"Earth Vs. the Flying Saucers" Center Piece

"When an armed and threatening power lands uninvited in our capitol, we don't meet him with tea and cookies!"

General Edmunds
-Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
 

...but perhaps they would enjoy a lovely vegetable platter with a a carrot/turnip representation of their invasion.



What you'll need

• Carrot (1)
• Turnip (1)
• Cabbage (1/2)
• Toothpicks (4-6)
• Melon baller
• Super-sharp knife (I used a carving knife meant for wood, but an X-ACTO blade would work)

Washington Monument

• Cut ends of the carrot
• Mark a square at the smaller end
• Use the square as a guide to cut along each of the four sides
• About 1/2" from the top of the smaller end, cut each side at an angle, forming the peak
• Cut a notch in the side of the carrot just above the halfway point of the monument

Flying Saucer

• Cut turnip
• Cut turnip in half
• Cut turnip half into a flatten cone
• Trace around cone with sharp blade
• Carve out 1/8" of turnip around the center, leaving a flat 'shelf'
• Slice off top of the center circle - this will be used as the bottom of the ship

Use a melon baller on the other turnip half to get a perfectly rounded top for the ship.  Just scoop out a ball and slice off the top.

Construct the Invasion

• Spear top, middle and bottom of the ship on a toothpick
• Cut toothpick, leaving 1/8" remaining
• Cut some small, triangular 'shards' of carrot
• Cut the tips off a few toothpicks
• Place edge of the ship into the notch and affix with a bit of toothpick
• Fill in gaps with carrot pieces
• Add more rubble by sticking toothpick tips into the carrot, near sight of impact
• Press additional carrot bits onto toothpick ends

Not only is a half a head of cabbage an easy and stable vegetable to use in your centerpiece, but it also works nicely as the grassy mound around the monument itself.

Just affix the carrot to the center of the cabbage with a single toothpick and you're done.

Now enjoy your party before they reach earth...