If I might make a suggestion, for all those that transfer, in advance - consider using a pounce wheel
http://www.micromark.com/3-piece-pounce ... ,6668.html. This set is a little pricey, but you can get individual pounce tools for less than $9.
They're used for transfering drawings from paper, to other mediums (usually wood), but work fantastically on pumpkins. They basically make tiny pinholes in the surface of the pumpkin (not more than 1/32 - 1/16 of an inch, depending on the wheel size), that don't fade, wash off, or cause the pumpkin to dry out. What I do, is print out the stencil, tape it to the surface of the pumpkin, trace the stencil with the pounce wheel, and then play connect the dots, with a grease pencil. Since the spacing between the teeth is quite small, there's no guess work as to the pattern.
It's really the same amount of work as using the saral paper, but because the pounce wheel is a tool, it never needs to be replaced - just a one time purchase, and like I said, it doesn't fade, wash off, or any other problems you might encounter.
-Fred
