Prepare the Pumpkin

• 1). Locate a pumpkin with a bottom that stands flat without wobbling and with a smooth front with few flaws. Avoid pumpkins with deep crevices or large bumps. The pumkin should be tall and wide enough to accommodate your flame design.
  
  
• 2). Locate a flame design template. Sketch a flame design on paper or download a design from the Internet. Print the design on 8 ½-by-11-inch paper.
  
  
• 3). Place a serrated knife, blade down, on the back of the pumpkin about 3 inches out from the stem, to begin removing the top. Push the serrated knife into the pumpkin skin at a 45-degree angle. Slowly carve, using an up and down motion, around the entire top to carve out a round lid.
  
  
• 4). Grasp the stem and pull the lid off the pumpkin. Cut off the bottom layer of excess pulp underneath the lid using the serrated knife. Cut off only the loose pulp area.
  
  
• 5). Remove the loose pulp from inside the pumpkin. Place newspaper on a table and place the pumpkin on its side on the newspaper. Put your hand inside the pumpkin and pull the loose pulp and seeds out onto the newspaper.
  
  
• 6). Scrape the walls of the pumpkin using the scraper from the pumpkin carving kit. Drag the flat edge of the scraper over the inside walls of the pumpkin. Scrape it smooth to make the walls approximately 1½ inches thick. You want the walls to have enough substance for carving but not be too thin or too thick. Typically, less than 1 inch is too thin; more than 2 inches is too thick to carve.
  
  

Carve the Pumpkin

• 1). Tape your flame design template to the pumpkin. Position the template in the center front of the pumpkin. Cut notches in the corners of the template so the paper will shape around the pumpkin shape.
  
  
• 2). Trace the flame design onto the pumpkin using the poker tool from the kit. Poke small dots over the template and through the pumpkin skin. Place holes every 1/8-inch along the outline of the design. Remove the template from the pumpkin.
  
  
• 3). Carve the flame design using the serrated carving tool from the kit. Refer to the template for design guidance. Push the carving tool all the way through the pumpkin's flesh, starting at the bottom corner of the flame design. Carve slowly, sawing with the carving tool in an up and down motion, along the dot pattern. Keep the carving tool straight and avoid carving at an angle. Carve slowly around the design to achieve the curves of the flames. To turn around sharp edges at the points of the flames, remove the carving tool, plunge it through the skin in the opposite direction and begin carving again.
  
  
• 4). Remove the carved pieces of the pumpkin. Push the pieces through to the inside of the pumpkin using your fingers or the carving tool. If the pieces will not push through to the inside, place your hand in to pumpkin and carefully ease them through the front of the pumpkin. Remove all loose pieces from the inside of the pumpkin when finished.
  
  
• 5). Rub petroleum jelly over the carved areas using a cotton swab. Petroleum jelly helps to preserve the carved flesh to prevent rotting.