Pumpkin Carving 2012!
 

Hey y'all! I was wondering--how soon is too soon to carve our pumpkins? When do y'all usually do them? I don't want to do it too early and have them rot, but I'm just so excited!

I figured I'd start a thread so we can all discuss and share pics!!!
:pumpkin-icon:I'd love to see your designs!:pumpkin-icon:

Also, what do yall do with the fillings? Anyone have creative use of the pumpkin "guts"? I love roasting the pumpkin seeds with some cayenne and salt!! Yum!

I wouldn't carve them yet... They will be rotten by Halloween :( We carved them earlier last year and they were all droopy and rotted by Halloween. This year, we might do them a week before at the earliest.

I like to cook the seeds... Yummy!

Oh, boo! I'm sooo impatient...lol! We got a lot of pumpkins of varying sizes and I plan to paint some of them, like I saw in a Lowe's ad. so I'll probably do that to hold me over til carving time. ;)

:pumpkin-icon: I don't carve, just set them on my porch and on the lawn in groupings. I have about 24 lifesize, fake pumpkins for decorating the house inside - some quite large. I also have a fake black crow, hissing big black cat that stands on the top of one of the big pumpkins & a big tarantula and Tibbe LOVES to bark the cat out often. I usually put a very big pumpkin near the base of the big TV in the den and plop the cat down on top of it. Tibbe hate this! He keeps trying to topple the cat off but won't get close enough to do it.

:pumpkin-icon: Today we went for a walk and one of the neighbors put out a small skeleton only about 36" high all by itself in the yard up near their porch - nothing big or showy but not there before today. Tibbe had to stop and bark going up the block and stop and bark coming back down during our walk. He definitely disagrees with that change that nobody asked him about. Just looked at me while he was barking and then back at the skeleton so earnestly. He really got his tiny nose out of joint over that bony guy! I can't imagine what he's going to do as everybody starts to decorate and put out their pumpkins and bushels of hay, scarecrows, maybe more & larger skeletons, ghosts and such. Walking is going to go very slow and be very loud for the rest of the month! A lot of people hang those ghosty looking things from tree limbs and I just know Tibbe isn't going to like those blowing around one bit! :pumpkin-icon:

I love the painted ones. Might do some of that on the real ones outside!

The painted ones can last for months as long as they aren't in the sunlight. I had one painted one that lasted 11 months! I bought it painted, so I don't know the true age. Carved pumpkins will only last a day or two, and you can refrigerate them to last a little longer. Some people suggest soaking them in ice water or spraying with bleach solution, but I found that only thing that helped was refrigeration. If you want to do an elaborate carving, maybe one the craft pumpkins would be the way to go, they last forever and many look real. I’m with CouversMom baked pumpkin seeds are delish!

Oh that has some cute ideas, I love the black ones!

Lol! Poor Tibbe, come halloween he will be a nervous wreck hehe. Keep him away from the trick or treaters :p

If you spray paint the outside of the pumpkin, do you think its still safe to eat the insides? I wonder if the paint molecules would absorb through the skin. They are pretty thick though.

I would think it's safe, but usually carving pumpkins aren't that good to eat, except for the seeds. There are special pumpkins made for pie filling that are said to be tastier.

We always do ours the second weekend.

Ours are usually painted or just top skin removed.

Second weekend we have a family carving annual party.

We always carve our pumpkins :) my roommate guts them and cooks the seeds and i carve them. heres the pumpkin i did last year.

I love the idea of painted pumpkins, so cute!

Very cute and appropriate lol :) I wanna do a hello kitty pumpkin! I loooove hk so much.

LOL well Lilo was stitch last year so it just made sense what to carve. this years going to be a pain to carve if i stay on her halloween theme.... A hello kitty pumpkin would be soo cute!
make sure to post pics.