DIY Homemade Mothers Day Gifts from A - Z
| DIY Homemade Mothers Day Gifts from A - Z |
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| JA News - JA Slideshow |
 An alphabet of gift ideas that include not only things to make and selections of home grown produce but also offers of your love, labour and energy to perform chores for Mum and Grandma - a gift of precious time that will always be welcome.
With just a little help, even the smallest child will be enthralled making some of these special gifts all year round or for unique Mother's Day gifts.
A APRONS are always handy for the busy cook, or sew a serviceable one in strong calico or canvas for the gardener or handymum. 56 Free Apron Patterns A whole case of your own grown fruit or vegies. A special thought for Mothers Day... When Mum was little, one penny was a lot. As she grew older, valued commodities changed e.g. sheer stockings in her teens were a luxury and worth saving for. That was in the good old days, before we realised we were not immortal and needed to care about the environment and quality of life. Having children and grandchildren 1000 km away, among other things, we started to value priceless things like letters. People were writing letters hundreds of years ago. Mum says she feels sad when looking in the mailbox, not the inbox, and it is empty. She misses the anticipation of a handwritten letter. Write a heartfelt letter, it may just be the best Mothers Day gift. Children's photo's and paintings are an added personal bonus to send as well.
A family video or DVD of the children etc, wrapped with a packet of organic popcorn and seasoning mix 1⁄4 cup dried basil, 1⁄4 cup dried marjoram, 1⁄4 cup dried thyme,
B BISCUITS We gave Grandma a "Biscuit of the Month" certificate along with one dozen cookies. Come the BREAKFAST IN BED Pamper your wife, mother, sister, or friend with a breakfast in bed on Mother's day! Complete with herb tea, poached organic eggs, muffins, blueberry smoothies, bircher berry muesli and fresh fruit from the garden. If Mum does not like the crumbs in the bed, let her read in bed whilst you prepare and set a beautiful table for a breakfast celebration. Bonsai tree in shallow handmade pottery container. Make a personal book. The kids can cut pictures of things they like out of magazines and then glue them into the book.Cut up some old photographs (or copy some photos or print from your computer) and glue their heads on other bodies, animals etc, and make a unique story book. Bird seed...for those who enjoy bird watching. Bookmarks ...if your mum is fond of reading, then a personalized bookmark would just be apt for the occasion. There can be distinctive types of bookmarks like birds bookmark, greeting card bookmark etc. Baskets... Grapevine baskets made from own grapevine, and fill with special treats.
Bath Soak. In the centre of a hemmed calico square place 1 cup oatmeal, 1/2 cup almond meal and 1/2 cup cornmeal. Tie up into a ball with a length of lace. The mixture will diffuse into the bath water. Bags ...DIY bags make the perfect Mothers Day gift - shopping, library, gift bag etc. C. CELEBRATING Mother's Day gives you a chance to celebrate all the important Mums in your life. Show each of them how much you care by surprising them with a unique and personal gift that she'll remember for years to come. Remember elderly neighbours and friends with a small homemade gift too. COLLAGES - These collages look wonderful hanging in windows, worn as pendants and used as an eco-friendly card. Let your imagination run wild and create a range of different craft items including a mobile, cards, etc.
CHOCOLATES After-dinner treats such as chocolate-covered organic brazil nuts and organic strawberries – just melt some organic (like Green & Blacks) dark chocolate in a bowl over just-simmering water, skewer your nut, strawberry (or organic dried fruit), and dip into the melted chocolate. Then lay it on greaseproof paper to set. Place in decorated jars, baskets or homemade boxes.
Do-it-yourself chocolates - It is possible to mould your own chocolates, and fill them with nourishing centres.A box of your chocolate creations makes a delicious personalised gift for the chocolate loving Mum.Use organic chocolate nibs, moulds - can use what you have around the home - use small soft plastic lids or suitable shaped plastic rescued from bubble-moulded items. Small torch batteries for instance, comes in packs of two or four, encased in a shaped plastic bubble on a card. Remove the plastic carefully from the card and this plastic shape does very nicely as moulds for chocolate These wonderful healthful, organic chocolate delights - easy to prepare,without cooking. Mum will adore a monthly chocolate certificate for 12 months.
