Carve Me a Pumpkin

I can hardly believe it is already the middle of October! Time really flies. My days are filled with crazy running around and getting things done, but that's the life right now. Busy, Busy, Busy! But still lots of fun. 

One of the most fun things that we have done this month was Pumpkin Carving! It was the first time I had ever carved a pumpkin so I was so excited. We got very serious and even pulled out the power tools. Who knew that a Dremel tool could be used for pumpkin carving. 

Of course, I was very serious about the design of my pretty little pumpkin. I wanted my first pumpkin carving to be absolutely perfect (which is never the case with pumpkins!), so I searched through endless pages of pins on Pinterest hoping to find the right one to model my pumpkin after. I didn't want ghosts or jack-o-lantern styles; I wanted something that fit my personality and style. I was thrilled when I found this pumpkin. It was exactly what I wanted... Now the challenge, actually carving it! I was really in for a challenge there. 

After cutting the top and scooping out the "pumpkin pulp" in my pretty little pumpkin, I was ready to start. First, I drew a rough design on my pumpkin with a sharpie. This was so helpful as I started my carving because I knew exactly where to go. After my design was drawn, I started carving...with our power tools! It was so much fun to use power tools on a pumpkin (more than you would think!). Specifically we used a Dremel tool with the bits that we had around our house, but they actually have Pumpkin Carving kits for Dremel tools to make your pumpkin carving even more precise. Here is an example of a Kit that is on Amazon. If I didn't have the Dremel tool, I don't think that my pumpkin would've turned out the same way. It made each of the lines so much more precise. I did have to go along the edges of each curve with a knife to clear up the edges. 

Here are some more pictures of everyone else's pumpkins! Rachel carved a flower pumpkin; Dusty carved a Steelers Pumpkin (GO STEELERS!!!); and Madalyn carved a cat pumpkin. 

We had so much fun and even took our pumpkin seeds and baked them with a little olive oil and salt to make a great snack! 

Tips and Tricks

As school is getting back in full swing, I find myself thinking of ways to save money and recycle! As I was going through stacks of old college things, I found a lot of plastic pocket folders that I had used for classes and for student teaching. In an attempt to stay organized, I wrote on each folder in permanent marker which helped at the time, but I found myself throwing away folders because the "OCD" side of me could not scratch out or write over what was there... :) 

My student teaching co-operating teacher filled me in on this little secret which worked like magic! Using just Comet and a sponge, my old folders came out perfectly new!  A little scrubbing went a long way with these ones!! Who knew that Comet had another purpose besides shining up sinks. 

Now I can reuse and recycle these folders for a better purpose, my little way of giving back!  :)

XOXO - S