How to Compost Your Pumpkin

"Angry old man" by sethtex, via Flickr

It's been a week now since Halloween, and chances are, that once-gorgeous Jack-o-lantern is starting to look more like refuse than decoration.  Loathe as I am to suggest doing anything to dissipate the lingering Halloween spirit, it may, in fact, be time to get rid of your pumpkins.  Luckily, The Daily Green has some useful tips on how to compost pumpkins so that they don't go to waste.

Our Front Steps

That's Daphne on our front steps, getting ready for Halloween!

Mockingjay Pumpkin Template

If you feel the need to alert the neighbors that you not only love Halloween but also adolescent death matches, then check out this awesome Hunger Games-themed jack-o-lantern by So Geek Chic!

[Via The Mary-Sue]

It's Decorative Gourd Season

Leave it to McSweeney's to provide some delightfully twisted commentary on the Halloween season.  When it comes to ringing in the season with something strange, Colin Nissan's "It's Decorative Gourd Season, Motherfuckers" is about as good as it gets:

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to get my hands on some fucking gourds and arrange them in a horn-shaped basket on my dining room table. That shit is going to look so seasonal. I’m about to head up to the attic right now to find that wicker fucker, dust it off, and jam it with an insanely ornate assortment of shellacked vegetables. When my guests come over it’s gonna be like, BLAMMO! Check out my shellacked decorative vegetables, assholes. Guess what season it is—fucking fall. There’s a nip in the air and my house is full of mutant fucking squash.

Oh, yes. This shit just got real.

Black & White Pumpkins

Chica and Jo

I've been seeing a lot of beautiful black and white pumpkins recently, such as this awesome zentangle pumpkin by Chica and Jo.

If the crazy zentangle designs are a bit too complex for you, here's a tutorial for cute, simple Missoni-inspired zigzag pumpkins!

It seems that painting the pumpkins white, so to speak, gives decorators a whole new lease on the idea of pumpkin as canvas.  You can go simple, with monochromatic polka-dots or monograms, or you can try a little tromp-l'oeil, or you can create black and white toile patterns using Modge Podge and patterned paper napkins.  All these designs look elegant while still capturing a kind of Tim Burton strangeness that is so essential to Halloween.

Altern-o-Lanterns

Photo by Arbitror, via Instructables

 If you're worried about the pumpkin shortage this year, the Hairpin has a round-up of pumpkin alternatives, including the reasonable squash, the adorable apple, and the slightly more ridiculous grape and tomato.

Gilded Pumpkins

Redbook

I love these gilt pumpkins from Redbook!  And if, like me, you're attracted to anything shiny, be sure to check out Good Housekeeping's slideshow of DIY decorating ideas for a bedazzled Halloween.

And in case I haven't mentioned it (or you somehow failed to notice it), the Good Housekeeping Halloween Central is worth checking out for a variety of Halloween-centric tips and projects from all the magazines in the Good Housekeeping family.

How To Hang Onto Your Pumpkins

No, that title isn't a euphemism.

With some people warning about pumpkin shortages this year and advocating early pumpkin shopping, this advice on how to keep your pumpkins fresh may come in very useful, especially if, like me, you can't wait to get started on your Halloween decorating.

Oh, No! A Pumpkin Shortage!

"pumpkin farm" by sevenblock, via Flickr

The Washington Post is reporting that, as a result of Hurrican Irene, much of the Northeast may experience a pumpkin shortage.  It seems that the storm destroyed a lot of crops, which may drive up the price of pumpkins or cause avid decorators and parents of young children to fight to the death over seasonal squash.

[Via Jezebel]

Face Pumpkins

In response to the troubling trend of portrait Jack-o-lanterns I have been noticing in seasonal craft magazines . . .

 

 Via BoingBoing

Last Year's Pumpkins

Daphne examines last year's pumpkins