Hi, everyone! Welcome to Watch-Learn-Create Challenge #58. The topic of this challenge is beautiful bows! What a great topic as we head into the Christmas holiday! I mean, what Christmas cookie set wouldn't benefit from a beautiful bow atop a cookie gift, tag, or Christmas tree? And who better to lead us in this challenge than our featured guest, the Queen of Bows herself, Delorse Sword of Sword's Sugars.
Best known as @swordssugars on social media, Delorse started her cookie journey in 2012. Over the years, the world of cookies has given her some amazing opportunities. She has participated in cookie collaborations; designed cookie cutters; served as guest host at numerous cookie retreats; and attended, presented, and taught classes at CookieCon. Last but not least, she was a featured participant in many of Cookie Connection's early challenges (so she knows this format well), and also participated in the 3-D category of @Julia M. Usher's Cookie Art Competition™ when it was filmed for Food Network in 2019.
I have always been drawn to Delorse’s finely detailed work and picture-perfect icing, and so I am very grateful for her participation in this challenge. In the collage below, I have highlighted some of her stunning cookies that she has created since 2012.
Topic
Delorse's signature bows have always stolen my heart, and I am sure they will have the same effect on you, just as soon as you look at them. She has the uncanny ability to give depth, dimension, and so much movement to the loops and tails with her unique piped style. Just by adding more loops or tails, or by changing their shapes, she is able to achieve a completely different bow. The little roses and line details only add to their prettiness, as can be appreciated in the collection below.
In Delorse's demo, you will learn how to create three kinds of outlined-flooded bows, piped directly on iced cookies using two royal icing consistencies (see photo below). She will also share her signature secrets for creating the illusions of overlapping and twisting ribbons with lots of depth, all without using any royal icing transfers, fondant, or other modeling mediums for the bow loops or tails. Once you've learned her techniques, you will be able to create any of the bows shown above or below. What's more, you will have all of the tools to create your own dimensional bows for any occasion (not only Christmas, but also weddings, baby showers, birthdays, anniversaries, and more)!
But that's not the end of Delorse's demo! She will also teach you how to pipe another flawless bow, like on the teddy bear (below), using a single thick royal icing consistency. Can we talk about the way she achieved the twists in that bow's loops and tails? It looks like it was tied by hand and glued to the cookie, not piped! Knowing how to pipe this kind of bow is especially useful when you want to create a flourish in a small area and/or you don't want to take the time to mix two icing consistencies and outline and flood, as with the other three bow types.
That said, none of these four bows is difficult to pipe, particularly after Delorse reveals all of her trademark tips in the demo!
Delorse's Kickoff Video
Below is a sneak peek of Delorse's kickoff video so you have a better idea of what to expect from her full-length lesson.
To read more about what this 1-hour 17-minute video includes and to purchase it, just click the button (photo) below to grab your Cookie Connection members-only discount code. This code will give you Delorse's video for a mere $5 (normally $30) if you purchase before the close of the challenge on January 19, 2025 (5 pm central time). Once you've gotten the code, follow the prompts on the discount code page to go to Julia's site to purchase the video. (Don't forget to apply the discount code at checkout!) You can also go directly to Delorse's video on Julia's site by using Delorse's special guest link, but don't forget to grab your coupon code first.
If you're not a Cookie Connection member and want to watch the video at a discount, that's fine too. Just click the same button below, and you will be prompted to sign up for this site first (it's free). Then follow the exact same instructions above.
Don't forget: Delorse's resource list is also included in the video price, and will automatically be delivered to you once you purchase the video. And, of course, a video purchase does not obligate you to enter the challenge. You can watch the video without ever creating a challenge entry (though Delorse, Julia, and I certainly hope you do).
Julia and I thank you in advance for purchasing the full-length video. Your video purchases support our featured guests, and make it possible for us to continue to bring top-notch guests and content to these challenges.
Rules
Remember, this challenge (like all of our challenges) is open to those of all skill levels because it is not a cookie competition; it is a learning experience and a chance to practice new techniques while connecting with other participants and Delorse. For this challenge, I leave you with three simple rules, a posting request, and the freedom to otherwise create as you wish:
- Your entry must consist of a set of three (3) cookies with three (3) different bows.
