Wow Them! How to Carve a Watermelon Basket

Are you going to a cookout, picnic, or family get together this Memorial Day weekend?

I thought I would share something fun and easy to do that always wows everyone!

A watermelon basket filled with beautiful, colorful, fruit.

Here are the 4 steps that are easy to follow.

How to Carve a Watermelon Basket!Step 1 – Place watermelon width-wise on a flat surface.  Roll melon until it settles into a position where it remains stable or cut a thin slice from the bottom to provide stability.  As shown, use strips of masking tape to mark lines of handle and rim of basket.

How to carve a watermelon basket.Step 2 – With a sharp knife, cut outline of handle, using outside edges of masking tape as a guide.  To make a scallop template, cut out a paper circle with scissors.  (The size of the melon determines the size of the circle.  The watermelon shown is small so the circle used is relatively small.)  Fold circle in half and cut along fold.  Starting on either side of handle, place the straight edge of one paper semicircle on top edge of masking tape that forms rim.  With a sharp pencil, trace a row of scallops along rim, stopping just before reaching ends of melon.  At each end, draw remaining scallop freehand, connecting the gap.

Step 3 – Using a sharp knife, cut into the watermelon along the scalloped pencil lines.  Next, cut a large wedge from the area on both sides of the handle, leaving about an inch above the scalloped rim.  Remove wedge, inserting knife behind the scallops, cut straight down into the melon close to the rind, cutting deep enough to release top part of rim.  Lift and discard.

How to carve a watermelon basket.Step 4 – Remove masking tape.  Scoop out watermelon from rind.  For a fruit basket, add a mixture of fresh fruit combined with watermelon cut into one-inch cubes or melon balls. I have never been able to make the watermelon balls so I always cut into cubes.

The finished look is really awesome.

Happy Holiday weekend, now go wow everyone with your carving talents!

 

 

Our New Swimming Pool!

Summer is beginning and the temperatures in Ohio are rising!  Near 90 this weekend.

As I have mentioned before, we are on a budget, and really cannot afford to waste money, but we wanted a pool to sit by, have a few drinks, and cool off.  Well, today we found it!

It is a round one, above ground, and very colorful!

Here it is…………………………………..

A beach ball sprinkler!  Our swimming pool!Don’t you just love it?

We have plans to sit in our lounge chairs, with our pool in the center, spraying us, and keeping us cool.

We can move it here and there, and it is low maintenance too!

We are not young but we are so excited with our purchase.  Who says it’s just for kids!  We will always be young at heart.

Oh, did I mention the price?  It was $12.88 at Wal-Mart.

Just blow it up, and add the hose to it!

What fun!  I think I will get a new beach towel, and maybe a new swimsuit.

What do you think?

I bet you are putting your shoes on right now and heading to Wal-Mart!

Happy summer, stay cool!

Remember………..

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This is How my Garden Grows!

I spent my entire day outside in my yard.

There really is something so peaceful about working in the dirt with plants.

Old Garden GlovesMy garden gloves look as tired as I am right now!

I potted flowers today, some are really beautiful.  Take a look!

Air FernThis is a fern, so light and airy, in fact it is called an “air fern”.

DahliaThis is a larger variety of dahlia.  So beautiful!

Hoya PlantThis is an indoor plant called Hoya. I have brought it outside now that the weather is warm.  I pampered it all winter.  I can see it loves the warm weather as much as I do!  It is really growing.

Flowering Shrub This is a flowering bush that has been in my yard for years.  Sorry, I do not know the name.

Vinca VineThis is a vinca vine.  It comes back and multiplies every year.  I love the variegated look.

RhododendronsMy rhododendrons are blooming, so happy that they made it through the really harsh winter.

GeraniumAnd finally geraniums, I potted many today, to put here and there.

Hope you enjoyed the stroll around my yard.

Time for this old lady to get a shower and a nap!

See you all tomorrow!  Be happy, and get outside if you can.

When I write in my journal tonight I will write how thankful I am for this fun working day!

 

5 – Minute Birdbath!

On my post from Saturday, I told everyone about my stacks and stacks of old magazines that I was sorting through. I shared some ideas and articles, well, here is one that I tried today.  It is from a Country Gardens magazine article from 2001.

5-Minute BirdbathThis is so simple, after you get the correct size pots, it actually takes less the 5 minutes to assemble.  Here is the one that I made today!

5-Minute BirdbathThe article suggests using one 16″ and one 12″ pot for the base.  I already had a 10″ and 12″, so I used those and just had to buy the large saucer, which is 12″, found at Home Depot.

So simple and I love the terra-cotta look.

All I need now is to add water and wait for some visitors to stop by for a drink!

Hope you take 5 minutes and have fun putting one of these in your garden!

 

A Perfect Day to Blow Bubbles!

Finally, a beautiful day!

In the upper 60’s today and full sunshine.

I have been wanting, once again in my life, to work on “Bubble Art”.

So much fun for kids on a sunny day and a project that will certainly be welcomed this summer.

Bubble Art

Bubble Art

All you need is a bottle of bubbles, with wand, some food coloring, and paper.  I used pastel food colors. but the primary colors would be more vibrant.

Bubble Art!I put around three tablespoons of bubbles, with a few drops of food coloring, in small bowls.  You can experiment with the amounts for the look you want.

Simply blow bubbles on the paper.  As the bubbles pop, they create fascinating works of art.  The designs that you get are really awesome.  The bubbles hit the paper in so many different ways which causes all the many designs.

I used a $1.00 pack of children’s watercolor paper (Target).  It works best and dries faster.

Pick a warm sunny day so the kids can do this outside, since the food coloring stains.

The works of art could be framed, and given as gifts, I used an inexpensive frame from Michael’s Crafts that already came with the mat.

