You want to get to the store and choose your pumpkin before they get all picked over. The closer we get to Halloween the smaller the choice.

Remember not to carve too early! If you carve your pumpkin too soon, it will shrivel up and rot away long before the spook fest is upon us. I would wait to carve my pumpkin a day or two at the most before the big show.

Almost every grocery store or arts and craft store will have your typical pumpkin carving tool set. For the more serious jack-o'-lantern carving session you can invest in tools that will get you the most detail and best overall finished piece.

If you look at the tool set, you will see a couple small carving knives with a jagged edge. These small carving knives are flexible and will allow you to carve small areas and cut around finely detailed things like the eyes of your reference stencil.

In the typical tool set you will see a red plastic piece that looks like a thump tack or push pin. This tool is for pushing small dimples in the pumpkins surface so that you have a guide line to follow with the knife.

Once you pick out the stencil with the design you want to use, find a place on your pumpkin that it will fit the best. Then make sure the surface is clean and tape the stencil in place. The pumpkins surface is rounded so this is a little tricky. Just do the best you can and get it as flat as possible. I've posted a few stencil ideas below to choose from.

The took kit will come with a small red scoop to remove the "guts" of the pumpkin. The insides will be slippery and its hard to separate the hair like texture from the smooth pumpkin surface. I usually resort to using a good "ice cream scooper" in lieu of the scoop that comes with the kit. Don't use the ice cream scooper with the thump lever; this will get in your way. Just get an old fashioned scooper like I have pictured. They work the best!

Once you have all of your tools ready and your stencil attached, cut the top of the pumpkin to create a lid. I use a steak knife with a serrated edge. You have to saw your way around and make the shape large enough to be able to get your hands inside of the pumpkin. Don't make the hole to perfectly round, because it will be harder to put the lid back in place later. I like to make it shaped more like a stop sign!

Decide right now if you want a "free handed" design or want to use a stencil. The stencil is best if you want detailed carving. If you have artistic ability you might want to free hand one instead. The old conventional pumpkin carving is pretty easy to just free hand; it's the ones that resemble a picture of a person, or witch that are best when you use a stencil.

Take a look at some of the stencils I've provided in a "slide show" and then let your imagination run wild.