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View all stencils →About this stencil
A bold I-heart-NC design with a chunky letter I beside a big solid heart on the top row and the letters N and C below, echoing the famous love-your-city logo. All four elements are cut fully through in thick slab-serif strokes that glow brightly and stay sturdy. An easy lettering carve; trace the letters carefully when transferring, since straight, even strokes are what make text look sharp. This design is rated Beginner-friendly and takes most carvers around 30 minutes from trace to glow. Great for kids and first-timers. Big shapes, short cuts.
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 beginner-friendly carve like this you'll want a paring knife, spoon / scoop, marker, and led pumpkin light. 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.
View on Amazon ↗
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
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AdvancedUnited States Mainland
The entire continental United States glows as one big cut-through window, from the Pacific Northwest corner down around Florida's dangling peninsula and Texas's southern point. All the interior is removed while the national border stays crisp in the surrounding skin. This one earns its hard rating on the coastlines: take the Gulf inlets, Great Lakes bumps, and the narrow Florida peninsula in small careful cuts to keep the outline true.
AdvancedNew York State Shape
The Empire State glows in full detail, from the straight Pennsylvania border to the jagged Adirondack edges and the skinny finger of Long Island trailing off the bottom right. The entire state interior is one pierced opening. Long Island is the trickiest part, so cut that narrow strip last with the tip of your saw and support the surrounding shell with your free hand as you work.
IntermediateMaine State Shape
Maine's craggy outline fills the pumpkin as a single glowing cutout, from the pointed northern crown down to its famously jagged coastline. The entire state interior is removed while the rind around it stays solid, so the border reads crisply once lit. The ragged coastal edge is what makes this a medium carve: trace it slowly with a fine saw and do not worry about tiny inlets, since the overall shape sells the design from a few feet away.
IntermediateTennessee State Shape
Tennessee's long parallelogram runs nearly the full width of the pumpkin, flat across the top with the jagged mountain border stepping down the eastern end. The entire state is removed as one wide glowing band. Since the opening is long and shallow, cut the straight top and bottom edges first, then work the stepped eastern corner in small bites to keep every notch sharp.
IntermediateNew Hampshire State Shape
The unmistakable tall, tapering outline of New Hampshire, cut fully through as one glowing state silhouette. Everything inside the border comes out, leaving the surrounding rind as the dark frame that defines the shape. This medium carve is one large opening, so work in short, connected saw strokes around the jagged northern border and remove the piece in two or three sections instead of forcing out one big slab, which can tear the notched edges.
AdvancedTwo Profiles Within a Heart
A large heart is cut out of the pumpkin, but two facing profiles are left standing in the middle of the opening, so a couple appears to lean toward each other in silhouette against the glow. The heart interior is removed while the joined profile column stays attached at the bottom point. This is a hard carve because those noses, lips, and chins are thin; use a fresh fine blade and cut away from the profiles, never into them.