Challenge: Handmade 2010 xmas

mary-op

esmer -wish I could but don't have all the hi-tech stuff like digi camera to do it...........keep saying I'll take normal photos every year just to remind myself what I did (only those that looked ok though.......lol) but never got around to it.
It's really not so much ''craft'' as ''concoctions''................lol:rotfl:

babyb06

Thanks MidnightRaven - one more question - ikea have preserving jars (the ones with the flip lids) do i just need to put the chutney in there and seal it, or do you need to put the jam paper under the lid or anything? Would hate to poison my family at christmas!!

midnightraven3

sadly you cant use them if you are using any kind of vinegar
the seal deteriorates quite quickly

ideal for jams, marmalades & curds
but no good for relish or pickles
i just had to replace the seals on my kilner jars for this reason, lesson learnt

i bought my jars in big quantity (2 cases of 144 each)

but if you cannot beg borrow or steal some
buy something like value/smart price mint sauce, its 14p a jar, its a small jar
value/smart price lemon curd (its rank BTW) is 20 something p a jar
and if you want a largish jar, smart price curry sauce (again horrible) is 9p

you cannot buy jars cheaper than this

but one tip
go to your local recycling place
often there are boxes of them lying
people dont put them in the thingy and let them smash as people come and collect them

if you need lids, lakeland do them, gingham ones
and the jam jar shop do fabby polka dot ones, they are lush, and cheaper than lakelands
be warned you will buy more than the lids, they do lots fo lush things

babyb06

Thank you!:T

diddly74

midnightraven3 wrote: »

go to your local recycling place
often there are boxes of them lying
people dont put them in the thingy and let them smash as people come and collect them

Don't forget to ask permission tho - cos remember it is illegal to remove something from a skip without asking first and although they might not officially be in the skip they have still become the property/responsibility of the council who runs the tip.

But def worth a look there - have you see some of the stuff people throw out and could be reused, remodelled and is simply good enough!!!!! :eek:

tinkerbell1990_2

midnight, your clusters look awesome, very artistic. the size is the only problem we had too, but no-one really minds, because they taste so yummy!!! they wouldn't lat very long, i don't think. the shelf life probably depends on the chocolate really. you'd have to keep them quite cool, so i guess the shelf life is however long you have space in the fridge or the larder. mind you, i don't know that for certain, they get eaten far to quickly to find out in our house!!!

how do you temper chocolate please midnight? i'm intrigued...

midnightraven3

i should have said that diddly:o

i just assumed people would know


tempering chocolate is very easy
and takes out the need to keep in the fridge etc
as well as making it glossy, and still have the same consistancy as "bought" chocolate

i looked for a video
this one is the easiest
(please forgive the patronising whiney woman)
she explains half the video what a double boiler is
and its only 2 and a half minutes long!

but it really is this simple

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_evlqvYZOM

midnightraven3

oops should have said, you temper white chocolate
the SAME way as MILK chocolate

Iolanthe

hello all

thanks for this thread I've found it really inspiring!

I did snowman soup last year and my dd age 6 really wants to do them again so have just ordered the cellophane cones from ebay

a couple of years ago I did gifts in a jar and made sandart brownies - you get a litre jar and put the dry ingredients in different layers so that it looks like those sandart jars you may have done when you were a kid... add the recipe as a tag and tell the recipient to add the eggs and margarine. Everyone I gave it to said they turned out really well.

annoyingly the recipe is stuck on my old computer but if you google "sandart brownies" you'll find a few different versions out there...

you can make it up in advance, think I got the jars off ebay

Vicky

esmer

How do you make cookies in a jar for a gift, so the recipient only adds eggs and butter? I seen gorgeous gift bags in John Lewis with a cookie cutter on the side for 5.99!!!!! shocking.