You might ask, “Who in the world has time for this pinnable yet totally unrealistic pretty?” Only Martha Stewart, I presume. But alas, we did a little sleuthing and as it turns out, Williams Sonoma offers a cheat way to bring the fancy into your holidays for the price of a few Starbucks lattes. Yep. Piecrust cutters. In leaf shapes. Thanksgiving pies will never be the same.

Your mother-in-law will be so impressed when your dessert spread looks like this. And then you can email me and say, “Lady Grey, thank you for your easy fancy idea.” And I’ll reply, “I know, right?” Except in a much more eloquent way.

Do not attempt this for your wedding. Unless you are handing off these molds to a baker. DO attempt for a shower, engagement party, holiday festivities or maybe a bake off. Yes, most definitely if you’re in a bake off. Certainly you’ll deserve a few extra slices for a job well done. Impressing and delighting with ease. That’s our motto. Or as we like to call it, “Easy-Fancy.”

(And you know that whole, homemade crust situation? Neither do I. Homemade pies with pre-made pie dough. Easy-fancy, ladies. Easy-fancy.)

Step 1: lay out your fabric nice and flat {be sure it’s dry} and trace out your flags with a pencil. We have two flags sizes – the larger is approximately 24″ wide with 2 20″ angles and the second is 14″ wide with 2 24″ angles to make it pointier. Cut out the flags.

Step 2: DYE! Prepare your dye per the instructions and wet the fabric while your water is boiling for the dye. Place the water and dye in the bucket. Place one flag into the bucket, about 2/3 of the way down. Let sit for about 15 minutes. Carefully pull out the fabric until just the tip {or about 8″} is resting inside the mixture. Let that rest for another 15 minutes. What you’re doing here is wicking the dye and giving the tip that dark dark look. The center will be lighter and it will have a nice color gradient. remove the fabric and place out to dry on the grass. Friendly warning: do not hang these out to dry. The dye can drip and bleed and ruin the ombre effect! We spread them out on the grass and they dried evenly.

Step 3: Once your fabric is dry you can choose to iron it. Then lay it out on a flat surface – be ready with your bamboo spear, fabric glue and yarn. Place the bamboo atop your flag so that the top of the bamboo touches the top peak of the flag. Glue a thick layer of fabric glue down the bamboo and carefully roll the fabric over, pinching as you go. Be sure to really cinch the fabric in place so it rests nice and flush. After it’s done, embellish as you like!