Halloween is just a couple of days away, but if you haven’t got your pumpkin sorted yet, don’t worry! I spotted this really cool owl pumpkin template on the Hobbycraft blog and knew that I would have to give it a go. I usually go for super smiley pumpkins and thought this would be something different to do this year – and, of course, I LOVE owls! 

You will need:

A medium-sized pumpkin

A sharp knife for carving the pumpkin

My secret carving weapon: a soup spoon!

A print out of the template (which can be downloaded from the blog – I reduced it to 60% of the original size)

Scissors or a craft knife to cut out the template

Some tape

A marker pen

A tea light (or LED safety alternative if you prefer)

Step 1

Carefully cut the top off the pumpkin and then scoop out the insides – this is what the soup spoon is for! They are brilliant for scooping

Step 2

Cut out the template and then tape it to the pumpkin. Draw along the inside of the lines to mark on where you need to carve the owl design and then carefully remove the template.

Step 3

Carve out the design, making sure that you are as careful as possible. I realised as I was cutting that I had accidentally cut out one of the eye middles when I should have left it in – so I had to cut out the other one too! But I don’t think it matters too much.

Here’s my owl pumpkin when I’d finished!

There are one or two rough edges, but you can’t tell with the lights off and the tea light inside. Parts of this were a bit fiddly to carve, especially with the detail around the eyes. But take your time and you’ll have a really effective owl pumpkin.

Finally, don’t forget to head over to the Hobbycraft website for your last-minute Halloween craft essentials!

The post Owl pumpkin appeared first on Hello! Hooray!.

I decided to look for a recipe using pumpkin, and after trawling through loads of different recipes on the internet I settled on a soup recipe, but I’ve basically combined lots of ideas from lots of different recipes to come up with this one. I must admit that pumpkin isn’t really a vegetable that I usually use, and I suppose that true for quite a lot of people in the UK. But now I’ve tried this out I’ll definitely be using it every Autumn! You could always leave out the bacon to make a vegetarian version of the recipe – just remember to add some salt if you do!

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

200g/7oz brown onions, chopped

3 large carrots, chopped

1 medium sized pumpkin, chopped with outer skin removed

125g/4.5oz smoked back bacon, cut into small pieces

1 tbsp ground cumin

750ml/1pt 7floz vegetable stock

Black pepper (season to taste – also add salt if not using bacon)

Method

1. Heat the oil in large pan or stock pot and add the onions. Cook on a low heat until softened.

2. Add the pumpkin, carrots, bacon and cumin. Season, stir well, cover and cook for around 10 minutes.

3. Add the stock and raise the heat to bring to the boil. Then lower the heat and simmer (uncovered) for 20-25 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft.

4. Leave to cool and then blend with a hand blender. I like my soup to be quite chunky, but you could puree it if you prefer.

5. Enjoy with some home-baked bread

I’ve also been making some gorgeous Yorkshire Parkin which is just perfect for a cold Autumn night in! I’ll post this recipe tomorrow because I haven’t managed to take a good photo of it yet…that’s if there is any left in the morning, it’s so delicious And makes a great dessert after having some of this delicious pumpkin, carrot and bacon soup!

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