(NECN) - Between cleaning the house and prepping the turkey and fixin's - it's easy to get overwhelmed by the work involved with Thanksgiving celebrations.
There are some easy, last-minute centerpieces, however, that anyone can whip up for the big holiday.
Amy Kimball of Amy Kimball Events stopped by "The Morning Show" to share some beautiful DIY pieces that can take any Thanksgiving party from casual to elegant in an instant.
Check out the attached video to see her ideas, and work them into your festivities.
Here are Amy's directions for each centerpiece displayed in the video:
For Kid's Pumpkin Turkey
Red, orange, brown and yellow heavy construction paper.
Scissors
Black magic marker
Graphite pencil
Double sided tape or glue
Thumb tacks or push pins
Take medium sized pumpkin (8-10 in diameter)
Cut heavy, colored construction paper into "feathers" 6-7 work well, cut into elongated ellipse shape with point at one end and flat bottom at the other
In heavy pencil draw straight line down the center of the feather with branches sprouting up and down
Fold flat bottom of "feather" about an inch--this acts as a stand, place double sided tape on the outside bottom of the folded flat
Start with the middle feather stick to top back of pumpkin and secure with push pin, do this all the way around the back of the pumpkin
For the wings--cut two tulip shaped wings and draw feathers on them with connected lowercase "m"s
For the head and neck--use orange paper, the length should be about 11-12 inches and it should look like a round head on the top which goes in thinner for the neck, think about an elongated balloon.
For the face--Cut a red 3-inch tear drop shape for the jowl, Cut a yellow 2-inch triangle for the beak and then tape or glue the beak and jowl in the middle of the head and lastly draw in two round black eyes with a black magic marker
Adhere face and wings with double sided tape, no need for push pins in the front
Wheat & Grass Bouqet
4-5 bunches of dried wheat
1 bunch of dried grass
(micheals, craft stores or local garden store in dried flower section)
Floral tape
Small garden shears
Wide ribbon
Local
Take 12-15 stalks of wheat or grass stalks and twist so it fans out on top and bottom then wrap in floral tape
Repeat this step with all the stalks you have
Arrange all the gathered stalks together, it will be a full bouquet and you will then wrap the entire center in floral tape
Then take shears and cut the bottoms so they are even, this will allow the bouquet to stand on its own
Finally take a wide piece of ribbon and wrap around the center to cover the floral tape
Cylinder Collection
Different size glass cylinders (Christmas tree shop, home goods, craft stores)
Assorted whole nuts
White and orange mini pumpkins
(Both at grocery stores)
Pillar candle (target)
Loose leaves (on sale at pottery barn or your backyard)
Create base of centerpiece with loose leaves on your table
Take two cylinders of the same size and place white and orange mini-pumpkins to the top
Take two smaller cylinders and fill with pinecones
Take a wide glass vase or cylinder and put a pillar candle in the center then drop assorted whole nuts in shells around the candle
Silver and Roses
Mercury glass vases in silver (target, homegoods)-- much less expensive alternative to real silver
Silver mercury glass candle holders (same as above)
Taper candles (target)
Orange and peach roses (local flower shop or grocery store)
Arrange flowers closely to one another, cut accordingly, use the same kind of flower in one vase
Match all your bases (bases and candles) in the same color--we chose elegant silver
