Tired of carving the same old zipper grin on your pumpkin every Halloween? Buzzfeed.com has a list of “13 Brilliant Pumpkin Carving Hacks” to help you land the most creative jack-o-lantern in the neighborhood:
1. Cut the top and a section in the back in one piece: It makes for easier scraping, and it’s easier to put a candle inside.
2. Use dry erase markers instead of Sharpies: So you can correct mistakes before you carve your design.
3. Use a cookie cutter and a mallet: To hammer out designs in fun cookie cutter shapes.
4. Trace a stencil with a nail or a tack: To help with accuracy in your design.
5. Use glow sticks in place of candles: For multi-colored jack-o-lanterns.
6. Make holes with a power drill: It makes for a cool Lite-Brite effect.
7. Use glow-in-the-dark paint and masking tape: For the those who don’t want to mess with pumpkin guts and knives, use glow-in-the-dark paint and tape to make a one-of-a-kind creation.
8. Try fishnet stockings: Pumpkins look sexy when covered in cool fishnet patterns.
9. Preserve with floor cleaner: To keep the inside of the pumpkin from rotting.
10. Give them teeth: Insert plastic “bubba” teeth for a redneck pumpkin.
11. Use it as a punch bowl: Hollow it out, put a bowl inside, and fill with your beverage of choice.
12. Turn it into a keg: It’s perfect for storing beer at a Halloween party.
13. Skip the pumpkins and go with milk jugs: No carving required! Just fill the milk jug with twinkle lights!
