Design Challenge at Common Ground

Debra over at Common Ground has begun a new party called

Design Challenge.

Click on the blog name above to hop on over to offer your design suggestions. Or, click the button on my sidebar to read what Design Challenge is all about.

This weeks challenge is to help Dianne decorate her Living Room.

Dianne has submitted photos of her space and some furniture pieces she has that may be incorporated into the space.

 After studying her photos I had an idea of what shape her space may be. Then I went to 
Better Homes and Gardens Arrange-A-Room.

It's so much fun!

First select the room shape, then drag and drop furniture pieces into the room.

Diane has some cute shabby pieces including a buffet (would need to be painted), dining chairs, desk, end/lamp table, mirrors, etc..

In one of the photos I got a glimpse of a chandelier just outside the kitchen door, so I placed a table directly underneith (I don't know if Dianne has another room she uses for a dining space).

In my design, her desk will multi-function as a desk and a sofa table as I placed it behind the sofa.

Here's what it looks like......

maybe Dianne would prefer a square area rug.....

Here, I've flip-flopped the furnishings to the opposite side of the room and added a chair next to the TV. 

Does it seem more inviting this way,

or is it too lopsided /unbalanced with all of the bulk along the long wall???......

Sign on to BHG and try Arrange-A-Room,
 I could spend hours there.

See you at Common Ground for the next Design Challenge.

Hugs,

Fresh Pineapple.........

Living in the midwest,

 I consider fresh pineapple a delicacy......

Such a treat when I get one that's

perfectly ripe and sweet!

I've followed the instructions

on how to cut a pineapple.

That works okay,

but today I went my own direction......

After slicing off the top and bottom

I removed the outside by cutting vertically

taking off long slices 

 the entire way around the pineapple.

Typically there are all those little dimples

with unedible little bits and seeds left.

Remembering the Strawberry Huller in my kitchen drawer

I dug it out and Voila! it worked great!

Just a little pinch and twist and the little bits and seeds were gone without slaughtering the pineapple and wasting any of the goodness.

Next I sliced my pineapple horizontally.

There are a number of pineapple corers on the market and I don't have any of them,

but, in the drawer, too,

 I saw the cupcake corer my daughter gave me last Christmas.

 It's so handy for adding a filling to cupcakes........

 And it worked perfectly to punch out the center core of each pineapple slice!

Now lets see........about dinner tonight.......

maybe skewered shrimp cooked outside on the grill

with grilled fresh pineapple slices

.........or maybe pork chops

with grilled fresh pineapple slices, of course!!!!

Hugs,

DIY Cupcake Wrappers

Have you seen all the pretty cupcake wrappers available now? I've seen them online but not in my local stores. I was recently asked to donate cupcakes for an event. I wanted to dress them up and was remembering those pretty cupcake wrappers. With no time to place an order, maybe I could make my own. I considered cutting scrapbooking paper but didn't want to buy scissors that cut a fancy edge. Then it hit me....I had some paper doilies.

This package of 40 came from a Dollar Store!

I just folded it in half, then cut out the center.

Cut along the fold on either side.

Wrapped it around and secured with a bit of tape.

The request was for Strawberry Flavored Cakes. At first it was to be a sheet cake and there was brief mention of pistachio filling. So when the order was changed to cupcakes, I decided to sprinkle some crushed pistachios on top. The green was a pretty contrast to the pink frosting and the salty, crunchy nuts were a nice compliment to the strawberry flavored cake/frosting.

[Lesson learned--some nuts, particularly pistachios, sitting overnight on frosting will absorb some of the shortening from the frosting and become somewhat soggy/chewy :( ]

Then I topped them off with a fresh strawberry sliced in half.

I was very happy with the result but may experiment with a 10" doily next time. The curvature on the 8" doily caused it to flare away from the cake. Maybe the larger 10" will stand straighter making a tighter fit.

Very Easy way to give your cupcake a Gourmet Makeover. Looks so good it even tastes better. LOL. Give it a try and let me know how yours turns out!