FUNNY PUMPKINS
Funny pumpkin carving ideas
Funny pumpkins usually tell a tiny joke: a pumpkin throwing up its own seeds, a face with braces, or eyes looking in two directions. The joke has to read in one glance, so keep the shapes big and use the pumpkin's guts, stem and props where they help.
Free stencils to print
Each one prints at actual size on Letter or A4 and passed our carving checks, so every piece stays attached. Black areas are cut away and glow.
Ideas
Sick pumpkin
Carve a face with squinting eyes and an open, round mouth, then pile the scooped seeds and strings so they spill out of the mouth and onto the ground. The joke needs no fine cutting at all.
Tongue sticking out
Cut a wide mouth and leave a rounded tongue of pumpkin hanging from the top lip down into the opening. The mouth glows around the tongue, so the tongue reads as a dark shape.
Cross-eyed face
Cut two round eyes and leave a small pupil in each, both pushed toward the nose. Attach each pupil to the inner edge of its eye with a short bridge so it stays in place.
Braces grin
Cut a big smile with square teeth, then leave a thin horizontal strip of pumpkin running across all the teeth as the wire. Keep the strip at least a finger thick.
Surprised face
Two tall oval eyes and a round O mouth, placed a little lower than normal. Add short slanted eyebrows above the eyes to sharpen the surprise.
Winking face
Cut one round eye and make the other a thin curved line, then add a lopsided grin. It is quick to carve and easy to read from a distance.
Mustache pumpkin
Cut a big curly mustache shape so it glows under a small nose, with two simple eyes above. Make the curls wide; thin tips break.
Toothpick props
Pin on extras with toothpicks: a cut pumpkin chunk as a nose, a gourd as a hat, or a pair of old glasses. Props make a simple face funny without more carving.
Carving tips
- Test the joke on paper first. If someone does not get it from a quick sketch, it will not read on a lit pumpkin either.
- Exaggerate one feature, like the mouth or the eyes, and keep the rest simple.
- Pins and toothpicks hold props better than glue on a damp pumpkin.
- Seeds and guts used as a prop dry out and mold quickly. Add them on the night you display the pumpkin, not days before.
More help: Easy pumpkin carving ideas.
Carve something that's yours
CarveKin also makes a pattern from your own photo: your dog, your cat, your kid. We draw a few designs, repair them so every piece stays attached, and you print the one you like at the size you choose. One pattern is $4.99.
Make a pattern from your photo
More pumpkin carving ideas
Stencils were drawn from AI-made sample images and illustrations. Glowing views are digital previews, not photos of carved pumpkins.