Large Pumpkin Eating A Small Pumpkin Jack O’Lantern

Halloween is the one time of year when people actually want to be scared – and that is why monsters and zombies take a starring role on the holiday. I always have fun carving pumpkins for Halloween, and this year I decided to combine my usual foodie theme with a monster one, to create a pumpkin I like to call Jaws. He’s a monstrous pumpkin with a mouth full of sharp teeth who enjoys chowing down on smaller pumpkins (since the smaller ones tend to be sweeter).

I’ve seen other designs for this type of pumpkin, many of them very elaborate and involving two sculpted and carved pumpkins. These pumpkins are amazing – but I prefer to keep things simple for two reasons. First, this type of pumpkin is easier to carve, even if you’re not an expert pumpkin artist. Second, you will still get a big “WOW” from this more streamlined design when you put it out.

I didn’t make a template for this design because it is fairly straightforward and you’re going to need some flexibility so that the shapes work with whatever size pumpkin you have. The real secret to creating this pumpkin carving is in the size of the mouth. It needs to be large enough to hold a small pumpkin in place, but not so big that there isn’t enough empty space to support the weight of the top of the pumpkin. I opted for a large, wide mouth full of fang-like teeth. I sketched out my design onto my pumpkin and held up my small pumpkin “victim” to approximate the size. Make your mouth a little smaller if you’re unsure of the fit, because you can always go back and trim the teeth if the mouth opening isn’t wide enough and you’ll have to run to the store for another small pumpkin if the first is too small.