[mesmark]

I guess it depends on how cold it is there and where you can store them. Also, you are just needing them to look good for the day. So, ... maybe 3-4 days in advance would be OK.

I think as long as you aren't leaving them out in the sun to heat up or putting a candle in them and making a nice warm bacteria bath, they should last 5 days to a week, but I've never tried that long.

[CorpseBride]

I generally start on my kins 1-2 weeks before Halloween. I have come up with a fantastic (though time consuming) method that preserves my kins very well. It works for my climate anyways. I have to run right now but if anyone is curious on how I get them to last so long let me know and I can type it out for ya when I get back online

This year I plan to transfer in advance to save some time during the carving crunch.

[Euri]

Hope the hairspray works for you, Ajax. I've never had a problem since I've started using it.

But someone clue me in here. Whenever I've transferred the pattern with Saral I usually carve right away. But I can't see what difference it makes if you wait or get right to it as far as the pattern rubbing off. Wouldn't it be as likely to rub off either way?? Maybe I'm just too addicted to my hairspray.

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

But someone clue me in here. Whenever I've transferred the pattern with Saral I usually carve right away. But I can't see what difference it makes if you wait or get right to it as far as the pattern rubbing off.

Oh, right. I mentioned that I transfer with Saral and then carve right away, but I didn't meant to imply that it does anything to affect whether the transfer lines could rub off. I just meant... I usually do the whole carving process in one sitting. I often don't even know what I want to carve until the last minute. So when the 11th hour arrives before Halloween, I say to myself... better start gutting, transferring and carving!

[Euri]

Okay, I'll go with that.

But now I'm trying to wrap my mind around you quickly gutting and carving at the eleventh hour before Halloween not knowing what you'll carve till then.

Which makes me think: Ryan, if you were to request a pattern from yourself, what would your top wish list be? This is ignoring all the zillions of requests you've gotten from others.

[Ajax]

I generally start on my kins 1-2 weeks before Halloween. I have come up with a fantastic (though time consuming) method that preserves my kins very well. It works for my climate anyways. I have to run right now but if anyone is curious on how I get them to last so long let me know and I can type it out for ya when I get back online

This year I plan to transfer in advance to save some time during the carving crunch.

I have about 30 kins and was thinking about starting to gut on friday of next week, hopefully with some help from family. Any advice would be great. I was just thinking about gutting wrapping in saran wrap and leaving them in a cool place. I should have the faces on all of them by next friday, well most i'll leave a couple for last minute patterns .

[Euri]

Whenever I gut in advance I like to give the inside and outside of the kins a good spray of Lysol or Clorox water to help stave off mold cuz that's the worst thing that can happen to a kin before you carve!

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

But now I'm trying to wrap my mind around you quickly gutting and carving at the eleventh hour before Halloween not knowing what you'll carve till then

Oh, that's how it goes. I usually like to have the pumpkins looking their freshest for Halloween night. But to carve the night before is tough because everyone in the world seems to be doing the same thing. Which means I'm answering emails from members in need of help non-stop. It's not until everyone else goes to bed that I can finally start my carving in the wee hours.

Which makes me think: Ryan, if you were to request a pattern from yourself, what would your top wish list be? This is ignoring all the zillions of requests you've gotten from others.

Oh wow, I've never really thought about in those terms. What would I request from myself... well, I have the same tastes as many of you. So the designs that I do to please the requests here often appeal to me too.

I suppose the only time I really indulge my own pattern desires is when I design a pattern to match my Halloween costume. Which often has to be done at the last minute, because I don't always know exactly what my costume will look like when it's all put together.

[Ajax]

Just a thought using a sharpie has to be better and work better then the old poke hole technique we all used for years.

[staticfurball]

I use a sharpie for stenciling, I always have trouble with the poke holes. I cant keep track of the pattern and cut the wrong pieces but with it all oulined for ne I just make sure to cut outside the lins so there is less to wash off.

[monstermash]

I just bought some Sharpies to go over my cheap ancient version of Saral with. Ive used other pens in the past but i fancied seeing what all the Sharpie fuss is.

[Ajax]

I've transferred 16 patterns so far 7 of which are VIPs. Trying to recruit some carvers and gutters for the weekend otherwise I'm not going to get them all done. I think I have 28 pumpkins altogether doubt i'll finish them all but fingers crossed. How many pumpkins should I save Ryan? Just the one each for Evil Ash and Rod Serling?

[Zombie Pumpkins!]

Even I don't know how many more patterns there will be. At least one! Maybe more.

[zombombie]

I have lucky 13 pumpkins at the moment. 10 of which have the pattern on them. 5 of them are gifts for people, but I think my sister is dropping me off one more, maybe 2, for doing one for her nephew this weekend. I'm hoping to have them all carved for my party this Saturday.

The patterns I've gone for so far are... Well, you'll just haev to wait and see

[amandap80]

I gut a few days out. I have gutted 4 days in advance before and never had an issue. This year, our TorT is on Saturday (grrr ). So, I will gut Thursday with the pumpkin gutter, rinse them out with the hose outside, dry them off with a towel and bring them inside to sit in the living room. I then gluestick my paper patterns to the kins and let them dry. The plan is to then carve Friday and Saturday, with a soak for the Friday pumpkins scheduled Saturday AM if any shrivel a bit. Even though TorT is Saturday, I plan to carve all weekend anyway and have freshies for Monday!