2 cups of goji berries
1/2 cup of raw cacao nibs Grind the cacao nibs into a fine powder. Grind the cashew nuts into a fine powder. Grate the white cacao butter and add to a bowl. Pour some warm water into another bowl and sit the bowl with the butter in into this bowl. Don't get water into your cacao butter. Wait until the butter has melted, and then add the other ingredients. Stir very well and then pour it into any pretty moulds.
1 cup of goji berries This recipe has infinite variations. Add hemp seeds, sesame seeds, crushed nuts, dried currants, raisins, sultanas apricot chunks, pineapple, mango etc. For extra enzyme action, soak the nuts overnight, rinse, and dehydrate until dried out. For mega nutrients, sprout the seeds before deyhdrating. For coconut rough, put fresh hard coconut flesh through the champion juicer with the blank attachment.
2 cups of cacao butter, grated CRAFT You can really make any craft eco-friendly by choosing papers and supplies that are environmentally friendly. Such as, Use what you have! We all have bits of paper, odds and ends everywhere. Use recycled paper, ribbon, fabric etc bought from thrift shops, too.
CARDS Make a beautiful Mothers Day card from a brown paper bag / any old paper / recycled board / fabric and some ribbon.
Glue pictures from old cards onto homemade or store-bought recycled paper to create new cards. CANDLES - Make beeswax candles (parrafin-free), to light your special Mothers Day dinner or breakfast. Try pouring them into small canning jars, mugs, tins or any pretty container. Use the old beeswax candles which are nearly used up and re-melt them into new! CERTIFICATES like the above for Grandma's biscuits - bread, muffins, cakes, chocolates, preserves or a monthly dinner if you live close by. COUPONS - Make up coupons that Mum can redeem for everything from a hug to weeding the garden and taking out the trash, whatever comes from the heart. Use a hole punch and ribbon, a stapler, or paper brads to hold your coupons together. Breakfast in Bed Coupon, Walking the dog Coupon, An hour of silence Coupon, One hour control of the remote control, Big hug Coupon, Washing the dishes Coupon. Ask Mum what she would like added to the coupons. Once you have Mum's requests, all you have to do is make them a reality! D DAY OFF. By and large, mothers and housewives are the only workers who do not have regular time off. They are the great vacationless class. It's true. Children and/or spouses are always around. Everyone always needs something. There's usually way too much to do and most of it had to be done yesterday. There's often tension between work outside and work inside the home. And when mothers do try to take some time for themselves, they usually feel guilty. So, one of the best presents this Mother's Day may be making mum a nice breakfast – and then (after you clean up, of course) leaving! Let mum do what she likes. Make it clear that she can't do anything around the house or work-related, only things for herself. Maybe she'd like to go out for a hike or a walk. Maybe she'd like to take a long, quiet bath. Maybe she'd just like to watch a taped program or rent a movie that she enjoys. And when the family does return home, no long faces or guilt trips. Ahhhh. My perfect Mother's Day.
DIY Prepare an organic meal for your Mother and pamper Mum with a hand massage or a day of pampering from homemade beauty products. E ENERGY (in the form of Eco job vouchers), ie. 'I promise to mow the lawn for one month' or 'I promise to tend the compost heap for one month' or 'I promise to rake the leaves for one month'. reduce – for children - maybe a promise not to pester for toys, trainers or clothes for the next three months and to make use of what’s in the household already? recycle – maybe a promise to sort out cans, bottles or newspapers for refuse collections or for taking to a recycling centre for the next three months? Or perhaps a promise to sort out (good quality) unwanted books from around the house; and sell them for example via green metropolis. Green Metropolis will also sell childrens’ books. EMBROIDERY Embroidered tea towels and pillow cases. Stitch grub roses and leaves in simple stitches to fancy up hand towels and face washers.
