
• 3). Determine which side of the pumpkin has the fewest scars and blemishes. This will be your carving surface. Scrape away the interior rind of the carving surface until it is so thin that you can see light shining through it.
  
  
• 4). Pin the stencil to the carving surface. Poke holes along the outlines of the pattern using the thin nail, making sure the holes are no more than 1/4 inch apart. Remove the stencil, keeping it nearby for reference.
  
  
• 5). Hold the carving saw as you would hold a pencil and cut away any sections that are white on your pattern. Use a gentle, sawing motion so the saw will not break. Cut away small sections first, followed by large sections, as each piece you remove will weaken the pumpkin and increase the chances that its surface will break. You may need to remove particularly large sections in multiple pieces.
  
  
• 6). Scrape away the orange outer rind from any sections that are gray on your pattern, using the razor blade. Leave the pale flesh beneath the rind intact. This allows some light to shine through those areas, but not as much as will shine through the parts where you cut away the pumpkin entirely, giving the illusion of shading.