Make Your Own Food Wraps

I'm sure you've seen these beeswax food wraps floating around. They are a great all-natural alternative to plastic wrap. I love them! They are perfect for wrapping up leftovers, snacks, sandwiches, etc. I have some by Bee's Wrap which I purchased through Mighty Nest and am quite happy with. However, they can get expensive if you want or need to have a lot on hand (I cook large batches and often have leftovers, so I find myself using multiple pieces per week). Making them yourself can get pricey too if you only want a few pieces, but the breakdown is fairly inexpensive and the effort is worth it if you want to stock up or give sets out to friends & family. A friend & I made a huge batch this spring for home & kitchen themed Easter baskets for a local charity. And now I am getting ready to make Christmas gift sets for friends & family.

Bees Wax Wraps
100% cotton fabric, cut to desired size
beeswax (pellets or grated)
pine tree rosin
jojoba oil

I took my inspiration from Mommypotamus, but ended up forgoing the exact measurements. I did generally follow her ratio however of 4 parts beeswax, 4 parts rosin, and 1 part oil. I would also recommend designating a cookie sheet and paint brush to this purpose only. You may need to experiment a bit with the ratio/measurements to find what works best for you. (For example, Goodful recommends a ratio of 8 parts beeswax, 4 parts rosin, and 1 part jojoba).

Preheat your oven to the lowest temp it will go (mine is 200F). Sprinkle on equal parts rosin (which I put in a shaker for easy dispensing), followed by the beeswax. I used a spray bottle to lightly spray the oil over the top. Pop into the oven until everything is melted. At this point I found it beneficial to use the paint brush and mix/distribute the melted ingredients and pop the cloth back in the oven. Check the back to make sure the fabric is fully saturated. Hang your saturated cloth to dry.

Now, you could just use beeswax, and it will work. The beeswax helps create a water resistant/air-tight seal, and it does have a bit of tack. However, the rosin really does help with the stick factor. The jojoba oil just helps everything blend together and soak into the fabric better.

Once dried, they are ready to use (or be stored, packaged, etc). The heat from your hands will mold the wrap over containers, bread, cheese, fruits & veggies, etc. You can also fold a wrap into a snack or sandwich bag (attach a button & string for cute and easy sealing). The wraps don't really stick to plastic containers though, and should not be used for wet foods or raw meats.

After use, your wraps will need to be washed. Don't use hot water as it will cause your coating to melt away. Instead, lightly wipe with soap and rinse in cold water. If over time you notice cracks or "thin" spots on your wrap, simply place on a parchment lined sheet in your oven set to its lowest temperature for a few minutes then redistribute the coating.

With proper care, your wraps can last up to 1 year. At that point you can just recoat them following the instructions above, or you can dispose of them. Since we are using natural ingredients, they are fully compostable. You can also cut down your old wraps to use as an effective fire starter (in fact, I save scraps from trimming my pieces down for this exact purpose).



One thing I do want to note, is that I found this process...messy. Definitely make sure to hang your pieces to dry, otherwise wherever you lay them will end up with beeswax & rosin dried on it. I also found I had wax and rosin stuck to my stove top and surrounding counter/floor which needed to be scraped up. This could just be me, but I do have grand plans of refining the process. I want to mix all the ingredients together and keep them liquid to either brush/pour onto the fabric, or dip the fabric into. In theory, this is brilliant, but as I have not yet tested it out I cannot recommend it ;)

Simple Origami Box

I've been doing origami (the Japanese art of paper folding) since I was about 6. My best friend all through grade school had moved to American from Japan in Kindergarten. We became fast friends and spent a lot of time together. I remember all the time spent at her house, where they all still spoke Japanese, the trips to the Japanese mall (then it was called Yohan, now it is known as Mitsuwa), watching anime and reading manga with Shiho translating everything for me, learning enough Japanese to insult someone (that's what's important when you are under 10!). I also remember Shiho teaching me origami and my fast obsession with it.

Nowadays I don't do it as much as I used to. I find neat ways to use origami for decoration or gift wrapping though. Sometimes if I have a small gift, I'll even make a box (and if you ever ordered from me when my shop was Caiti Scarlet, then you received your purchases in origami gift boxes). If you ever run into me at my day job, you will notice I tend to whip them up for small candies as well...

Because I am lazy and did not want to waste paper testing out different boxes, I turned to Google and found this little gem. Simple, and larger than the "standard" box I usually make (and was avoiding in order to fit all my mints in there). This is a great basic box, and it is so easy beginner's should not have trouble.

If you are interested in the mints, they are home made butter mints. I've been wanting to make them forever and found this recipe online. Just like bread, the humidity will affect your dough and I found myself using closer to 4 cups of powdered sugar. I also do not much care for peppermint, so I picked up some "Pure Mint" extract instead. It's kind of a fresh mint/spearmint mix. I also found myself using much more extract...at least 1 tsp, and probably closer to 1.5. Don't take this to mean you should use this much though, especially if you are using peppermint (I think it is much stronger). It was easy to add more in at the end, so follow Averie's advice