Flowerpot A simple-to-make flowerpot that is great as a gift. You will need - unglazed clay (terracotta) flowerpot , acrylic paint , paintbrushes. FABRIC AND PAPER Covered books.
G GIFT WRAPPING IDEAS - use your imagination to present your homemade gifts in baskets (check out thrift shops, and decorate), decorated jars for cookies and treats, shells for small soaps, decorated clay pots or painted tins for plant cuttings and herbs.Wrap your gift in something useful - tea towel, scarf, chamois cloth or pillowcase and shopping bags that Mum will appreciate for itself. Place several small gifts in an attractive little basket that will have future decorative uses. Give a gift in a gift: A scarf with matching sash ribbon, a set of canisters, a towel, a sheet, a cup or mug, a hat or box, or even a shirt all hold gifts without contributing to landfill problems. Visit a garage / yard sale for more container ideas. Make your own gift boxes from cereal and tissue boxes. Juice cartons (in quart or half-gallon size or juice boxes) These make interesting containers if you're giving small size gifts (vouchers or eco promises in the juice boxes) or bigger gifts. Have the kids take any recycled board or paper and glue to decorate the cartons with a solid colour and then they can cut out hearts or flowers etc. Or they can glue on buttons or glitter or anything you have around the house to personalize it for that special Mum or Grandma. GIFT BAGS. For some really fun bags, start cutting up some of that worn out clothing and sewing it together into rectangular pieces. You choose the size bags you want and then sew up the fabric on three sides like a pillowcase. I've found a bag that is 18 inches by 24 inches is the most useful for giving everything from clothing to books. Turn right side out put in a gift and tie at the top with some ribbon or yarn. After you give the gift, Mum can return the bag and you wash, fold and put away until the next ocassion. GIFT BOX filled with hand-written letters of all your favourite memories. GOURDS - for useful and decorative objects from the garden. GARDEN - miniature, of herbs in assorted pots. H HANDMADE GIFTS Many ideas for things start from items you might see at Ecobites, in magazines or elsewhere, add your own touch, and you have an original gift. HAND MASSAGE. The loving touch! Hand and Body butter 2 oz Cocoa Butter,1 oz Olive Oil,1 oz Coconut Oil,2 oz Shea Butter,1 oz Jojoba Oil,1 oz Beeswax (grated). Melt all ingredients, and mix well, while cooling, if desired, add essential oil. A drop or two of Rose Geranium Essential Oil is a nice addition.
HAT - crochet, fabric, knit, whatever is your thing. HUGS gift box - Get the children to help make a tiny box from scrap cardboard and gift wrap with ribbon etc. Attach a gift tag which reads...
This is a very special gift
Whenever you are lonely
You never can unwrap it HERBS - freshly picked in bunches, dried, or pots. Make bouquet garni bags containing parsley, thyme, bay leaf and peppercorns tied up in scraps of muslin or gingham to flavour Mum's soups, stews and casseroles. HANKIES tie a cake of homemade soap in a pretty bundle with a ribbon bow or roll a cake of soap in a handkerchief and tie with a pretty ribbon. HOMEMADE CARDS Cut out suitable pictures from old birthday cards, or use an old photograph of yourself (baby pictures are good to use, if you have some) and stick onto recycled paper to make a card. Or else make a home-made card using your very own artwork (and verse, or quote). HANDPRINT especially nice for Grandma's. Add the child's handprint, name, date and poem to a homemade card.
