Edible Gifts. Jane Lyster
that whizzes around and so purées food in half the time that it would take by hand.
FOOD PROCESSOR Food processors are useful for making a whole range of goodies. They cut down the amount of time you need to spend on the project, and you can make in bulk. Ideal for cakes, mixing pâtés and pesto.
PESTLE AND MORTAR This is a beautiful gadget if you have the time because it really is worth pounding your own herbs and spices. The heavier the base the better as it then stays still while you pound away at your mixture.
Craft equipment
Once you have made your delicious gifts, you will want to present them in your own unique packaging. Below are some of the tools that will help you to make beautiful boxes, labels and decorations.
SCISSORS You need one pair of scissors for cutting cloth and one pair for cutting paper. If you try to use the paper ones for cloth you will find the experience hard work. It is also worth investing in a range of interesting scissors. You can get really funky sets with loads of different cutting edges for paper from good craft shops.
CRAFT KNIFE AND SELF-HEALING CUTTING MAT Make sure your craft knife is as sharp and straight as possible to give you a great, crisply edged result. Cutting mats are usually marked out with a grid for accurate cutting.
BRUSHES You can buy cheap brushes but I do recommend that you invest in some good quality ones. Painting is made much easier if you have a range of heads that are either sable or synthetic sable.
PENCILS Do not fall into the idea that any old pencil will do. A pencil with a good lead will help with the finished result. In my opinion the best pencils to use are either a 2B or3B soft lead, as when sharp you get a good, fine line but if left to a round edge you can draw a nice, soft line.
RUBBER STAMPS AND INK PADS Rubber stamps can be bought at most high street craft suppliers or you can make your own. Ink pads come in a variety of colours.
SEWING KIT You don’t need a huge sewing kit but a few pins and needles, a tape measure and a pair of good sharp cloth scissors will all come in handy.
Presentation techniques
The right wrapping always makes a gift more beautiful, but wrapping presents is not always as easy as you might think. It’s something about cutting the correct amount and shape of paper to start with, placing the gift in the right position and then being able to hold the paper tightly around the item while ripping off the tape in small strips and then getting them to stick in the right place. It’s all about practice; wrapping gifts is after all down to technique. With time you will be able to master what might at first have seemed the hardest of techniques. Everything becomes easier and you will find that making gifts for friends becomes a pleasure and not so much of a chore.
Wrapping in paper
There are so many types of paper you can use to wrap gifts. Don’t be fooled by the very cheapest as these are often rather thin so rip and tear, making the process a misery. Make sure that you choose slightly thicker paper, but do think about all the other papers that are available to us. There are old telephone directories for small gifts once the new one has been delivered through your door. Consider using maps, yesterday’s newspaper, magazines, instruction manuals or large sheets of brown paper that you have printed on. How about wrapping your offering in large leaves tied with string or making a bag for your gift to live in that is an extra present in itself? Try layering one paper with a bold print under a finer tracing or parchment paper.
MARBLING
Marbling is fun to do and so easy, you don’t need to worry about the outcome – but it can get messy so be prepared. It works by getting paint to float on the surface of water, which you then gently stir and manipulate to form a pattern. Then you lay your paper on the swirling paint and it adheres to your paper. Untreated newsprint or sugar paper work best as they are porous and so provide a good surface. Add 100 ml (3½ fl oz) of methyl cellulose to 4 litres (7 pints) of cold water in an old washing up bowl. Mix well and leave it to stand for an hour. Use acrylic paint and water down to the consistency of pancake batter. Now either drizzle or splatter the paint onto the surface of the water mixture in the bowl. When you have covered the surface of the water, lay your paper so that it floats on the solution. Let go of it and make sure that there are no air bubbles under the surface. Gently lift it from the solution and hang it out to dry on a washing line.
Making boxes
Be on the look out for all types of boxes because they are so useful. You could use them as they are or deconstruct them to use as templates for your own boxes in your chosen paper or card. You could also consider using other vessels for delivering your gifts such as picture frames, old trays, cups and saucers, teapots, old bottles, vases and odd glasses.
CONSTRUCTING A PACKAGE
When constructing a box or package in card or paper one of the things to remember is the importance of a sharp, crisp fold. This will make any construction you make work much better. One way to achieve this is to fold the length of the edge down over a book or table or up over a ruler. Once you have established where the fold is you can now reinforce this by folding at this point and lightly pressing the edge of the ruler over the crease starting from the bottom nearest you up to the top edge while holding the bottom of the fold with your thumb to the table; it’s a little like ironing – in fact you could use a cool iron gently to do the same job if that suits you better. The finish it will give to the end result is really worthwhile.
HOW TO MAKE A BOX
A box is a wonderful structure, not only is it a pleasure or challenge to make it can also be a great vessel to transport goodies from one place to another. You have not only lovingly made the contents of the box, but have also spent time considering how it will be presented and then spent time building the receptacle. A very happy marriage of edible and craft based gift.
Here are a few patterns or rather box nets, which you can either trace or photocopy to produce a box of the right size for your food. It might be a good idea to do a thin photocopy of the nets you like as they are and then make up to see the size of the box. The nets can be either copied larger or smaller. Only then will you know if it works for your gift. Don’t be frightened these are easy, if in doubt just copy one onto a scrap piece of paper and have a go at gluing together, before you cut up your beautiful sheet of paper.
Points to remember
• Use a very sharp scalpel, steel rule and a cutting board or good scissors to cut out. Accuracy is everything here.
• It’s very important to fold all the creases before gluing.
• Use the right glue for the job – good quality paper/card glue is best.
• Get some paper clips ready to hold the joins in place or hold in place until ready.
Now all you need to do is work out which shaped box you need to hold your precious goods.
Box templates
Illustrations are not drawn to scale.