How to Decorate Your Lawn with Pink Flamingos

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Plastic pink flamingos are very tacky but also very cool. It is one of those lawn ornaments that are very much associated with American iconic kitsch. The pink flamingo has been around about sixty years and ever since they were invented there has always been debate about whether or not they were eyesores.

Pink Flamingos were originally made by a company called Union Products that started making them in 1946. It was part of their “Plastics for the Lawn” series. The company did not just make flamingos. They also made ducks, dogs and frogs. These first flamingos were not three dimensional. They were more like “signs” with flamingos painted on them.

In 1956 a company in Massachusetts called the Leominster hired a designer named Don Featherstone who figured out how to make the figurines into three dimensional free standing sculptures. The flamingos were based on figures found in photos in National Geographic. The original legs were wooden but when they proved to be too expensive they were replaced by metal legs. They were very popular ornaments in the 1950s and today, whether fixed in your garden or on your wall as an object of art, they are considered to be part of retro-chic.

One of characteristics of the pink flamingo is that it is hot pink. Lurid colors were popular in the fifties but there was a reaction against plastics and false things in the sixties that made the pink flamingos less popular.

Decorating with them me simple and nowadays they are easy to get through mail order and in stores. If you want an authentic Flamingo buy one that has Don Featherstone’s signature impressed under the tail. A true pink flamingo has a yellow beak with a black tip and authentic flamingo sets are sold in twos. The pair should include one with a long neck and one with a shorter neck. The legs should be wire. If you are buying a single flamingo or one with an orange beak or wooden leg you are not buying the official antique.

When it comes to Pink Flamingos just two will do. However quite a unique effect can be created by decorating your yard with an entire flock of them. You can also put them on your condo or apartment balcony. Pink flamingos also make a humorous statement at the office.

Some people like to dress up their pink Flamingos for the season. They dress them up in Santa Suits and also give them Reindeer Horns.

How to Decorate Dessert Plates With Sauces, Creams, Flakes and Powders

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Most desserts are pretty but you can serve them up so they look like they were made by a five-star restaurant if you do it right. You can make a plate that practically looks like an abstract piece of art if you are clever with how you drool these substances.

How you are going to decorate and what substances you are going to use to decorate are going to be determined by the dessert that you will be serving. This will help you decide on the flavors and colors. First off it is important to choose flavors that complement each other. A good example would be cherry and chocolate together, as would be the case with decorating a Black Forest Cake. You could sprinkle cherry sauce along with grated black chocolate to make a nice garnish. Another nice combination is a white chocolate cheesecake with some kind of fruit puree.

Fruit purees are incredibly versatile and make beautiful “paints” for plates. Blueberry makes blue, raspberries red, kiwi fruits a nice green, Mangos, papayas or oranges make nice orange and nectarines and yellow plums make yellow. If you want to make a vibrant green try grinding up mint leaves. You can use more than one puree to decorate a plate especially if the desert is somewhat neutral, like a rice or a tapioca pudding, a Bavarian crème or a plain cheesecake.

You can also just use syrups to decorate a plate. You can use caramel or chocolate syrup and also the brines that fruit are pickled in to make nice designs on a plate. For instance if you are looking for a striking pink color to play with on a plate then you might consider using maraschino cherry juice.

Flavored powders and sugars also look nice sprinkled on a plate. You can be unorthodox and use Strawberry Quick or candied sour powders to decorate the edge of a dessert. You can also use things like edible glitter. If you want a plate to look especially luxurious you can sprinkle edible gold glitter on the plate.

One of the nicest decorative elements that there is in the food world is whipped cream. Put it in a piping bag or buy it in a can and decorate your creation with dollops, stripes and kisses of cream.

Remember that the simpler you keep the plate décor, the more elegant it will look. You do not want a mish-mash of flavors or designs or this could confuse the aesthetics of the dish.