Swiper the Pumpkin

With Halloween a week away, I decided that today was the day to carve the pumpkin.  I thought Claire would really enjoy pulling all the insides out but, to my disappointment, she just stared at me like I was crazy and proceeded to blow bubbles instead.  Although she did keep asking me if it was ready.

I started with a template.  I looked at all of the ones that Martha had but none of them seemed right.  Then I hit the jackpot when I stumbled on these from Nick Jr.  We wound up picking Swiper because he fit our pumpkin the best.  If you don't have a child under the age of 5 you probably have no idea who Swiper is but let me assure you he is the scariest thing around.  I mean it isn't Halloween unless you can frighten small children, right?

Once we had picked the Swiper template, I cut a hole in the bottom of the pumpkin.  I helps the pumpkin sit better and you don't have to worry about the lid shriveling up.  Scraped out the inside and taped the template to the pumpkin.

Next, I took a push pin and followed the outline to transfer it to the pumpkin.  Then, with the patience of a kindergarten teacher, I carved out every little detail.  The whole thing only took about 2 hours and I must say it is pretty kick butt.

Here it is finished sitting on the front porch...

And here it is all lit up sitting on my kitchen counter...

Are you scared yet?