[Nikki]

Every year it seems as if I carve more and more pumpkins...

This year I'll be carving at least 5.

One is a 'R.I.P' that will sit with my scarecrow of a fallen rocker.
One will be adverstising for my fav band *otep*
2 will be for my work.
And the other is for home. I might just pick up another one since I love Halloween.

What is everyone else carving and how many?

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Ooh, an Otep fan. Awesome. I actually sorta know eViL j. So, what kind of Otep image are you carving up? I had actually started a couple stencil designs last year... of eViL j and Otep herself. I suppose those are some pumpkin patterns you'd be interested in Nikki? Anyone else into Otep?

[sodajazz]

i carve as many as i can or until my wrist refuses to move any more...... thinking if inventing somekind of laser cutting device...... that doesnt cause arthritis

[stormqueen29]

I ususally do mine based on budget. If I'm lucky enough to pick out some not-so-perfect ones from my local co-op again, I'll probably do 10 or 12.

My family and I did 12 last year. All in one day. The kids and I opened and emptied them all, then the kids, hubby and I went back through and carved them. Took us about 5 hours, start to finish. One nice thing, it keep the kids quiet until dark.

I'd like to do at least another dozen this year, we had CROWDS of people stopping by to admire our display last year. Some kids even went home and dragged mom and dad down to see, it was pretty cool.

If I can get my dang-dumb printer working again, I plan to do at least half of mine in ZP patterns this year. I'm glad I found this place. I had two patterns from here I found on other sites, but there are soooo many to choose from now that I've found the source!

Gale

[Dragon]

I usually do around two every year. Last year, I carved only one (Apparently it was a bad year in my area so I couldn't find many at all!). To make up for it, I'm carving three this year.

I'm using the patterns from this site. Orc, Vlad, and Tongue Lashing. It's time I strayed away from the Pumpkin Masters or EZ Halloween patterns.

[Nikki]

Ooh, an Otep fan. Awesome. I actually sorta know eViL j. So, what kind of Otep image are you carving up? I had actually started a couple stencil designs last year... of eViL j and Otep herself. I suppose those are some pumpkin patterns you'd be interested in Nikki? Anyone else into Otep?

Otep=awesome. My design was going to be the bands logo witha small crescent moon and stars. Those stencils sound pretty sweet though!

I'm trying to make a Kurt Cobain pumpkin for my scarecrow haha

[firefly]

looking at doing arount 5-7 going to place them in different parts of the front lawm thats gunna look like a cemetery with headstones and corpse leaving a grave...no one in our area goes out of their way like this so should be a head turner for the kids...

[Nikki]

Wow. That sounds f*****g sweet! Post some pictures of it when it's done I'd love to see it.

[Dans banana Loafcake]

I'm going to do about 18 this year, I find I can save time by pricking the images on the pumpkins a couple of nights before carving, I'm even going to see if I can get away with scooping out the guts the day before to save even more time. I'm guessing I'm going to get through plenty of petrolium jelly (for the pumpkins I mean!) and water to preserve them over night.I think I'll do the easier ones first 'cos they dont degrade as fast, ones like Micheal Myers and Oogie Boogie and leave the more complex ones like Freddie Krugger and Spoonge bob till near when the party actually starts. I've done some already and I'm plannind on posting them this weekend, I just need that damn USB cable!!!


Dan

[Nikki]

Petroleum jelly? To preserve the pumpkins? Wow. Tell me how to do that because often they'll decay too quickly so I can't enjoy them for that long

[Black Talon]

The petroleum jelly basically prevents the cut edges from drying out - especially the very thin spots. You can also spray it down with water, wrap it in plastic wrap and put it in a fridge. Better yet, just fill a big bucket or ice chest with water and soak it in there for a few hours (more dried out = longer soak). That will normally revive it a bit.

[Wedge]

I also heard WD-40 works but I haven't tried that (isn't it flamable). Another way to keep them for awhile is wrap them in plastic wrap before you go to bed and put them in the fridge and take them out at night when you want to display them. If they start to dry out just put them in the bath tub (with water) and they will usually go back to their origianl shape. Also i used lysol this year and it really helps keep the mold from setting in. The fridge method can actually make them last about 2 weeks after they are carved.
Instead to the punching holes method try using carbon paper and just trace the pattern. Your hand wont hurt nearly as bad!
Thats my advice for now. Have fun carving!!!
Wedge

[Nikki]

I bought 2 more pumpkins and it worked out perfectly.

I'll deffinitley use the soaking method. And I'll actually put saran wrap on my pumpkins. Don't know why I never thought of that before. Normally my family just put them on a plate in the fridge until the next day when night fell.

Awesome. I shall try that!

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Petroleum jelly? To preserve the pumpkins? Wow. Tell me how to do that...

Yea, petroleum jelly works wonders. Highly recommend it, if you want your pumpkin carving to look fresh for more than a day or two. I bought a large size container of some generic Vaseline type from the drug store, and its' served me well. (only for pumpkins, that is).

It's a little messy, but the process is simple. Just use your finger (or Q-tip for smaller areas) to coat the cut edges of your design. You can read about that (step #10) and more on my Terrifying Tips page.

[Dragon]

Am I the only one who coats the entire inside of the pumpkin after applying it to the cut parts of the design? I slap on those 'medical' gloves, get a big healthy goop of vaseline, and then coat the inside of the glove by running my hand around the inside.