Patch Masters - Bringing Halloween to Denmark one soul at a time.

Pumpkins: Since pumpkins are readily available in Denmark and it's getting very popular to have a carved pumpkin on display in the front of your house this is as good a place as any to start. I'm going to divide this section into sections for easier reference. Along with a special sections for those little goblins & ghouls that are still too young to handle sharp objects.

How to pick the right pumpkin: It's important when picking a pumpkin that you know what you are looking for. As I have seen way too many people in Denmark shopping with a green or molding pumpkin in their shopping cart I think it's important to give you a few tips on how to tell a soggy old pumpkin from a fresh ripe pumpkin. Adults, use the same kind of care choosing the right pumpkin for you as you would a spouse; no one wants an oozing blob sitting in the corner smelling up the place :)

The preferred size and shape of pumpkins is completely up to the individual person. The pumpkin should be a nice healthy shade of orange, it can have a bit of green on it but not too much as this is a sign that the pumpkin isn't ripe and will be harder to carve and will need the insides scraped thoroughly until the meat of the pumpkin is about 1 inch thick. Your pumpkin can have some scars or a lot if you like but your pattern won’t sit very well on a pumpkin that could have been Pinhead (Hellraiser) in its previous life. It's EXTREMELY important never to buy a pumpkin that has any soft spots or is growing mold; these pumpkins won’t last the week after carving. Make sure your pumpkin has a nice smooth area for carving, the bigger the area the larger pattern you'll be able to do.

Preparation: The second most common mistake with Jack-o-Lanterns in Denmark is the preparation of the pumpkins and the idea that you need to stick to the basic elementary shapes while carving and that you need to use big knives and garden tools.

Best tools for the job: Small sharp knives or saws for pumpkin carving, a thumbtack or a thick needle, tape, paper, scissors, pen or pencil & either a spoon or pumpkin shovel for gutting.

Gutting: First you need to cut or saw a hole through the top of the pumpkin. I usually saw a pumpkin shape around the stem with the "stem" of the pumpkin shape towards the back to show you which way to turn your top. Cut the hole at a \ / inward angle; so that as your pumpkins undead state begins to fade the top wont accidentally fall in. Make sure the hole is big enough to get your hand in while holding a candle or a pumpkin light.

Reach your hand in the pumpkin and start pulling out the "guts". Just like with embalming a mummy, first all internal organs must come out. Luckily for you, you just gave your pumpkin a lobotomy and don't need to slowly pull out all brain matter from the nose. Once most of the stringy bits of pumpkin and seeds have been extracted, take a spoon or pumpkin shovel and start scraping the inside of the pumpkin getting it as smooth as possible. Level out the little "hill" in the bottom so your candle or light will sits lower and flat, continue scraping the walls until they are about 1 inch thick. Cut off the stringy pieces of pumpkin from the bottom of your “top”.

Pattern: The nicest "Jacks" are ones that have been done with patterns, you can buy or make patterns yourself, later you'll be able to buy them from us but for now you'll have to settle with making your own. Draw whatever you want (simpler is easier though) onto a piece of paper of appropriate size for the pumpkin of your choice. Make sure that you leave spaces between some of the design. Example: instead of a B you would make a I3 This is hard to explain if you have never seen a pumpkin pattern so here's a picture of a pumpkin I’ve done in the past. The picture is copyrighted to Thomas Buchberg so you MUST get authorization from him to use it. To contact him click on the picture and a browser will open to his site.

Pay particular attention to the fingers, horses head and the hooves along with the pumpkin in the stencil to see what I mean. Without these pieces intact the design would not remain a part of the pumpkin.

Taping your pattern to the pumpkin: Cut the patterns edges making sure not to cut too close to your design. In some areas you may have to cut through your design to get it to fit on the pumpkin better. Tape the pattern on to the surface of the pumpkin as flat as possible.

How to Transfer the pattern to your pumpkin: Take your thumbtack or large needle and poke along the lines in your design. Once all lines have been poked into you pumpkin remove the paper. If the design is hard to see then you can take a bit on flour and rub it onto the design on the pumpkin making all the little holes white.

Preserving: Now that you’re done carving your pumpkin the only thing left to do is light it up with a tea candle or pumpkin light and try to preserve your pumpkin for as long as possible. There are many different ways of doing this, some I have tried some I haven’t, but I will tell you what has worked best for me in the past. Every pumpkin is different and some things work better then others.

Drying out: Since you have taken all the insides out of the pumpkin and created many air holes your pumpkin is prone to drying out. Some people recommend that you smear Vaseline on your pumpkin to try and maintain moisture. I haven’t tried this one myself as of yet but it can’t hurt to try. I recommend though keeping your pumpkin wet. You can do this several different ways. One is to pour water on your pumpkin during the day; however this year I filled up the bathtub with ice cold water and put the pumpkins in it during the day. This seemed to work very well and my pumpkins have lasted 2½ weeks. No matter which method you use try and keep your pumpkins in a cool shady place during the day time. And pray to whatever god(s) that Denmark gets snow thus putting your pumpkin in the optimal morgue like environment.

Mold: Another common problem with any fresh produce is mold. The only thing you can do is apply rubbing alcohol/sprit over the area that’s molding, after a few minutes rinse the area off with cold water and hope for the best. This isn’t a fool proof method, normally once a pumpkin starts molding you have a few days left to enjoy your new friend and then say goodbye.

Soft Squishy Pumpkin: I’m sorry but there is nothing to prevent your pumpkin from going on to his next life. The only thing you can do is enjoy him for a little while longer and then take him out to the compost heap. Keep in mind your pumpkins last show will be to fall apart as you carry him, covering you in a pumpkin slime before hitting the ground in a splat that will leave you wanting to just let his final resting place be on the way to the compost heap rather than the actual compost.

Little Ghouls & Goblins: In this area I will be tackling what your little monsters that are too small for sharp objects can do instead. I want to point out though that you should never underestimate children. My youngest niece is 5 and she is able to carve pumpkins. Also this year my husbands little cousin who is 6 carved his first pumpkin with a stencil and actually won a local carving contest for his age group so I repeat, NEVER underestimate children. Sometimes they mess up and carve out something that shouldn’t be there, J and sometimes things that actually should, but remember that’s no big deal. Sometimes they need a lot of help, but this is after all a family activity, your little monster will have fun and you’ll have a pumpkin that you can proudly say that they carved themselves. If you want to see pictures to prove what kids can do go to our Gallery.

Coloring & Painting: One of the most common things to do with your tiny monsters is to color or paint baby pumpkins. These can easily be found at any greenhouse in your area around Halloween time. In the picture to the right you can see my youngest niece Beth carving a pumpkin with the help of The Pumpkin Nanny (my mother) but if you look behind her you will also see markers for coloring on baby pumpkins. Remember if you color with markers that washable will wash off in the rain/snow. If you choose to paint then you can use many different paints. Also you can cut out a stencil, tape it on and paint a stencil on your pumpkin. To do this get a sponge and put a tiny bit of paint on it then dab the stencil being careful not to twist the sponge on the pumpkin because that will make the paint smear underneath.

Costumes: Another common thing to do is make costumes for your pumpkin out of felt, pinning them on your pumpkin using sewing pins. Let your imagination wander and just go wild, don’t forget you can decorate your pumpkins using cotton spider web, glitter and anything else you think might look good.