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View all stencils →About this stencil
A large textured starfish floats among rising bubbles and wavy seaweed fronds in this beachy shading design. Nothing is cut through; the starfish body, dots of bumpy texture, bubbles, and seaweed are all skin-shaved to different depths so they glow in layered tones of gold. The dotted texture along each arm is what makes it a hard carve; use a small V-gouge for the bumps and keep your shaved areas shallow so the wall never breaks through. 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.
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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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A whale shark glides across the pumpkin, its wide flat head, tall tail fin, and body covered in the species' signature grid of pale spots, with a few bubbles drifting nearby. The shark's outline and spots are shaved to glow while the surrounding skin stays dark, so no section is pierced through. Do the long body outline first, then the spots; a small round scoop or melon-baller keeps all those dots consistent.
AdvancedHammerhead with Raw Back
A sculptural hammerhead shark carved in raised relief, with the background cleared away so the body, fins, and curved tail stand proud of the wall in layered depths. Fin edges, the mouth line, and gill grooves are incised for realistic detail while nothing pierces through. Rough out the background to one even depth before shaping the shark itself, and keep at least half the wall thickness so the raised body stays sturdy.
Expert / ProDomed Jellyfish and Bubbles
A ribbed jellyfish bell hovers near the top of the pumpkin, trailing eight long wavy tentacles that flow all the way to the base, with small bubbles rising on either side. The bell segments and tentacles are shaved to glowing flesh while thin strips of dark skin separate every ribbon, and the bubbles are pierced through. This expert shading design demands a steady hand; work each tentacle top to bottom in one continuous peel so the curves stay smooth and evenly lit.
Beginner-friendlyHammerhead with Unequal Fins
A hammerhead shark cruising in full profile, its wide flattened head, tall dorsal fin, and forked tail all reading instantly in silhouette. The complete shark is one cut-through opening that stretches across the pumpkin's widest face for a dramatic glowing display. An easy carve with one caution: the slim notch between the tail forks is delicate, so cut it before removing the large body piece.
IntermediateCurled Dolphin Profile
A leaping dolphin caught mid-arc, its curved body, pointed snout, dorsal fin, and sweeping tail all glowing through one sculpted cut-through opening, with an intact rind island shaping the pectoral fin and belly. The interior island is the key feature: cut the outer outline in sections and leave the connecting bridges to the island untouched until the very end, then trim them carefully to final width.
Expert / ProJellyfish with Fifteen Bubbles
A dramatic jellyfish drifts down the tall face of the pumpkin, its ribbed bell crowning a tangle of long ribbon tentacles surrounded by fifteen bubbles of varying size. Everything is shaved relief with no pierced holes, and the overlapping tentacles at different depths are what make it an expert etch. Vary your shaving depth deliberately, deepest where tentacles cross behind others, to build the layered, flowing effect.