- Two (2) of the three (3) bows should be among those featured by Delorse in her kickoff video or in the cover picture at the very top of this post. The third bow should be one of your own design. Take your inspiration from Delorse's techniques, and get creative!
- Your cookie shapes needn't be the shapes of Delorse's bows or any bow for that matter; you can pipe the bows on cookies of any shape. Also, the bow can be the only feature on the cookie, or it can be incorporated into a design as long as it remains a focal point (like a bow on a present, for example, though I encourage you to think further out of the box)!
- Posting request: If you post your cookies on social media outside of Cookie Connection, please remember to credit Delorse at @swordssugars for the bow inspiration and to give a shout-out and link back to Cookie Connection Challenge #58, so people know who you learned from and also how to join this challenge. Giving credit where credit is due is always the right thing to do; it also encourages other great guests to join us for future challenges.
Prizes
As you may know, each entrant is eligible to participate in a random drawing that determines a challenge prize winner or winners. I encourage multiple entries in the challenge not only because the more times you enter, the more you practice Delorse's techniques, but also because you increase your odds of winning a great prize!
This time, two randomly drawn winners will receive one free past challenge demo of his/her choice from among the past seven videos pictured below. (Note: Julia's demo comes in two parts.) As with Delorse's video, each demo is truly an online master class taught by one of the cookie business' best. You're definitely in for a treat if you win!
To Enter
- If you have any questions for Delorse as you are developing your entry, that's great! We encourage questions and learning at every step of the process. Please enter all questions in the comments area under this post, so that everyone can benefit from the Q&A. And please tag @Delorse so she is sure to see your question and respond in a timely way. Again, Delorse has also provided a resource list that will automatically be delivered to you once you have purchased the demo.
- This challenge will last eight (8) weeks to allow you plenty of time before and after the holidays to create. Please post an image of your entry to the site under the Cookie Connection Challenge clip set no later than Sunday, January 19, 2025 at 5 pm central time.
- Because these challenges will be ongoing, we ask that you put "Watch-Learn-Create Challenge #58" in your photo caption (subtitle field) AND in a tag, so we can tell the challenges apart from month to month. Please use the title field to uniquely name your cookies as you normally would.
- Please also assign other relevant clip sets and tags to your images, as you normally would. (Don't use just the Cookie Connection Challenge clip set and leave it at that, or your photos won't easily be found with keyword searches.)
- You can enter more than once, but please post only one clip of each distinct entry. Multiple clips of the same entry are not allowed unless added in a comment beneath the one primary clip.
On Saturday, January 25, 2025 (or thereabouts) in our weekly Saturday Spotlight, I will reveal the 10 top-trending entries (as determined automatically by our site-trending algorithms*) as well as the randomly drawn prize winners. The next challenge will be announced soon after this challenge has closed. *Note: The site algorithms use members' collective likes, comments, and reactions to each entry to determine our Spotlightees.
I can't thank Delorse enough for this wonderful class. Now, go have lots of fun creating! Delorse and I can’t wait to see your entries!
Ciao, Manu (and Delorse)
Manuela Pezzopane, affectionately called Manu by her friends and family, is the author of the blog feature Made by Manu, where each month she shares the method behind a magical cookie of her own making. In March 2022, Manu also assumed the role of host of our rebranded and reformatted Cookie Connection Challenges: Watch-Learn-Create Series, which debuted in a virtual video format in July 2022. A fan of everything handmade, Manu professes to have tried every possible hobby. However, it wasn’t until the end of 2014, when an American friend invited her to a Christmas cookie exchange, that she first discovered decorated cookies. In 2015, after watching Julia M. Usher's videos and signing up on Cookie Connection, Manu finally attempted her own designs. Since then, cookie decorating has become Manu’s passion, and her mesmerizing video shorts have earned her a large and loyal following throughout the global cookie community. Manu harks from Rome, Italy, where she currently resides. You can email Manu at manubiscottidecorati@gmail.com, follow her on Facebook and Instagram, or explore her past challenges and large library of Made by Manu tutorials here on Cookie Connection.
Photo credit: Manuela Pezzopane
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