Sometimes you get discouraged I IKEBANA arrangement. IOU write out IOUs on recycled paper or card. Offer gardening, seasonal meal prepared, day out at the library, museum, art exhibition, whatever takes Mum's fancy. Inexpensive Herby Ideas - herbs for the kitchen, bathroom everywhere! J JEWELLERY - fun jewellery from sea-shells, pottery, beads, and found items from nature. Make a bead neck garland. JARS - decorate empty jars with simple flower designs or colourful patterns in enamel paints.Fill with homemade treats made with love and organic ingredients. Make a memory jar - Write out some of your best memories (a dozen or more) of Mum or Grandma on small pieces of pretty paper. Include things you've done together, favourite family traditions, things she's done or said that made a difference to you, the best advice she's given you. Fold them and put them into a jar so that she can "munch on them" over time. A "best memory" note can also open dialogue in a strained relationship. People are often surprised at your best memories of them. You'll be surprised at how much sharing these memories mean to Mum or Grandma. JARS FILLED WITH HOMEMADE JAMS of every description are always pleasing. Present two or three small jam jars (use baby food jars) in a basket. To make jam jar covers, cut circles of colourful fabric saucer size. Pink the edges and secure to top of jar with a small rubber band. Finish with a thick coloured wool, raffia,string or twine and a bow and tie a personalized label or glue a label on the jar. JUMPERS knitted from homespun wool. K KNITTED slippers or socks. KITCHEN GIFTS from your pantry or stove will be well received. Preserves, herbed vinegars, cakes, puddings and pies are a few possibilities. L LOVE NOTES Hide "love notes" around the house. Each note can have one reason on it that you love mum. Mum will find some of the notes on Mother's Day, and the rest through the following week. LIQUEUR in fancy bottles (lots of home-made recipes around for Tia Maria and others). LUSCIOUS Lip Gloss - 1 cup organic coconut oil + 1 cup grated beeswax + 1/2 cup caster oil + fragrant oil of your choice (peppermint / lavender) .Place the coconut oil and the beeswax in a pan over hot water. Stir until melted then add the caster oil. Stir well to combine all the ingredients then add your fragrant oil drop by drop until the perfume you require. Remove from the heat and pour into small containers or jars. Before giving as a gift add a pressed and dried flower to the top of each lip gloss, replace the lid and wrap with rice paper. Decorate each gift with a little of your personality.
LEMON SACHETS all you need is 2 cups lemon or orange peel (dried and cut into bits), 1 tablespoon bruised caraway seeds, 1 talespoon bruised coriander seeds, plus a few drops of oil of lemon. Mix together and package in bags of muslin, gauze etc, decorated with ribbon. Ready to keep a drawer fresh. Lemon oil is speedy to concoct and is great in the bath. Swirl together 2 tablepoons glycerine, 1/4 cup castor oil, 1 dopper oil of lavender, 1 dropper oil of rosemary and 1 dropper oil of lemon. Pour into bottles of your choice with a ribbon around the neck, with a lemon sachet dangling from it. M MOTHERS DAY SHOPPING AT THE THRIFT STORE A good source of materials is your local thrift stores. Apart from the savings for your pocket and the environment, you are helping a deserving charity. As well as avoiding the commercialism of Mothers Day. Choose garments that are cut straight and gathered rather than shaped or gored, although these can be used for small items. Sale items (yes, thrift stores have sale bins as well!) are just perfect as you can cut around any holes, stains etc. Any zips and buttons are bonuses and can be put away for future projects. From a velvet or silk dress or skirt you could make cushions, pincushions, jewellery boxes, eco bags or patchwork items. From adult dresses make herb pillows, aprons, place mats, patchwork articles, handbags, shopping bags, coat hanger covers. Denim jeans make eco bags or peg bags. Wool jumpers can be unpicked and knitted or crocheted into new gifts. Make sure the garments you buy are not matted. Wind the wool into hanks, wash and steam to remove crinkles. From this wool you can make gloves, caps, bags, tea cosies, golf club covers, cushion covers. These are just a few suggestions for starters, the possibilities are almost endless. MOTHERING CAKE. Bake a special cake for afternoon tea. Maidenhair fern in hanging pot.
Marmalade honey 1 cup sliced citrus, 2 cups organic honey.Heat both together until honey is runny. Take off the heat. Leave for an hour. Reheat, strain when honey is runny. Pour the still runny honey into a jar. (Honey will thicken as it cools). Keep honey in the fridge.
