baby shower fruit salad

i'm not going to lie. this thing took a ridiculous amount of time. it is work but it turned out amazingly well.

if you are hosting a baby shower, you too can spend your afternoon making one of these lovely cantelope babies. you'll feel like you gave birth and you really won't want anyone to eat the fruit. make a fruit salad to go alongside this and you won't feel so bad.

how to make a cantelope baby:

1) start with the watermelon. before you cut, put your watermelon on a flat surface and see where it wants to settle naturally. make this the bottom of your baby carriage. cut the long side first about 2/3 of the way down the melon and then meet it from the top down. using a melon baller, round out watermelon balls and place in a large bowl. as you get to the watermelon rind, use a large spoon to completely clean out the watermelon flesh. discard any extra watermelon. note: as my watermelon was being cut, it tore where i had cut it. i used toothpicks to secure the corners where i had cut and later placed ribbons to hide any imperfections.

2) work with the cantelope. i used a paring knife and started making small cuts around the cantelope until i had removed all the rind and the green portion of the cantelope. i then further shaped the melon ball to make it look more like a round head. you'll also want to place the cantelope in the watermelon to make sure it fits properly and doesn't look too big. i had to trim my cantelope head down to size to fit better in the watermelon.

4) find two small grapes of equal size. using toothpicks, poke holes where the eyes should be and attach the grapes to the toothpicks, securing them into the cantelope "head." 

5) using a melon baller, create two balls of cantelope. secure with toothpicks where the should be ears. use a third cantelope ball and cut it down to a smaller size to create the nose. attach the nose with a toothpick as well.

6) using a small knife, cut a small hole in the cantelope to create the mouth. insert the pacifier.

7) using a melon baller, create more balls of fruit out of another cantelope and a honeydew. place in a large bowl. add some grapes removed from their stems and some berries. mix well. put a small amount of fruit in the bottom of the watermelon. place the "head" in on top of a small portion of fruit. fill in the remainder of the watermelon bowl with the mixed fruit. all extra fruit can be placed in a large bowl to create a more user friendly fruit salad.

8) cut small bunches of green and red grapes. place the watermelon on a large platter. place the green and red grapes around the watermelon completely circling the watermelon bowl. continue this process with strawberries and add blackberries and blueberries to completely fill in the space.

9) using a small paring knife, cut two kiwis into halves using a zig-zag pattern in a circle through the middle of the fruit. separate the fruit and use each half as one of the watermelon "wheels". 

10) create some ribbon bows to place in the corners of the watermelon. 

11) place any extra fruit in a large bowl to create an accompanying fruit salad. 

12) post pictures. you will be as proud as a new mama!