A child's framed "bubble art".You might even have the kids sign the right hand corner of their original artwork before framing for a really special touch.

How proud your kids or grandchildren will be if their artwork is framed and displayed for all to see and enjoy!

You could also use some of the bubble art to make note cards.  I cut the sheets in half and folded over to make the cards, that simple!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERATie with ribbon, add some envelopes, and you have another sweet gift using the kid’s artwork.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAYou could also use any cut off pieces to make gift tags, or bookmarks, again a gift made from your kid’s bubble art.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAI stamped sayings on the samples above, but the kids could print something on the tags making them extra special.

This is a kid’s art project, but the fun I had doing this today made me realize that I may never grow up!

Go outside and blow some bubbles and be a kid again!

Another Rainy Day!

This has been a gloomy weather week.

On and off rain, storms, and dark skies, only a little sunshine now and then.

Too wet to work outside so I decided to go to my long list of “things to do”, picking this as the one to work on today……..

Stacks of old magazines.I have mentioned my love of old books, especially children’s, well, it probably won’t surprise you that I also love magazines.

There are so many stacks in my basement that it really is getting out of control. I feel like one of those folks you see on the show “Hoarders”!  If you have never seen the show it is about folks that never throw anything away to an extreme!

I started early with my cup of coffee in hand, sat down and began what turned out to be such an adventure.  I found magazines dating back over 20 years.

As I paged through each one I found really amazing articles, craft ideas, recipes, and gardening tips. It was as if I had found a buried treasure!

Golden Books!There was a wonderful article about Golden Books in an old Mary Engelbreit’s, Home Companion, dated 2001.

Golden Books!Golden Books!Found yummy recipes, this one from a Country Living, 2004 magazine.

Chocolate Carmel Cream PieI sorted, and went through each one in my stack, deciding to clip out the articles, pictures, etc., that I just had to save.  I now have a stack of clippings to organize, but that’s for another time!

I only managed to get through about 1/3 of my first batch.  I guess I will wait for another day I think it’s going to rain to get through the next stack!

That reminds me of a song that I love, “I Think it’s Going to Rain Today”, by Randy Newman, it really is so good, take a listen.  It is being sung by Norah Jones.

Enjoy!

“Jenny’s Potatoes”

Today I am sharing a potato recipe, “Jenny’s Potatoes”.

Potato recipe!  Yummy!I call it that because Jenny gave me the recipe!

I never make anything fancy, only simple recipes that are deliciously good, and easy to make.

Ingredients:

8 or 9 potatoes (boiled)

1lb. American Cheese (I have used Colby)

1 medium onion (chopped)

1/2 lb bacon (cooked) crisp

1 medium jar of olives (I do not add the olives, Jenny likes them, I do not!)

1 cup mayonnaise

Directions:

Boil potatoes in skins, peel and chop, cube cheese, chop onions, and mix these with the mayonnaise.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Put in a 9 x 13 pan, I use a glass one!

Slice olives on top, crumble bacon on top.

Bake at 350 degrees, covered 20 minutes, uncovered 30 minutes.

Serves: Lots!

Hope you try this recipe, you won’t be disappointed.

So good with burgers.  Yummy!

Enjoy!

Broken Pots!

Been working in my yard planting a few flowers here and there!

I am not the most knowledgeable gardener but, I love flowers, and the color they bring to a home and yard.

When going through my little “potting bench” getting ready for the new one my son is working on for me, I had a stack of broken clay pots.  Not all of them were really bad, some had cracks, some missing just the bottom, so this is what I came up with to still use them.

What you can do with a broken flower pot.I planted this pot partially in the ground with the broken side down, and added plants to the soil as if the pot is on it’s side.  I love the look in my little garden.

I used this one in a somewhat shaded area using a begonia and a vine.  It should be beautiful as it grows.  I will give you an update in a few weeks.

If you have some broken pots, why not try this idea instead of throwing them away!

So simple!

Happy Gardening!

 

“Happy Mother’s Day to my Mom”

Today is Mother’s Day and I want to wish all mothers a blessed day.

This is my beautiful Mom, now in heaven.

Happy Birthday Mom!I love this photo of her on one of her last birthdays.

I decided to use this photo because I know that she is celebrating Mother’s Day, hopefully with a yummy piece of cake, with her mother today.  How I miss my mother and grandmother.

Let me share my thoughts, regrets, and memories,

  • Why didn’t I spend more time with you, I would give everything for one more day with you!
  • I miss calling you and hearing you say “Hi Sweetie”, and closing every call with “I love you”.
  • Why did I argue politics with you?  So silly!  The anxiety it brought to both of us was not worth a moment of our time together.
  • Oh, why didn’t I appreciate the First Communion dress you made me by hand. So many tiny, perfect stitches made with love, but at the time I wanted one with all the lace and ruffles other little girls had.  Forgive me.
  • Miss our craft days together.  You always helped me and supported me when I thought I could make a ton of money at the next craft fair.  Those days always started with you making breakfast for us.  I miss the smell of biscuits, gravy, bacon, and eggs, when you opened the door of your apartment.
  • I remember coming home from school to a clean house and you standing ironing, whether for us or for others, to make a little extra money for us.
  • If I close my eyes I can almost feel your hugs.  How I wish you were here to give me one today!

Mother I have learned enough now

To know I have learned nearly nothing.

On this day

When mothers are being honored,

Let me thank you

That my selfishness, ignorance, and mockery

Did not bring you to

Discard me like a broken doll

Which had lost its favor.

I thank you that

You still find something in me

To cherish, to admire, and to love,

I thank you, Mother.

I love you.

Maya Angelou – A Cradle to Hold Me

Happy Mother’s Day, to my sweet, loving Mother, all she ever wanted was to be a Mother and Grandmother.

Love you “Sweetie”.