Entertainment

The nylon guide to pumpkin carving

because you can do better than a smiley face.

by nylon

Halloween time is upon us, and as you can see, we're big fans of the season. Whether we're taking costume inspiration from our favorite It Girls' costumes or our favorite movies, we spend about 10 minutes every hour daydreaming up the most fun ways to celebrate the holiday.

Of course we couldn't really cover Halloween without talking about pumpkin carving--the crux of any good holiday celebration. We asked our resident artists, AKA our design teams, to carve their best pumpkins and show us how they did it. They created the most awesome pumpkins, from a floral one you can see above, to a magic ball option, to our very own NYLON design! Find out how to copy their creation in our gallery. Happy carving!

photo by Lucia Reed

NYLON's Promotions and Marketing Designer, Kelley Garrard, designed a floral pumpkin. For a this one you're going to need a cute pumpkin (obviously), two sharp knives, some Elmer's glue, a spoon, and about 10-12 fake flowers. 

photo by Lucia Reed

Step 1: Cut the top off your pumpkin. Get ready to meet the weird goo inside!

photo by Lucia Reed

Step 2: Use your spoon to hollow out the pumpkin through the top.

photo by Lucia Reed

Step 3: Using a small sharp knife, cut circular holes about two inches in diameter evenly spaced around your pumpkin. Don't worry if the circles aren't so even, the petals will cover that up. Be careful not to cut your hand!

photo by Lucia Reed

Step 4: Cut a fake flower from it's "stem." Then carefully cut the petals into duos or trios.

photo by Lucia Reed

Step 5: Apply a thin line of glue around the circles you've cut out.

photo by Lucia Reed

Step 6: Place your flower petals onto the glue. Hold for 10 seconds.

photo by Lucia Reed

Step 7: One flower completed! Keep gluing around the rest of the pumpkin, making sure not to bump the petals you've already glued on.

photo by Lucia Reed

Voila!: The finished product takes in the New York skyline!

photo by Lucia Reed

You're Done: With a candle inside, it's like the best disco ball ever. 

NYLON's Digital Design Director, Liz Riccardi, created a crystal ball / evil eye pumpkin. You will need: some kind of knife, a scoop, a light colored pencil, and a linoleum cutter for this design.

Step 1: Sketch out an awesome design.

Step 2: Cut the top of your pumpkin and scoop out the inside!

Step 3: Transfer your design to your pumpkin by taping your sketch on and poking holes along the lines, OR redraw with light colored pencil. Use the linoleum cutter to carve out your design on the surface of the pumpkin - the deeper you go the more the light will show through - poke some holes all the way through for EXTRA fun!

Step 4: Put a candle in it and get ready for spooky times.

Step 5: Spooky times!

You're Done: Admire your work in the light of day!

The NYLON Art Department, comprised of Design Director Evan Campisi and Designer Kelly Shami, created our very own NYLON pumpkin! You're going to need paper, a knife, an Exacto knife, and spray paint to DIY your own.

Step 1: Choose your text and figure out how you want it laid out on the pumpkin. Trace the letters with a Sharpie, or if you're feeling bold, you can draw them on freehand.

Step 2: Cut off the top of your pumpkin and scoop out the insides.

Step 3: Using an Exacto knife cut out the letters carefully along the outlines.

Step 4: Making sure you have exactly the right shade of pink spray paint (this is our official pink, FYI), spray paint your pumpkin. Make sure to clear out a well-ventilated space to do it, and lay down some paper so you don't spray paint your table or yourself.

Step 5: Let your pumpkin dry overnight.

Finished!: Our NYLON pumpkin haunts our office by night.