Nuts and seedpods glued to a lidded basket, or to a woven placemat to use as a wallhanging will be a unique gift. Arrange in a pleasing pattern filling in any gaps with smaller nuts, seeds and grasses.The bigger variety of material, the more interesting the end result. Nibble dishes made from pottery or woven grasses - fill with treats that Mum will love. NO COST GIFTS - lovingly crafted from homemade or recycled materials. O ODDMENTS - of fabric, ribbon etc for a craft basket. Orange rings spiced and bottled. Olives home grown and preserved. OLD TOWELS - for new tea cosies and other household uses. Oddments of fabric can be cut into 15 cm by 15 cm (6 x 6 in) squares with pinking shears. Place a dessertspoon of lavender in centre. Gather up in your hand and secure with a rubber band and tie with a pretty ribbon. Makes a pretty lavender sachet to hang in a wardrobe or tuck into a drawer or handbag. P PICNIC BASKET fully stocked and head for your nearest picnic spot and enjoy the day with Mum! Photo frame insert a favourite photo and decorate the frame.Write a message on the back of the frame. Perfumed herbal pillow. Pressed flower gifts. Potpourris have always been a favourite and are apt to win difficult Grannies' hearts. This one will have her calling you the favourite grandchild even if your boyfriend resembles Godzilla and belches over her pumpkin scones. Early one morning gather together 1 pint of rosemary leaves, 1 pint lavender leaves and flowers, 1 tablespoon powdered orris root, and 2 drops oil of rose geranium. Place in a box to dry out, occasionally mixing, stuff into pretty glass jars, preferably with a cork stopper for a quick release of vapours. Pomanders Pluck a small orange and gently stab it with a skewer so that the cloves can be inserted without aerating your thumbs. Once completed, leave it in a dim spot to dry out but first sprinkle with 4 teaspoons orris root powder, 2 teaspoons allspice, 2 teaspoons powdered cinnamon and 2 teaspoons powdered cloves. Decorate with ribbon and simply let Mum or Grandma hang it for a great fragrance. Pamper Mum and melt her worries away with relaxing botanicals and other soothing stress busters. Potions and lotions - homemade holistic beauty to pamper Mum. PAPER Step 1: Cut junk mail into small shreds, soak it in warm water for about 2 hours, and blend it in a blender. Step 2: Add small quantities of flowers, grass, and leaves for fun, color, and texture. Step3: Spread it out on a flat, fine-holed, wire-mesh screen—use a rolling pin to flatten it. Step 4: Smear a tablespoon of cornstarch over the paper to increase its strength. Step 5: When it dries, you can use this paper as stationary, to decorate used boxes, or even to make Mothers Day Cards. (For an even prettier look, glue dried flowers on top of the paper). Patchwork can be colourful for aprons, carry bags and bed quilts. Pen or pencil holder - Rinse an empty can out and smooth away any sharp edges around the top. Let the children decorate with cut out motifs or left over scraps of material or found items from nature. Pen Stand - Sand the edges of a piece of scrap pine ( 14 x 6 cm is a handy size). Rule a line down the centre and mark off the holes. Carefully drill holes wide enough for pencils or pens to fit it. Paint or decorate with the children's help! PLANT a tree for Mum that will last a lifetime. Q QUICHE baked to your favourite recipe. Quilting - placemats to serve your special dinner or breakfast. Make a set of quilted placemats by cutting rectangles 30 cm by 40 cm (12 x 16 in). Bind edges all around with bias binding or wide satin ribbon, or turn edges under twice and machine stitch to finish. QUOTES
To a child's ear, "mother" is magic in any language.
Life began with waking up and loving my mother's face
There is no substitute for mother.
Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
She brings the sunshine into the house; it is now a pleasure to be there.
Mother love is the fuel that enables a normal human being to do the impossible.
God could not be everywhere and therefore He made mothers.
Mothers are the necessity of invention.
