Halloween comes with its fair share of traditions. Between decorating the house with spooky decorations and gathering around the TV to watch Hocus Pocus, there’s something for everyone to do when the holiday rolls around. One of the most inclusive activities Halloween brings is pumpkin carving. I know that on the surface it might not seem like the best festive activity when you’re not the artistic type, but there are lots of pumpkin carving stencils out there to cater to each person.
We’re here to break down the best pumpkin stencils available online so that you can find something to match your tastes this Halloween season.
Easy Pumpkin Carving Stencils
Jack-O-Lanterns
These types of designs are the easiest ones to stencil. There are tons of variations out there to choose from, ranging from funny faces to the classic mugs we all know and love. Not only are they some of the easiest, but the wide variety allows you to test out your skills without trying anything too crazy. An added bonus is being able to make them on your own once you get the hang of the facial features and understanding what you’re good at.
Words And Phrases
There are so many words you can write on pumpkins that are easy enough to carve. Hundreds of stencils exist for you to print, but you can also stencil your own if you’re looking for something a little more personal to your own printing. The great thing about carving words is that they’re still a classic design that doesn’t look like a cop-out or tacky.
Ghosts
Ghosts are sort of like snowflakes when it comes to pumpkin stencils. You can make them however you want to suit your tastes and can curb the stencils based on your artistic skills. You can make the faces more simplistic or the bodies fatter if you accidentally carve too wide. They’re easy ways to hone in on your skills without having to worry about anything too complicated or meticulous.
Leaves
You don’t need to focus on the ghoulish creatures of Halloween to have something that matches the season. There are plenty of things to stencil on your pumpkins that capture the season and everything that goes with it. With that in mind, it’s time to bring on the leaves. They don’t need to be as complicated as the real-life thing and can be basic designs to capture the overall shape.
Simple Wolf
Wolves don’t need to be super complicated to make. They may appear harder than they are because of their fur and the little details, but there are plenty of stencils available online that only require the bare minimum. You’ll still be able to make something great without all the intricate detailing.
Moderate Pumpkin Carving Stencils
Cats
This traditional Halloween animal makes an appearance in more ways than one when the holiday rolls around. They’re seen in costumes, decorations, and oftentimes on pumpkins. You can dull them down a bit and make a simple cat face with three whiskers, circles for eyes, and a triangle nose or you can do the whole body. Cat pumpkin stencils are something else you can tweak to your tastes, but they’re best reserved for those a little more comfortable with carving.
Witches
Witch pumpkin stencils are something you can play around with based on your artistic levels and comfort. Some are much easier than others and only require a few facial features, while others like to focus more on the detail of their face and their attire. It all depends what you’d like to do and how complex you’d like to make it.
Bats
Stenciling bats is another design that needs a little more finesse than your average artwork. With the shape and size you choose, the wings will still require some proper stenciling and detail. Plus, if you want to add something extra to the mix you can sprinkle in more than one bat or add a creepy tree.
Haunted House
Carving homes might seem like a daunting task, but they’re really not that bad. All you need to focus on is a bit of detailing for the roof shingles and any additional details surrounding the home like the moon, bats, or trees. If you’d rather just focus your efforts on the house then you can make it as detailed as you’d like. There are also lots of different pumpkin stencils to choose from.
Spooky Tree
Even when you’re just making them on their own, trees are complex designs that need more work. Sometimes they have tons of twisted branches you need finer tools to get just right and other times the branches are thicker to make things easier. It’s because of this that they aren’t exactly the most difficult thing to make, but the amount of energy you choose to put in determines how advanced it will be.
Advanced Pumpkin Carving Stencils
Sugar Skulls
Talk about an incredible way to show off your talents and personal tastes. Sugar skulls are great ways to carve pumpkins with a variety of designs. You can alter the intricacy to suit your tastes while still winding up with a terrific end result. Not only do these pumpkin stencils offer you the chance to make something beautiful but you’ll have a good dose of challenging work ahead of you without it being impossible.
Celebrity Faces
So, maybe you’re not the best with characters or landscapes, but you can make one mean face (you know what I mean). A great deal of effort goes into the proper shading and detailing of a face and one wrong move could make or break the person you’re trying to recreate. These take a lot of time to complete properly and give you a nice challenge.
Characters
As we said before, pumpkins don’t need to be scary. Sometimes there are a lot of children in the neighborhood who would do better to see a friendly face than a demon greeting them. That’s exactly why you can make something like Minnie Mouse as a witch or the minions to make things a little more kid-friendly and keep things light. You can even make your own character if you know what you’re doing. However, that doesn’t mean you won’t be without a challenge. These are some pretty complex pumpkin stencils when you get down to it and as cute as they are, a fair amount of work is required to get them right.
Scarecrows
These creepy little guys are definitely worth carving onto your pumpkins this season. Scarecrows are a bit more complex than other classic characters or traditional jack-o-lantern faces, which is why they’re harder to recreate. They have way more intricacies to focus on but also allow you the freedom to include whatever you like. They can be made to represent the details you like seeing most, which makes them more personal too.
Mummies
The final pumpkin carving stencil on our list is the mummy. We’ve seen them in countless movies and wrapping ourselves in toilet paper as kids sure was fun. It’s time to relive the magic with a mummy pumpkin stencil that’s much more complicated than the easy stuff. This complicated design includes the face and arms, which will allow you to test your skills.
These pumpkin carving stencils are the ones to try out this season. Regardless of how skilled you are with stenciling, there are ones out there for everyone. Anyone can join in on the fun this Halloween and you won’t have to worry about excluding anyone with all these available options.
