Do you carve out some time each fall to create an artistic jack-o-lantern?
Several years ago, we saw this photo online:

… and we just knew we had to work on a series of templates to share. (Thanks to Bryan, a roller coaster enthusiast from Ohio, for getting us started.)
Last fall, we experimented with a number of homemade templates. We had some success and some massive implosions of pumpkin guts. Overall, it wasn’t pretty.
On a lark, I asked Matt the other day for some carving tips to pass along in this blog post.
His replies:
- Don’t cut yourself (don’t worry – no humans were harmed in our carving exercise last year; Matt’s just very safety-minded).
- This one got personal: Don’t let your Director of Communications pick out some ridiculously difficult pattern that is virtually impossible to carve perfectly.
- And finally: Don’t carve pumpkins in front of a heckling audience; this applies to me both at work and home.
Hopefully your experience will provide you with more positive memories than poor Matt.
And so we present you with this Kitty Claws Pumpkin Carving Template.

Please download. Please be careful. Please be nice. Please send us a picture of your masterpiece.
And please have a happy, happy Halloween!
I like the kitty claws template, but can you also upload templates for Holidog? Thanks! Have a great day
You read our minds – we’re working on it!
Don’t forget my Legend-o’-Lantern! https://www.flickr.com/gp/28739461@N07/59tVB7
If anyone is feeling adventurous, here are the templates I made for both of them:
Raven: https://www.flickr.com/gp/28739461@N07/FHwdcL
Legend: https://www.flickr.com/gp/28739461@N07/2f11y0
The white areas are the parts to cut out (i.e. the parts that will “glow”).
Well, Ain’t that just Cute!?!?! We use magic markers rather than knives on our ‘punkins’! Maybe that’s safe enough for Matt? haha!