The mother's heart is the child's schoolroom. R ROSE HONEY - delicate flavour. It's much simpler to flavour honey than make jam. Heat 1 cup honey until runny. Add 1 cup fragrant rose petals (must be chemical free), white bit cut off. Leave with lid on for two hours. Heat with lid on until runny, strain, bottle- or repeat with more petals if it's not fragrant enough. RUG-crochet or knit. Crochet granny squares or knit squares to form a knee rug, or a larger rug for a chair or sofa. S SUGAR AND SPICE Making potpourri and other scented delights is enjoyable, easy and doesn't necessitate owning an old-fashioned cottage garden. You can beg, borrow or buy most of the aromatic flowers and leaves and with the addition of a pinch of spice, a little orris root powder and a few drops of essential oil, create a nose-twitching mixture. Packaged colourfully and artistically you have a beautiful and unique gift that Mum and Grandma will cherish. SCENTED SACHET - tie up dried lavender, jasmine or orange blossum into small fabric squares to hang under the hot tap for a special bath! SEEDS - selection of seeds saved from your garden, in marked packets with comical sketch on packet. SCENTED DELIGHTS Solid perfume - 1 2/3 pt beeswax + 10 g (1/3 oz) each of lavender oil + oil of rose + oil of lemon. Melt the beeswax and then slowly pour the oils into whilst stirring. Pour into small jars or small chocolate moulds or found moulds around the home, plastic lids etc. When the perfume blocks are solid take them out of the moulds, wrap in cloth and tie with ribbon. These perfumes are ideal for carrying or keeping in the drawer to scent clothes. Mum can try rubbing some on the corner of towels or drapes for a fresh fragrance. 1/2 oz cocoa butter + 1/2 oz beeswax + 1 tablespoon glycerine + 1 tablespoon rosewater. Melt the cocoa butter and beeswax slowly in a double boiler. Remove from heat and add the glycerine and rosewater slowly, drop by drop, stirring all the time until the mix reaches room temperature and is the consistency of cream. Now add several drops (let your nose be your guide) of one or more of the essential oils - calendula, sage, rosemary, eucalyptus, lavender, thyme, lemon. Store in a clean jar, Mum can use as a deodorant or a solid fragrance for her pulse points. Strawberry plants. Scrapbook pages. Get everyone in the family to help make a few scrapbook pages to send, especially nice for Grandma's. These could be made on standard 8 1/2 x 11 cardstock and then covered with clear page protectors and put into a nice 3-ring binder. This way siblings from far away can send pages without having to match a particular scrapbook page size. Keep on sending pages for special celebrations. No wrapping, easy to ship, a surprise from each family involved!
TERRARIUM of selected tiny plants set in pebbles. TEA - a selection of various dried herbs suitable for tea-making. Telephone book cover made from leather, fabric or recycled material found from around the home. Tapestry cushions and wall hangings from leftover wool. U UNDERWEAR homemade from organic / recycled fibre, or sew a pretty silk camisole and french knicker set. UMBRELLAS make pretty lavender umbrellas from small print fabric, lace and ribbons. Cut a circle the size of a dinner plate , fold in two and cut in half (makes two umbrellas). Sew lace trim to right side of fabric on outer edge of one semi-circle. Fold semi-circle, with right sides together, into a cone shape and sew seam leaving a small opening at the bottom. Insert a pipe cleaner into the hole, leaving 22 cm (9in) protruding. Secure chenille stick or pipe cleaner to base of cone shape with hand stitching. Turn right side out and half fill with lavender. Secure with rubber band, tie a ribbon bow to trim, and bend hook in top of chenille stick or pipe cleaner to form "umbrella". Unusual potted plant - bromeliad or a venus fly- trap, pitcher plant. V VINEGARS AND OILS - make up herbal vinegars and organic salad oils in glass jars with sprigs of rosemary, tarragon, parsley, etc and season with garlic and peppercorns. VIOLETS fresh, dried or potted. W WINE - home - brewed, in fancy bottle and personalized labels. Wind chimes made from pottery discs or anything recycled that takes your fancy. X X-TRAORDINARY - homemade gifts are also extremely appreciated by their recipients because of the time, care and love taken in the making. Y YOURSELF - there's some of you in every homemade gift, because of the pleasure in the making and the giving. Z ZANY hand printed organic T shirt. ZESTY HERBS hand picked from the garden and turned into culinary delights - pesto, to accompany a fresh home baked herb loaf. The nicest gifts are always those that have been handmade, fashioned by the hands of the giver and full of warm vibrations. Making your own need not be expensive or difficult. It just requires imagination and a little skill. The varied ideas we have included here should start you on the absorbing and productive path. Have fun and happy Mothers Day! Related Articles:
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beginning of each month, we bake a different kind of cookie and send via the mail. My four year old son loves getting Grandma's parcel ready each month + we enclose a recent photograph of her grandson. (The request has come for a repeat this Mothers Day).
