The drawing of designs doesn't take long. The carving could take one to three hours, depending upon how my MG was or how soft/hard the pumpkin thickness was.
I taught my ten year old nephew to design a pumpkin, so anyone can do it!
You start by choosing one or two shapes you like. Then give your left brain a vacation and just draw those shapes on a paper, arranging them in a way that you like them. In other words, PLAY! Forget about trying to draw a face or an object. Just focus on the shapes and how you like how they look.
Sometimes, if you turn your finished drawing upside down, you will see a face or other type of drawing you didn't expect. The brain is funny that way.
There's an awesome spoon with a serrated edge that cleans pumpkins out really easily. I carve out the bottom of a pumpkin, because you can right a lopsided one that way and it's easier to place a candle or small light underneath.
Then I draw the design on a pumpkin with a delible ink marker or gel pen (they wash off easily with a paper towel after I'm all done).
I use those tiny saw tools that you can get at Target or wherever. Carving out the pieces is the hardest part, but also the most fun. I sort of get into a zone when I do it, as all creative people do!
Try to keep the shapes far enough apart so they don't infringe on the space of another shape.
Once I'm done carving, I use T-pins to attach cut out pieces to the outside of the pumpkin to finish the design. Note: Take the T-pins out the day after Halloween so that the hungry squirrels don't bite into one!
Take photos of your creation, too! I put a candle behind the pumpkin to illuminate the shapes I attached to the pumpkin. You don't need a flash to take a good shot.
I keep the pumpkins in a cool dark place, such as the floor of an entryway closet, to keep them fresh (especially important when carving pumpkins the day before Halloween).
Don't forget to dry out the seeds for 24 hours, put them in packets in your fridge, and then plant them the following spring! I always like to give back to mother nature.
Annie
Or you could do a simple design with small pumpkins (below).