1. Select pumpkins that are vert fresh and firm. Avoid choosing a pumpkin that has bruised or soft areas or cuts or other visible blemishes.

2. Remember that warm weather and hot sunlight can speed decay in a pumpkin. If you live in a hot climate be sure to store your uncut pumpkins in a cool spot  and wait to carve them until a day or two before Halloween.

3. Heat from electric lightbulbs and candles can also contribute to the early demise of a pumpkin. Try cutting a hole in the top of the pumpkin, allowing heat to escape.

4. Try Covering all cut edges of a pumpkin, as well as the entire interior, with petroleum jelly or vaseline. This will reduce moisture loss and keep a pumpkin looking fresh longer.

5. Or try soaking your pumpkin before and after carving in a bleach and water mixture to keep mold from growing.

6. Or try spraying carved pumpkins with acrylic finish spray. The spray is intended to seal the pumpkin flesh, preventing dehydration and acting as a barrier to mold growth.

7. The best known method I’ve heard is to spray/treat your carved pumpkin with ‘Pumpkin Fresh.’ This unique product has a breakthough formula that fights mold, rot and decay. Its biodegradeable and eco friendly. Available for purchase Here. – Taryn Cox for The Wife

Encyclopedia of the Exquisite, by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins, will be published by Nan A. Talese/Doubleday on November 2, 2010. Taking a cue from the exotic encyclopedias of the 16th century, which brimmed with mysterious artifacts, it focuses on the elegant, the rare, the commonplace and the delightful. A compendium of luxury that merges whimsy and practicality, the book traipses through all the fine arts, showcasing every sphere of style: fashion, food, travel, home, garden and beauty.

In the spirit of renewing old sources of beauty, and using an anecdotal approach, each entry proffers an array of engaging stories. Among them: the explosive history of champagne; the art of lounging on a divan; the emergence of “frillies,” the first lacy, racy lingerie; the luxe legend of sweet-smelling saffron; the riot incited by the appearance of London’s first top hat; Julia Child’s tip for cooking the perfect omelet; the polarizing practice of wearing red lipstick during WWII; Louis XIV’s fondness for the luscious Bartlett pear; the Indian origin of badminton; Europe’s 17th century false beauty mark fad; the evolution of the Japanese kimono; the pilgrimage of Central Park’s Egyptian obelisk; and the thrill of dining alfresco.

Encyclopedia of the Exquisite is a lifestyle guide for the Francophile and the Anglomaniac, the gourmet and the style maven, the armchair traveler and the art-lover. It’s an homage to the esoteric world of glamour that doesn’t require much spending, but makes us feel rich.

For Directions on how to make your own do it yourself Pumpkin Glitter Candles Click Here

Images and Idea: Twig and Thistle

Image from: Twig and Thistle