Bath oils. For centuries women have been using oils in the bath to soften and scent their skin. 1 bottle of organic olive oil + 1 tablespoon castille soap + fragrant essential oil of your choice. Combine all together, except essential oil. Place into bottle or jars and add oil drop by drop. Shake to combine. Nice accompanied by a drawstring bag filled with dried herbs. The bag can be hung around the tap while the bath is filling or just thrown into the bath.
COCONUT BALLS made with organic ingredients and love - dried dates, apricots, rolled oats, carob powder, orange juice and rind, coconut. Add everything blender / vita-mix/ food processor and blend until smooth. Roll in coconut.
logs.Place the organic nibs in the top half of a double boiler (no lid required). Fill the bottom section with approx. one third water. Once the water is hot , turn it down to simmer. Great care must be taken not to let the chocolate overheat or it will spoil. It needs only to be melted. Care must also be taken not to let a single drop of water into the chocolate, or it will thicken and streak. Do not cover as this will cause condensation. It is not necessary to wait until all the chocolate is melted before you begin pouring it into the moulds By use a very thin layer of chocolate, leaving more space for healthy centres, so don't pour the liquid chocolate , but 'paint' it on the bottom and sides of each mould using a brush. (For a brush, steralize a 1 1/2 cm water-colour brush, and it does the job perfectly). It is surprising, once you become used to doing it, how very little chocolate you need. At first you would think it would surely crack when unmoulding if the outside was too thin. Not so!When the moulds are all covered, place in fridge for five minutes to set. No longer! Now remove sheet and fill moulds with centres you have previously prepared. Nothing hot or you can imagine what would happen. Melt a little more chocolate in the same manner as before, and with the brush, carefully paint a flat base over the fillings. make sure all fillings are level and don't heap up ,or when you unmould, your results would have ricketty bottoms. Tap sheet gently on table to remove any air bubbles, and place in 'fridge for a few minutes. Now for the moment of truth. Tip the sheet of chocolates upside down, and your beautiful shaped morsels should fall out easily. Handle with care when transferring them to a container or your fingerprints will show up and spoil your results. If one or two are stubborn and won't drop out easily, give them a tap and they will oblige. Do not store in the 'fridge because your chocolate will become moist and white. Keep in a cool place. Decorate containers from around the home. Small tissue boxes are very suitable, with paper / fabric and ribbon glued on. Here are some of my favourite fillings - chopped organic nuts, sultanas (Gran loves brandy-soaked raisins), chopped organic preserved ginger, finely chopped organic dried apricots and ground almonds,or other organic dried fruit, equal quantities of organic peanut butter and honey mixed well. Goji Berries, walnuts, blueberries,coconut, neroli and rose oils, fillings are only limited by your imagination.
A hole punch, Ribbon (about 1/4 inch wide) or thick yarn 
Flowering potted plant.
HERB BUTTERS And HONEY - 
My Handprint
LAVENDER AND LACE dry lavender from the garden amd make up handy bags and sachets from pretty scrap material with lace and ribbon trims.
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