Canister Labels

The other day I went looking through my baking items and found one of my peppermint baking bars nibbled all up and down the sides. Breath. Do not freak out. Aahhhh!!

Naturally the next step is to re-organize the closet and put just about everything in a canister. 

I love creating designs in Silhouette Studio and this would be a great chance to see what I could come up with. As well, this would be my first time cutting vinyl. *So excited*

First thing is first: Deciding what will all go into canisters so I know how many labels to create and what size to make them.

Choose the colors: For Christmas we got a little bit of spending money from family and I told Paul it was time for a change in our kitchen decor and colors. The vinyl for the labels will match the new colors so well.

Items needed:

Canisters {purchased at Wal-Mart}

Vinyl in color{s} of choice

Clear Contact Paper

Small clear Omnigrid rulers
Cut file*

Tip: For something a little more worthy of the counter top check out this

Oggi 4 Piece Stainless Steel Canister Set
or

Oggi 4-Piece Locking Acrylic Canister Set

I used the 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" square ruler from this Ruler Value Pack
 and the 1" x 6" ruler from this Basics Ruler Set

First wash the canisters. After they dry use rubbing alcohol to clean the surface where the vinyl will be placed. 

Design the labels or purchase a cutting file. Here is the label design* I came up with for my canisters. I love how they turned out and they were actually pretty easy to create. Give it a try, after seeing your first design come out you will be hooked.

Cut the design into the vinyl then weed out the parts that you will not be using. Since I am not a very avid cook I also have solid labels for the backs of the canisters and I will be putting the expiration dates on them to remind myself when it will be time to switch out the contents.. A dry erase marker can be used on the vinyl so this will work out perfect.

Tip: on some of my vinyl pieces that had a lot of negative space I cut a bunch of 3/8" circles so that Lady A could use them as stickers. We ended up using the green dots on a simple white bedroom clock. After we used the dots on our clock project I weeded out the rest so they would not get in the way of transferring the labels.

Tip: on smaller vinyl images and ones that are not to intricate I use normal clear contact paper that comes in a huge roll. While it is not as 'sticky' or as thick as transfer paper, it works great on these smaller projects and costs a lot less.

Bring the vinyl up with the clear contact paper. Then center on the clear ruler to the height that you want the label and let your clear contact paper stick to the ruler. Line up the ruler to the center of the canister and simply press the top of the label onto the canister, making sure to start from the center and smooth out the label so no air bubbles get trapped. Remove the ruler and press the rest of the label down, then remove the clear contact paper

It gets just a little bit trickier when placing the labels with words. If the lettering lays over the clear ruler at all they will want to stick to the ruler. Expose the bottom of the label so that it can still be lined up on the ruler. Leave the vinyl baking where the lettering is. Follow the same process as above for centering and placing the labels but be sure to remove the vinyl baking when the ruler is removed.

Finish pressing/laying the vinyl into place and remover the clear contact paper.

TaDa!! Nice wonderful canisters labeled and ready to go in the closet.

The colors turned out great as well and will match the rest of the kitchen. 

*Eeek*

If you have a Silhouette machine but are maybe a bit intimidated by it like I was {this is my first electronic cutter of any kind} I would suggest watching the introduction DVD that comes along with it. Seriously, it helped me so much, with just enough instruction on how to use it and a lot of the different features ~ now there has been no stopping me.

*Download files are not to be sold, redistributed, or altered without permission. Items using this cut pattern are not to be sold. Please send your friends and family to my blog if they want a copy as well. Thanks! I am excited to see what everyone come up with.

How to Clean the Sticky off Jars

I love finding new uses for jars. The hardest part is getting all the sticky off the jar that is left behind when taking the wrapper off. I am here to tell you that there is an easy way to get it off.

All you need is baking soda and some kind of cooking oil. For the second step I used dish soap and a simple dish sponge.

FIRST: I mixed equal parts baking soda and oil then rubbed the mixture all over the jar.

*note: If exploring the Internet has taught me anything, it is that baking soda can clean most anything. The oil helps spread it on the jar.

Let the jars set for about 10-20 minutes.

SECOND: I put a bit of soap on the jar and used the sponge with a bit of water to wash off the paste.

*note: The sponge helps rub the sticky off and the soap is to clean the oil from the jar.

Now I'll spray the lids some fun colors and use them to help organize my storage/craft space.

Giveaway ~ Getting Organized

Well I think it is time for a giveaway!!!

I have a craft corner in our living room {yea for apartment living} and with a toddler whose sticky little fingers find everything that is not put away or high enough out of reach, I have to keep my corner organized and straightened. This means having an easy way to pick things up and put them away.

We all know that it takes a bit of time to set up when we want to start a project, then cleaning up just to bring it all out again when we want to continue working on our projects.

*Giveaway is for an empty roll-up. I have sewing  supplies in the first two pouches, stuff for party decorations in one and in the last pouch, items for an image transfer project I'm working on.

This is the perfect way to stay organized when I have to clean up. With four pouches I can keep all my standard supplies available, those needed for a specific project, bits n' pieces for my projects and whatever else I need. The pouches also come off and on so you can place it right on the table with you and not take up all the space for unrolling the bag.

Now, while I am working on a project that will take more than one nap time to complete, I won't have to put everything away in their different places then take the time to pull everything out again when I want to finish my project, just roll it up and put it in a corner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I also have one for the restroom. It's great to use right now but I love it when we go on trips like the one we took last weekend. Pouches for cleansers and lotion; make-up; toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss and the like; and whatever else might be needed like medication, q-tips, cotton balls, etc.

These bags are normally $30 but if you would like to purchase one at a discounted rate {$22 + shipping, tax is included} shoot me an e-mail. To get this rate we need to reach a group order minimum, once we do, invoices will be sent out. The discounted rate ends Saturday, March 30th, so act fast. The more orders, the bigger the discount for all of us so be sure to share this with your family and friends.

*Giveaway is open to US residents only.

*UPDATE: The winner of the small space organizer is Vonda. Congratulations!!