Here’s a snazzy idea from (and I’m not making this up) The National Watermelon Promotion Board. Viola — the Watermelon Turtle!

Give the ladies at the neighborhood potluck something to talk about with this cute little guy.

Here’s how to do it!

What you need:

1 Oblong seedless watermelon
Knife
Melon baller or other scoop spoon
Channel knife (you can substitute with the top of a standard vegetable peeler)
Dry erase marker
2 Peppercorns, or other eye pieces
Fruit salad
Leaves, plants, or other accents as desired
Toothpicks or other skewers

Here’s what you do:

1. Wash watermelon and pat dry.
2. Cut in half lengthwise.
3. Hollow out both sides, using a melon baller.
4. Carve out block design in the bottom side, using a channel knife.
5. Use a dry erase marker to trace turtle shell, legs, and head on top side of watermelon.
6. Carve shapes with knife, and add designs with channel knife.
7. Add peppercorns to the eye holes to fill.
8. Fill bottom with fruit salad.
9. Attach legs and head to shell, using strong toothpicks or skewers, and put on top of salad. Add accents around base with leaves and plants.

To give credit where credit is due, I found all this info at ClassBrain.com. You can see it here.