Class Kits!
You guys! I am so excited! I'm finally launching my first class kit. I love teaching but I know most of you can't attend one of my classes, or maybe you can't find a class in your area. Well, have I got the solution for you! It comes in the form of a kit. Almost everything you need to learn how to make the products that I teach and that I sell in my shop.
The first kit is the beeswax food cover kit. I started with this one because it has such specialized ingredients--from pine resin to jojoba oil. And the beeswax is sourced from apiaries in either Upstate NY or from Northeast PA.
So let's talk about this for a minute. You get a 8x8 tote bag with the following in it:
instruction card
two ounces jojoba oil
four ounces beeswax
one ounce pine resin (sustainably sourced)
paint brush
craft stick
All you have to supply is 100% cotton fabric. That's it. You will also need parchment paper, baking sheet, gloves, and a double boiler, but all the major ingredients are provided. Then you can make food covers at your convenience, in your house or at a friend's house. I can imagine you getting together with your friends and having a girl's night in making homemade, eco-friendly products. You could give them as gifts or keep them for yourself. It's so exciting. I plan on adding several kits over the next few weeks. Those kits includes: salves, lip balms, and candles.
I do have some important notes about the food kits that you'll need to know for after you've made them. First, don't use them in the microwave, or add any heat to them. They are made by heating up the ingredients and brushing it onto fabric (that's where the gloves and paint brush come into play...along with the wood stir stick). Once the ingredients have melted you paint it onto the fabric, put it in the oven, and let it melt and soak into other pieces of fabric. Then you let it dry. But by adding heat to it, it redistributes the oils and wax. So if you put it in the microwave, it will heat up and potentially contaminate your food. So it's best to not use in the microwave. However, if it's used as described--to cover your food on the counter or in the fridge--it's perfectly fine. Second, these covers will potentially last a lifetime. You can spot clean them with a damp cloth and you can reapply the ingredients to give it more stickiness later down the road. Third, please take care when using pine resin. You are getting a powdered form of pine resin so you will want to take care when pouring it to avoid inhaling any dust. You will also want to wear gloves when initially dealing with pine resin as it is sticky. Fourth, clean up of your double boiler is tricky. Really hot water will melt the oil, resin, wax combo but it will also take some elbow grease. Do not put into dishwasher until you've scrubbed the ingredients out of the pot/glass that you've used. I recommend one of two things--either have a dedicated glass jar/measuring bowl that you can use for the melting. Or use a mason jar that you can dedicate the same way. Fifth, you'll need to cut your beeswax into usable portions. Or grate it all. I suggest grating it with a cheese grater. It helps it melt quicker too. But if you prefer to keep it in chunks, use a serrated edge knife. Run it under really hot water and it should make slicing easier. But not matter what you do--take care! Sixth, please note that this product contains pine resin and that some people may have allergies to this product and/or other products in this kit. I am working on an alternative kit for those with allergies, but for now please realize that some people may be sensitive to some ingredients.
The approximate time to make the covers is about one hour. You are going to have so much fun making these food covers. There really is no right or wrong way to do this. Just make sure you've covered the surface of each piece of fabric. Less is more and there are instructions on how to do this. I've adapted the recipe and instructions from Mountain Rose Herbs. They did a good job of outlining why you use jojoba oil, beeswax, and pine resin. It all makes sense. The jojoba oil makes the wrap tacky and the pine resin makes it sticky.
So between now and Friday I'm offering a sale on the beeswax food cover kits. Get yours before the price increases! And then let me know how it goes. So, my friends, I present to you--Beeswax Food Cover Kits!!