Jack-o'-Lantern Face Ideas

Traditional Faces

• A traditional jack-o'-lantern has very simple features that anyone can create with a regular kitchen knife. Instead of round eyes and nostrils, triangles suggest the features above a mouth of square or pointy teeth. These simple faces can be the scariest, because we associate them with scary stories such as "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow." Traditional faces can be cut with a knife, as well as with more modern -- and safer -- pumpkin-carving tools.
  
  

Ornate Carved Faces

• Special mini saws for pumpkin carving can be purchased inexpensively in kits that usually come with patterns for making more complex faces and designs. Because the saws are so slender, they can easily cut curved shapes in the pumpkin when used correctly. Instead of a simplistic face, you can carve a detailed skull, demon or even characters from your favorite horror movies. You aren't limited to scary faces -- you can find patterns for everything from cute cartoon faces to stylized celebrity faces online.
  
  

Etched Faces

• Pumpkin etching is similar to carving a linoleum block: Only the dark orange surface is scraped away, leaving the lighter flesh visible. When lit, the inner flesh glows. Etching can yield more detailed results than ornate carving, making it the best choice for very complicated patterns such as realistic faces and all-over designs. To etch your pumpkin face, you'll need a paring knife or a linoleum-cutting tool. Sketch or transfer your desired face on the pumpkin, and place the pumpkin on a surface with the design facing up to carve. You can even do shading, with thicker areas appearing darker than thinner areas when the jack-o'-lantern is lit.
  
  

Painted Faces

• With paint, the only thing you're limited by is the ability to light the jack-o'-lantern from the inside. Any face you can paint on paper you can paint on a pumpkin, though primitive-style faces have the most traditional look for Halloween. A primitive painted jack-o'-lantern might have a wide, toothy grin and wide, round eyes, giving it a more sewn-on or cartoony appearance. You can paint jack-o'-lanterns that will last for years by using wood or papier-mâché pumpkins.