It stands to reason that people who are cookbook lovers have at least a modicum do-it-yourself tendency, because few things in this modern era are more DIY than cooking foods from scratch. We've discussed this before in the context of making your own pantry staples like ketchup or mayonnaise, but for some the DIY concept goes even farther. For instance, Epicurious recently reported on what it takes to make your own beeswax food wraps.

Beeswax wraps are a great alternative to plastic wrap, but they have a downside of being rather pricey. Since beeswax and cotton fabric are relatively cheap, so there is incentive to make your own. It doesn't sound terribly difficult, but it seems as though the homemade wrap won't be quite as flexible as the store-bought stuff, which is one reason I will pass on this concept for now.

It's not that I am anti-DIY, as any of my friends will attest (I did a lot of work on our kitchen remodel, for instance). However, I seem to have a gut-level cost/benefit calculator for DIY stuff and the beeswax wrap isn't pegging that meter for me. I'd rather spend the time baking bread and making homemade preserves to slather on it rather than making something to wrap it in, even if it does save money.

There's another issue that has plagued my interest in DIY projects like this. A couple of years ago I stitched together a few aprons but I discovered that I rarely used them, mostly because I didn't want to "ruin" the adorable items that I spent so much time making. They're still pristine while several of my shirts have been irreparably stained, which rather defeats the purpose of making the aprons in the first place. (They do look nice hanging in my pantry.)

Where do you stand on the DIY spectrum? Are you down with making your own beeswax wrap, or will you let the pros handle this task? I still have a stash of adorable kitchen-themed fabric and several bars of beeswax, so I won't rule it out completely. If you've tried this and have any suggestions, please let me know.