Holiday Bows

Ever seen those large gorgeous bows at the store, or on wreaths and wonder how they are made?

Look no further - they are so simple you'll be wondering why you ever paid so much for them in the past.  Here is a picture of this seasons 3 ft diameter wreath for the front of our house.

Materials
25 ft wired ribbon
Floral wire
Needle-nose pliers
Wire cutters

You need wired ribbon for this to work best.  Other ribbons can work but are more difficult to shape and less forgiving.


To start decide how you want your project to look.  For my project I left very long tails to weave into the wreath.  You can choose shorter tails to have them hang in the center, or no tails to have just a large bow.

For this project I laid out 2 feet to the left of my project space.  I also used two ribbons.

I ran ribbon A (large fat blue ribbon) almost 3ft long.  Then I placed ribbon B on top and ran it the same length.  Taking ribbon B I folded it back on its self and went 18" and stopped.  Then taking ribbon A I ran it left and matched the 18" length, folded it over and ran back toward the right.  Then ribbon B followed back to the right 18".  Alternate back and forth folding the ribbon over to make an accordion 18" in length.  Then I left 2 ft to the far right for the second set of tails.

Next cut a 12" length of floral wire.  Find the middle of your accordion.  Place the center of your wire under the middle point of your folded ribbon.  Fold the wire up in half and twist until the ribbons are pinched tightly in the center.  This is where the needle-nose pliers come in handy.

Now to fluff!

If your ribbon has a "right" (pattern or glitter) and "wrong" (plain) side 1/2 your bow will be inside-out.  You'll need to turn these loops the right way round as you are fluffing the bow.  Work your way through each folded segment.

As you work, twist, turn and shape the bow as you need it.  This is where that wire edge really comes in handy for holding the shape/position you want.

Once the bow is fluffed out and spread evenly then take the two tails of wire and attach it to your project.

I have made these for all sizes of wreaths.  I have attached them to large Christmas packages.  I even have one for the top of my tree instead of an angel.  I love making bows!

To make them smaller, shorten your length of ribbon and also shorten the length of your accordion fold.  In this wreath project I had an 18" fold.  To make a smaller, tighter bow shorten this to 12" or 10" or more.  If you aren't happy with the way the loops are fluffing out -- take your center wire off and try changing the length of your accordion fold.  If you go to a fold length under 10" you 'll need a thinner ribbon.

Have fun decorating!

Praline Pumpkin Pie

 Praline Pumpkin Pie

The best of both worlds, pumpkin pie with a pecan topping!

Originally inspired by recipes in Yankee Magazine I have modified to fit our taste.

Ingredients
  Pie Crust - Unsalted Butter, Crisco, flour, salt, sugar, ice water
  Filling - Pumpkin, unsalted butter, light-brown sugar, granulated sugar, flour, cinnamon, ginger, ground cloves, eggs, evaporated milk.
  Topping - dark corn syrup, dark brown sugar, unsalted butter, vanilla, pecans

This is for a 10" pie plate.  I use a 9" pie plate and bake the extra filling in creme-brulee crocks.

 Tender Flaky Pie Crust from Yankee Magazine.

I have found that after cooling the dough it is easier to roll it out on plastic wrap.  I cover my work surface with plastic wrap and get a bit of flour.

I dust the exposed surface of the dough with flour and rub down my rolling pin with flour.  Work slowly to spread the dough out to about 1/8" thick.

When you are ready to transfer your dough to the pie plate it is so much easier to pick it up and roll the dough into the plate when it's on the plastic wrap -- almost like how you work with store bought dough.

Position so the dough is centered and then gently peel back the plastic wrap.

Finish the edges however you like.  I usually keep it pretty simple.







Pie Filling
(I have modified these ingredients to suit our taste)

1 15oz can solid-packed pumpkin
1 Tbs butter
3/4c. firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4c. granulated sugar
1 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
3 large eggs
1 12oz can evaporated milk

Pre-heat oven to 450F
Warm pumpkin and butter in a sauce pan until fully melted/incorporated.  Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
Whisk in sugar, flour & spices.
In a separate bowl mix eggs & evaporated milk.  Add to pumpkin mix.
Pour into a 10" pie plate (if using a 9" pie plate don't use all the filling - don't overfill!)
Cover crust edge (either use aluminum foil or a pie crust shield)
Bake at 450 for 10 min.
Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 35-30 min (to check for doneness shake the pie, if the center does not jiggle it is done).
Remove and allow to cool.

Pie Topping
1/4c. Dark corn syrup
2Tbs unsalted butter
1/4c. dark-brown sugar (firmly packed)
1/2tsp vanilla
2/3c chopped pecans

Combine corn syrup, sugar, butter & vanilla in a medium saucepan over medium heat.   Stir over the heat until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved.  Stir in pecans.  Remove from heat and pour over cooked pie.  Cool completely.

Enjoy!