We hope you are all enjoying your 4th of July! Yesterday we whipped up a little edible centerpiece in about fifteen minutes and couldn’t wait to eat it (and share the pics with you guys of course):
We were at John’s parent’s house when his mom found the recipe in one of her favorite cookbooks (Pillsbury: The Best Of Classic Cookbooks) and thought it would be a fun little project for us to take on. So we snagged a watermelon along with some pineapple, honeydew melon, cantaloupe, blueberries, and strawberries and got down to business. The first step was cutting off the top third of the watermelon (tip: you may have to even out the edge a bit if your cut isn’t perfect from the get-go; also it’s best to pose like a serial killer):
You may also have to cut a small slice off the bottom of the watermelon to ensure that it sits on the table without wobbling (we skipped that step because ours was miraculously a bit flat on one side). Then you cut out hunks of watermelon (eating a few as you go is mandatory) and hollow it out until it’s about two thirds empty. Here’s John making long criss-cross cuts:
We also took care to thin the sides of the watermelon with a melon-baller for a clean and bowl-like effect, so once we dumped hunks of tasty fruit back in it would look like a little basket of goodies:
Then came the detail work to create a quick little decorative star trio on the front edge. John’s mom happened to have a star-shaped cookie cutter on hand, so we used that along with a toothpick to pierce the watermelon in the five outer corners and four inner corners the of the star so we could remove the cookie cutter and use the holes as a guide to cut out three partial star shapes along the rim:
Then we just filled our patriotic little watermelon back up with fruit for a deeelicious and delectable result.
We also took the liberty of sticking a few small toothpic flags that John’s mom had laying around on the back rim for even more yay-USA flair. Here it is all set out on the middle of John’s parent’s table just waiting for lunch guests to dig in:
John’s parents had some pretty fabulous company so our centerpiece wasn’t just for our enjoyment. My very best friend Cat (who married John’s cousin to become a bona fide family member- as seen here) came over with her hubby Travis and their new baby in tow! Born just five days earlier, Elsa Kelley is a doll. Happy 4th of July little Elsa! Sorry you couldn’t enjoy a bit of fruit with the rest of us.
And our baby got into the 4th of July spirit too. Just look at him hanging out with his red, white, and blue buddy:
Happy 4th to you and yours!
MG says
That watermelon looks great! Thanks for posting!
Sara says
Yum, that looks awesome! Happy fourth!
Mrslimestone says
That is super cute! I’d never be able to cut out such perfect stars without slicing my finger off. Great job.
ronda w says
Such a clever idea, I love it! And I so enjoy your blog, I read it everyday. Keep up the great work.
Lindsay @ Likely Design says
Great job! And it looks so yummy! Happy 4th to you guys!!
Kelly C says
::sigh:: You two are disgustingly cute. So not fair. :)
Lynn Van Slyke says
That is so cool. I love yor blog, so much so that my husband and I have have taken the plunge and bought ourselves a bonafide 1950’s ranch! I posted my pictures on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=671443783&ref=name
How can one dog be so photogenic? He is sooo cute
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Lynn,
Congrats on your 50’s ranch! You’ll have tons of fun putting love and sweat into your new baby and we can’t wait to hear about all the adventures! Good luck…
xoxo,
s (& j)
Connie says
The fruit bowl looks divine. And the baby is simply adorable. I bet you guys couldn’t stop looking at her.
Jill Stigs says
How clever………I would have just cut out the stars from pieces and stuck them on the edge w/toothpicks. Of course if I tried it John’s way, I would probably require a trip to the ER. LOL
OH, that baby is so darn cute. That’s how I got my baby pangs…….seeing my niece and my husband (then boyfriend) holding her.
Have a happy and safe 4th of July youngsters!
Jill
Tenille says
Hey there :0) Im glad you had a happy 4th :0) My husband and i are in escrow for our first house and we are super excited! As a result ive been surfing the web for cute decor and remodeling ideas and am so glad i came across your site! I LOVE all of the ideas!! My husband and i are total ‘do it yourselfers’ as well but im curious if youguys have any construction experience or if you just kinda ‘winged it’ (so to speak?) We have a bunch of do it yourself remodeling books and determination and im hoping thats enough to create a darling home :0)
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Tenille,
Yup, we just learned as we went, and we certainly researched and googled along the way. One important word of advice would be to figure out what you can do yourself (John and I have learned that we’re good at basic demo, plumbing and electrical work) but also to figure out when it makes more sense to call in the experts (for example, a large in-wall pipe project in the bathroom left us calling in an expert and we’re so glad we did). All in all you can usually save money and learn as you go, but sometimes you actually save some dough by knowing when to call in someone who specializes in something if it’s a bit too complicated to avoid a major costly disaster. Hope it helps. Happy home improving!
xo,
s
Princess of Power says
Hey guys! Fun way to do up holiday fruit! Also, I was at Target today and saw these fun little notebooks and thought of Sherry (weird since I do not know you guys at all!) in the school supplies.
http://dontsneezeintothefan.blogspot.com/2009/07/adorable-notebooks.html
Your site is part of my daily routine!
YoungHouseLove says
No. Way.
We were just looking in the office organization aisle at Target that’s full of boxes and bins in that green moorish pattern. We love it!
xo,
s
Christie says
What a great idea, and this actually looks easy!!
I’m usually pretty intimidated by any food projects… so thanks for a great easy idea! I will try this out at our upcoming BBQ with friends :)
Jo says
Hi Guys. On a totally unrelated note, I just wanted to let you know of this fab company I have just discovered – Murchison-Hume. They produce premium organic house cleaning products. Thought you might like to take a look!
Cheers and Happy 4th!
Jo says
Sorry, an addy might be useful!
http://www.murchisonhume.com.au
Lee @ foodie plus 4 says
The fruit looks yummy – we also had some good eats for the holidays. Thanks for sharing all your great decorating ideas.
Katie says
Elsa is soooo cute! What perfect little features. I knew she would be adorable but look at that head of dark hair!??! I totally expected to see a blondie baby! I hope Big Brother Burger behaved himself around her ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Yeah, Burger was on his best chihuahua behavior around our newest family member. I totally expected a blondie too, but Elsa’s dark hair is too cute. She’s the sultry brunette type. Cat had some heartburn in the end of her pregnancy and they say that means you’ll have a baby with lots of hair- looks like that old wive’s tale is true!
xo,
s
Sara says
love it!!! copied you!! tried to upload a pic on your fb page, didn’t work. so sorry!
trina says
I made this on the spur of the moment this 4th of July morning & it turned out great!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, so glad!
xo,
s
Chad says
This has been one of our favorite recipes for years. I think we got it from my mother-in-laws same cook book.