Mothers Day Gift Ideas: Edible Centerpiece

"Make life a little sweeter with . . . "   Edible Centerpieces -- you know the ones I'm talkin' about.  I've always thought they were really pretty, but at the same time I knew I would never fork out that much money for . . . fruit.  But we're all creative people here, right?  Haven't you seen those ads and thought, "I could make that!" ?  Seriously.  It's so easy and it make an impressive, inexpensive {and delicious}Mothers Day brunch centerpiece or gift.

To begin you need to pick your fruit.  I just bought what was on sale at my local grocery store this week -- a pineapple {$1.00}, a honeydew melon {$2.00}, a pound of strawberries {$1.00}, and red grapes {$1.77/ pound}.  So I was able to create this arrangement for about $6.00 and have enough leftover fruit for a small fruit salad for dinner tonight.  Not too shabby!

You will also need a vase and a pack of bamboo skewers.  I found this cute yellow and white striped vase at Goodwill for about $1.00.  It's actually from Edible Arrangements.  I can almost always find their vases at thrift stores when I go.  You can use any container you choose.  To weigh down my vase and help the skewers to stand I just filled it about 2/3 full of dry rice.  {It's cheap, it works and it's what I had on hand.}

To prepare your fruit:

Slice your pineapple into 1/2" thick slices and use a cookie cutter to cut out flower-shaped pieces.  Insert a skewer into each one until it sticks securely in the core at the center of the flower.  Be careful not to push it all the way through so you don't have spikes sticking out of your finished arrangement.  Lay flat on a paper towel to absorb some of the excess juice.

Cut half of your melon into 3/4" thick slices.  I used a crinkle cutter to add some interesting texture, but a regular knife would get the job done.  Remove the rind with a knife and skewer each piece lengthwise.  Lay on a paper towel while you finish cutting your other fruit.

Use a melon baller to make round pieces out of the other half of your melon.  Put 3 or 4 melon balls on each skewer and lay on paper towel.

Skewer washed grapes and strawberries in the same manner. 

Arrange your fruit by trimming the ends of the skewers to desired length and pushing them down into the rice in your vase.  Try to distribute the fruits evenly throughout the arrangement and hide the skewers as much as possible.

Once you have things arranged to your liking, store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve it.  I probably wouldn't make it more than a few hours in advance.  I'm not really sure how well it will hold up long-term.  My kids thought this was the greatest after-school snack of all time yesterday.  I love that something so simple can completely brighten your day.  Wouldn't you love to wake up to this next Sunday morning or place it at the center of your Mothers Day brunch buffet?  I'm also thinking of Fathers Day and summer picnics. Birthday breakfasts.  Thinking-of-You gifts for my friends . . . the ideas are endless!

Check out all the previous gift ideas:  Giant Fortune Cookies, Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products, Sugar Hand Scrub, and Printable Note Cards.  Join me tomorrow for some of my favorite brunch recipes to serve to mom on her special day!

I'll be linking this project up here: