What makes it cute
Big, tall eyes set wide apart, a round highlight in each eye, two rosy cheeks and a small smile low in the face. The eyes and smile are black (cut through), the cheeks are gray (shaved), and the highlights are white: pumpkin you keep.
The summary under the preview counts three holes and two bridges. The bridges hold the two highlights, which would otherwise fall out with the eyes. At the default medium size the face prints about 6 × 4.5 inches.
Carving the eyes with their highlights
- Poke the outline of each eye, the highlight inside it and the two edges of the bridge.
- Cut the eye in two parts, one on each side of the bridge, leaving the highlight and the bridge standing.
- Trim round the highlight gently: it is the most delicate part of the face.
If you would rather not carve the highlights, choose Leave as they are under Pieces that would fall out: no bridges are added, the highlights come out with the eyes, and each eye carves as one plain hole.
Cheeks and smile
Shave the cheeks last. Score the oval, then lift the skin in thin layers until the flesh shows, without going deep: the cheeks only need to glow faintly. Cut the smile before the cheeks so you don’t press on the shaved areas while sawing.
For more friendly designs, see the easy stencils and the cat stencils.
The design on this page
| Design | Difficulty | Tones | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cute face | Medium | Cut and shave | More pieces or curves; may need a bridge or a shaved area |
All designs were drawn for this site. Every other design is one click away under All in the picker, and the pumpkin stencil maker also turns photos into stencils.