Materials

• You will need a decorative container to hold the floral arrangement. Choose a container that will be the appropriate size for the number of guests you will be serving. A heavy-bottomed vase, a decorative bowl or a small basket are some options to consider. You will also need a piece of floral foam to fit the container, a package of bamboo skewers, toothpicks and some edible greens such as fresh parsley or mint, as well as a few lettuce leaves. You will need a variety of fresh fruit. Fresh pineapple, honeydew melon or cantaloupe will form the petals of the flowers, and you will need a daisy flower-shaped cookie cutter with which to cut out the fruit. A metal cookie cutter with a sharp edge will work better than a plastic one. You will also need strawberries and grapes as well as a package of gumdrops. Optionally, you can include other types of berries, seedless watermelon chunks and kiwis in your arrangement.
  
  

Process

• Wash all the fruit and the container, if possible. If you are using a basket, line the inside with plastic wrap. Place the floral foam in the container and cover it with the lettuce leaves to make an attractive base for the arrangement. Secure the leaves with toothpicks if necessary. Cut the bamboo skewers in half. Slice the pineapple into 1-inch-thick discs, and use the cookie cutter to cut out shapes from the pineapple or melons. Place a gumdrop on several bamboo skewers to keep the fruit in place and then add a flower shape. To make the center of the flower, add a grape or a small melon ball that is a different color than the flower shape. For instance, you could use pineapple for the petals and cantaloupe for the center. Place several grapes together on more bamboo skewers. Use single strawberries placed on skewers, wide side down, to resemble flower buds. Make other skewers with different combinations of berries, grapes, kiwi slices and melon balls, as desired. Arrange the fruit skewers in the container, inserting each skewer into the floral foam securely. Place the parsley or mint sprigs around the fruit skewers to form an attractive arrangement.