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View all stencils →About this stencil
This pumpkin is absolutely thrilled to see you: arched eyes with hanging pupil tabs sit above a giant grin packed with separated square teeth, while short rays burst from each cheek like cartoon sparkle lines. All the shapes cut through, and the many thin bridges between teeth and rays are why it rates hard. Cut the small ray slits first while the wall is strongest, then do the teeth, always sawing away from the narrow bridges. This design is rated Advanced and takes most carvers around 150 minutes from trace to glow. Multi-layer cuts with skin-peel shading. Plan your cuts first.
Pumpkin size guide
- 🎃 Small (5–7") — print at 80%
- 🎃 Medium (7–10") — print at 100% (recommended)
- 🎃 Large (11–13") — print at 130%
- 🎃 Giant (14"+) — print at 150% on tabloid paper
Frequently asked questions
Can I resize this stencil?▾
Yes. The PDF is vector so it scales cleanly. Print at 100% for a 7–10 inch pumpkin, 130% for 11–13 inch, or 150% for a giant. Use your printer's "Fit to page" or "Custom scale" setting.
What kind of paper works best?▾
Standard 20 lb letter or A4 printer paper is fine. Heavier paper is harder to bend around the pumpkin curve. If your printer supports it, set the quality to 'best' so the lines are crisp.
How long will the carved pumpkin last?▾
Usually 5–10 days. Coat all cut surfaces with petroleum jelly and store the pumpkin somewhere cool overnight. Avoid direct sun. Battery LED pumpkin lights produce no heat and double the lifespan.
Can I sell pumpkins carved with this stencil?▾
Yes, the carved pumpkin you make is yours. The license covers personal and small-scale commercial carving (selling carved pumpkins, photographing them, posting on social). You may not resell the PDF file itself.
What if my printer doesn't print the whole stencil?▾
Set 'Page scaling' to 'Fit' in the print dialog and uncheck 'Auto-rotate'. If it still cuts off, the design includes 0.25" of safe-area margin so a small crop won't ruin it.
How to carve this stencil
- 1Print it
Download the PDF and print at 100% scale on letter or A4 paper.
- 2Prep the pumpkin
Cut the lid at an angle, scoop the guts, thin the wall to ~1 inch.
- 3Tape it on
Snip darts in the paper so it lies flat against the curve.
- 4Transfer the design
Poke along every line — about one dot every 1/8 inch.
- 5Carve it
Connect the dots with short straight cuts. Center first, work outward.
- 6Light it up
Drop in a battery LED pumpkin light and you're done.
Tools you'll need
For a advanced carve like this you'll want a linoleum cutter set, x-acto knife, peel tool, and pin transfer wheel. Here's the kit we reach for — start with whatever you already own.
Elmchee Pumpkin Carving Kit
13-piece kit with carrying case
Saws for the larger cutouts, plus a scoop for hollowing. Covers both jobs in one kit.
View on Amazon ↗
HOME MOST LED Pumpkin Lights
4-pack, battery operated, with remote + timer
Orange glow made for jack-o'-lanterns. The remote and timer light the pumpkin every evening without reaching inside.
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Speedball 4131 Lino Cutter Set
Handle + 5 interchangeable cutters
Interchangeable cutters for peeling and shading the face. Useful for the finer details.
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Community Pumpkin Carving Ideas
Carving ideas that use stencils like this one.
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Expert / ProTwenty-Two Ray Smiling Sun
A beaming sunburst face with closed happy crescent eyes, a small triangle nose, and a huge picket-tooth grin, all encircled by a radiating ring of alternating teardrop and triangle ray cutouts. Every ray, tooth gap, and feature pierces through, and the sheer count of small openings makes it an expert carve. Cut the outer rays in sequence around the circle first, rotating the pumpkin as you go, before opening the large mouth.
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Big oval eyes sit under arched brows above a round button nose and a broad smile showing four blunt square teeth, with four freckle dots sprinkled on each cheek. The eyes, brows, nose, mouth, and dots are pierced through while the tooth bridges stay connected. Poke the eight small cheek dots first, then cut the large features, leaving the tooth bars until the end so they keep support.
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One round eye and one sideways triangle eye give this pumpkin its delightfully goofy, mid-wink expression, finished with a huge upswept smile and two square teeth hanging from the upper lip. All shapes cut straight through for a bright, cartoonish glow. It is an easy crowd-pleaser; cut around each square tooth carefully, since they stay attached to the top of the mouth, and round off the smile's corners for extra charm.
Beginner-friendlyWide Grin and One Broad Tooth
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Beginner-friendlyHappy Arches and Two Teeth
A joyful jack-o'-lantern with two happy crescent arch eyes, curved like eyes squeezed shut in a laugh, above a wide smile interrupted by two square teeth hanging from the upper lip. The eye arches and mouth are cut through while the two teeth remain as attached blocks of pumpkin wall. An easy, forgiving carve: cut the mouth outline first, then carefully saw around each square tooth so its corners stay crisp.