Pumpkin Playtime

Have you carved your jack-o-lantern yet?  If not, consider some of the non-traditional tools below to add extra pizazz to your sculpture:

• A power drill - try out a rotary bit to make perfect circles, or get adventurous and experiment with other types of bits.
• A Dremel - with its assortment of attachments, you can drill, cut, carve, etch, and engrave to your heart's content.
• Linoleum cutter - carve details into the surface of your pumpkin without cutting all the way through, and experiment with a range of depths; this will result in areas that "glow" once the pumpkin is lit.
• Cookie cutters - using metal cookie cutters and a rubber mallet, you can pound the cutter into the pumpkin, resulting in cut-out shapes quickly and easily.  (You may want to opt for cutters you won't mind getting bent or misshapen, just in case.)

If you really want to think outside the traditional pumpkin mold, pick up a white, green, or other alternatively colored pumpkin.  Just keep in mind that they may be slightly more difficult to carve.  Or, to really step outside the box, consider transforming a watermelon - it will definitely make your neighbors look twice!

Mmm...tasty!