DIY baker's twine (food safe)

yeah, i don't like to spend money on things i think i can make myself.  case in point, baker's twine; it's all over every party blog and it's not cheap.  i'm a week away from my youngest daughter's 'going away to college' party and it's decorations crunch time. now, i've been planning this party for a month or two, and i'm pretty proud of myself, just for that...i'm usually 'last minute lizzie' but i gave myself a ton of time for things i ordered online to arrive.

anyhoo, i really wanted some baker's twine to dress up the mason jars and striped paper straws for the beverage and desserts table. i've seen a few diy tutes, and they all use markers. i tried it,and i wasn't thrilled with the results.  the marker doesn't seem to penetrate the twine very well, and you're left with color usually only on one side of the twine. plus, i'm not sure i want something that's not food safe,that close to my food.

enter gel food paste. and vodka.  two of my favorite things! ha.  ok, maybe just one.   so grab yourself some kitchen twine or cotton crochet thread, some cheap vodka (no such thing in my house), a chopstick, a cordless drill, some condiment cups (i have a ton, we make jello shots in them), and a paintbrush.  oh and glass and some mixer of your choice.

you really don't need the cordless drill but it really speeds up the twine wrapping and unwrapping.  ready?

get your drill and open the chuck (i think that's what they call it, you know,the part where you'd normally put the drill bit) stick the thick end of your chopstick in there and tighten it up.

 (kind'a like you're looking down the barrel of a .45mm,eh? this is chuck. say hello chuck)

take the loose end of your string and tie a little knot around the chopstick.

 

mix vodka in a tall glass with your mixer of choice. you're having fun already,aren't you?

 now gently give the trigger some pressure,while holding the twine somewhat taut and guide the twine down the length of the chopstick.

 now draw the twine back in the other direction if you don't really care about the stripes being uniform,otherwise,cut the twine.  and yeah, take your finger off the drill trigger now :D

 mix a few drops of the gel food paste with some vodka

 dip your paintbrush in and get it saturated. now paint a line down the edge of the twine. 

 

it's going to bleed out into the twine a bit,don't freak out! this is how the inside and outside of the twine gets color! :)  have another sip of your mixed drink.

turn the chopstick 180 and repeat painting the other edge

 you're still enjoying that vodka,right?  now unwind.  which is to say, put your drill in reverse and pull the end of string as you gently apply pressure to the trigger.

when you get to the end, untie your knot, let your string dry a bit and there you have it!

if you can't find gel paste food colors (available at most cake decorating shops)i'm pretty sure that regonary old liquid food color will suffice.  use your color mixing skills and make a few yards in every color of the rainbow!

tell me, how do YOU use baker's twine?

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