Sunday, July 30, 2017

How To Create Your Own Reusable Food Wrap

how to make reusable food wrap


I make and sell these so I know you are going to think I'm crazy for giving away this simple how-to.

But more than anything I want you to live your best and most creative life. My first priority is always to help you do that. So if you want to give this a try, here's how:

What you need: 

Fabric
Beeswax
Propolis (optional)
Cookie sheet
Aluminum foil
Paintbrush
Pinking sheers

Caution: Use the lowest temperature setting on your oven when you do this project and don't use anything you don't mind ruining. Beeswax and propolis are super tenacious when it comes to clean up. It's best just to designate things for this project. 

The Process:

Start by grating your beeswax.

making beeswax food wrap


Cut your fabric to the desired size. My pinking sheers aren't too sharp after doing this a few times so I make my initial size cuts with regular scissors and then after the beeswax cools I trim the edges with my pinking sheers.

making food wrap with beeswax


Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil or use a disposable aluminum pan. That you are going to recycle, of course! That's why I love you. 

Lay the fabric on the cookie sheet and then grate your beeswax/propolis over the top.

making home made food wrap


Place in an oven on a setting below 200* and wait for wax to melt. This should take about 10 minutes but this whole process involves a lot of trial and error.

making beeswax food wrap


Remove and immediately brush the melted wax over the fabric. Hurry! It will start to harden the second you take it out of the oven! However fast you think you need to go, speed it up. 

I should probably tell you, that brush won't be able to be used for paint ever again. Like ever. 


propolis


What's propolis, you ask? 

Propolis is a sort of glue that the bees make out of tree resin. They use it inside the hive to glue everything together, to control the micro-climate inside, prevent diseases, and reduce vibration. When I was researching this process a lot of people said that the plain beeswax wasn't quite right and I noticed that lots of people said adding propolis improved the wrap.

Since I harvest a good bit of propolis along with my beeswax it was easy for me to incorporate it. I haven't ever bought it so don't have a brand of propolis to recommend to you. But here are some options. 

honeycomb and propolis


Beeswax and propolis are both antimicrobial, antifungal, and antibacterial making them the perfect substances to put next to your food. Now you can reduce the use of those nasty chemical laden plastic wraps you've been using.

beeswax food wrap


Rinse your beeswax wrap with cold water and gently wipe clean. You should be able to reuse it for several months before needing to replace it.

When it's used up its ability to seal toss it in the fireplace or firepit for a quick and easy firestarter or wrap a pinecone with it to really get things going. Yeah, I know. It's the same beeswax we were trying not to catch on fire before. Timing is everything. 

And look at you! First recycling then having zero waste! You are winning at life. 



4 comments:

  1. Hi! I love this idea, how much propolis do you use to bees wax?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey, Rachel! In my case it's just mixed in with the beeswax from the hive, so I'm not sure about exact measurements. You can certainly make them with beeswax alone though which would be the easiest way to get started making them. Thanks for reading! Do you do a lot of DIY projects?

      Delete
  2. What kind of fabric is best?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I just used an all cotton fabric about the weight of a calico is just fine. You can look for organic as well.

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