Other Tools and Supplies – Guts and Seeds

Your carving tools are covered here. This topic covers everything else you’ll want nearby before you start.

You’ll need these for almost every carving:

Printer: for printing your stencil
Scissors: for trimming the stencil before attaching it
Masking tape: for attaching the stencil to the pumpkin
Black Sharpie (fine tip): for tracing and marking; for Styles 3 or 3+, grab two or three, large black areas drain them fast
Hand sanitizer + cotton pad or tissue: Sharpie eraser. Dab on, wipe off.
Garden gloves: keep these on while using the carving tools.
Paper towels: for drying the pumpkin and your hands

For the Sharpie Trace transfer method:

Tissue paper or white tracing paper: for tracing the stencil
Thin-tip regular markers: non-Sharpie, ideally blue, red, and black for color-coding your traced lines
Blue Sharpie (fine tip): useful if your stencil has more than one type of line (Styles 3, 3+, 4, 4+)
Light box: optional but nice to have; a backlit tracing surface that makes tracing lines much easier

For the Pushpin transfer method:

Pushpin: one is all you need
Flour: rub a small amount over the dry pumpkin to make the tiny dot lines visible before carving

For gutting:

For grown-ups: Large serrated kitchen knife: only for cutting the pumpkin lid (and chimney hole if using candles)
Ceramic loop tool: the best tool for thinning pumpkin walls and cleaning out guts. The serrated/toothed version works even better. Pear shape works best
Large spoon or plastic pumpkin scraper: alternative to the loop tool above.
Garbage bag: for the guts
Bowl: optional, for collecting seeds if you want to roast them later
Drop cloth or old newspaper: if you’re not carving over the sink, protect the table

For lighting:

Good to have:

Replacement keyhole saw blades: blades dull and occasionally snap; good to have a spare pack on hand
Rubbing alcohol: can recharge a dried-out Sharpie in a pinch
Vaseline: for sealing cut edges after carving to slow drying; use sparingly as it leaves a shine
Bleach + spray bottle: for preserving your pumpkin before and after carving
Toothpicks, paper clips + super glue: for fixing small breaks

For a full shopping list with links to everything here, visit gutsandseeds.com/tools