Skull Pumpkin Cheese

Sonja Horstman of Downers Grove, IL "made this for a party. The recipe was for the Great White Pumpkin from Southern Living. I thought a skull would be more fun."

I love cheese. I'm like Wallace happily shaking my fists in love with cheese. When going to a party, I always look for the cheese...in fact I'm more likely to go to a party if there is a tray of cheese I can hoard in my belly. I also love pumpkin. This skull creation would have been mostly devoured by me...because it's cheese, pumpkin, and a skull all in one. I'm going to raid the fridge now...

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update 6

Greg Shiff in Los Angeles, California was inspired by my jack-o-lantern with a brain to make this great version, which he says "was HUGE hit in the neighborhood"!...

Thanks again to everyone who shared their pictures! Made you own? Send it along.

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update 6

Jeff Calvert in Westerville, Ohio did an excellent job using my directions to make a jack-o-lantern with a brain!...

And here's the final state of the original....
It made it through Halloween, but only just barely!

Did you make one of your own or even a unique skull-y pumpkin of your own design? Please send a photo and we'll share it on the site!

Carved Sugar Skulls

With it being a day filled with all things rich in carved goodness here are a pair of lanterns to light your way to our door.

First up is Janelle in Chandler, AZ who carved this Funkin (foam pumpkin) using a Dremel.

Randall Ensley also sent us a sugar skull inspired design in the traditional format that rots away in a few days.

All Hallowed C says:

Thank you both for your submissions it is always exciting to see how the tradition of pumpkin carving continues to evolve and get more technical with specialized tools to make intricate designs. Have a safe and happy holiday everyone! Those of our readers affected by this week's extreme weather on the East Coast our thoughts are with you.

“Countdown To Halloween”
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HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update 5

Kevin Kinney "Master of Ceremonies – Vegetable Evisceration" in Greencastle, Indiana shared this glowing image of his interpretation of my jack-o-lantern with a brain...

That is just one of 30+ pumpkins he made this year! Here's another skull-y one he made...

And hey, if you want to make your own anatomical pumpkin, you can use my step-by-step instructions HERE. Of course please send in a picture if you do!

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update 4

Kate Makai in Cambridge, Massachusetts was inspired by my jack-o-lantern with a brain to make this great version...

And Speddie in Wilmington, Delaware did a excellent job followed my directions to make this one...

Also thanks to This Isn't Happiness for the shout out about mine...

And here's how the original Pumpkin Anatomy II is holding up...



Want to make your own? The directions are HERE. And of course be sure to send in an image for us to share!

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update 3

Jon Lang did an excellent job following my directions to make his own jack-o-lantern with a brain!...

Plus thanks to Laughing Squid and Design You Trust for the shout outs about my original Pumpkin Anatomy II...

Here's the current state of mine, which is definitely looking grumpier thanks to the 80+ degree weather we've had this week!

Want to make your own? The directions are HERE.

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update 2

Patrick Koonts did a fantastic job using my directions to create his own Jack-O-Lantern with a brain!

Here's the current state of  my original Pumpkin Anatomy II....
I think he's holding up pretty well despite the 70 degree October weather!

I hope you'll give this a try with your own pumpkin, just follow the step-by-step instructions HERE. And of course send in a pic when you're done!

[BONUS] Pumpkin Anatomy II: Update

Just had to share this fantastic interpretation by Katrina Frye of my recent Pumpkin Anatomy II Jack-O-Lantern, she calls it her "Brainy Jack-O-Troll"!...

Don't forget there are directions on how to make your own HERE and if you do make one please send a picture for us to share!

Also here's the current state of the original, I think it's aging well...

[BONUS] 404. Pumpkin Anatomy II: If I Only Had A Brain

A few years ago I discovered that with careful dissection you could discover the secret anatomy of a Jack-O-Lantern. This year I decided to try another experiment and low-and-behold it turns out that if you cut it just right you can reveal the hidden brain of a pumpkin!...

I thought it would be fun to give you a step-by-step guide if you wanted to give this a try yourself...

1. Get two pumpkins, one orange that's larger and one white that's smaller. You'll have to guess how much smaller the 2nd one needs to be, but figure the walls of the larger will probably be 1-2 inches thick. The bonus is you can always carve away more if you need to adjust the fit.

2. Mark off a line about 1/3 of the way down on the larger pumpkin to allow for a large enough opening to insert the 2nd pumpkin. Then draw your design on each pumpkin. The orange one can be a fairly traditional Jack-O-Lantern, I just made mine a skull since it's my thing. For the brain I printed off reference images from the internet so that I could it make it look more realistic. It only needs to cover the 1st 1/3 of pumpkin, since the rest will be hidden. NOTE: use a marking tool that can easily wiped off (china marker works well). I made the mistake of using a metallic sharpie that only came off with the use of nail polish remover!

3. Carve & gut the 1st pumpkin like you normally would. Be sure to keep the top since it makes a nice display element later.

4. For the brain pumpkin carve the lines first, by incising them with V-shaped cuts that only go about 1/4 of an inch deep.

5. Cut off the bottom of the brain pumpkin and gut it from below. Then cut out a shape that will allow the design of your larger pumpkin to be uncovered and allow candle light to come through! You will end up with a sort of helmet shape. Sadly it didn't fit on anyone's head when I made it, but it would be an amazing kid's costume if you've got a willing volunteer! The trickiest part is adjusting this to fit inside the 2nd, so you may have to carve away at both the inside of the orange pumpkin and the outside of the white to get it to sit properly.

Good luck! And of course if you make your own please send us pictures to share!