Add Some Cute (and Convenience) to Your Kitchen

Jar Labels 1

I have an ongoing list entitled “Crafty House Projects.”  Fun little DIY and creative projects that I want to do to add some personality and personalization to our home.  Projects that I’ve been looking forward to for months.

And yet, I had yet to tackle any of them.  What can I say?  Gardening, canning, dragon boat racing, family reunions and blogger meet-ups have taken up our summer weekends.

On Sunday, we finally had some real down time.  Down time where we didn’t feel pressured to run errands or have previous commitments.

Also known as: time to get to one of my fun projects!

Now, the bulk containers lining one wall of my kitchen are clearly labeled, look great, and bring some color to that side of the room.  And it was so easy to do!

 

Jar Labels 2

Bulk Container Kitchen Labels

Materials:

Plain white or off-white paper
Decorative papers
Marker
Contact paper
Double-sided tape
Scissors and/or paper cutter

Jar Labels 3

Process:

Clean and dry the outside of your bulk containers.

Create all your labels on white paper.  Just for fun and variety, I did some in print and some in cursive, some in all-caps and some not.

Cut out each label and mount on a piece of decorative paper with the double-sided tape.  You should be able to see between 1/4″ and 1/2″ of the pattern on all sides of the label.

Cut a piece of Contact paper that is 3/4 – 1″ wider and 3/4 – 1″ taller than the decorative paper.  Peel off the Contact paper backing, and center the label with the printed side facing the sticky side of the Contact paper.

Starting at one corner, carefully apply the label to the jar, smoothing as you go.  Repeat with your remaining containers, then step back and admire your handiwork.

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33 Responses to “Add Some Cute (and Convenience) to Your Kitchen”

  1. July 27, 2011 at 8:07 am #

    How cute!! I love these labels. I organized my spices and such alittle while back with labels similiar to these. You are so creative :)

    • Julie @savvyeats
      July 27, 2011 at 9:54 pm #

      Labeling the spice jars is next on the list!

  2. Kelsey
    July 27, 2011 at 8:08 am #

    How cute!! I love your variety of jars!

  3. July 27, 2011 at 8:13 am #

    love! i’m working on a shelf like this!!

    • Julie @savvyeats
      July 27, 2011 at 9:55 pm #

      Awesome. Love the convenience (and cost-effectiveness) of bulk jars, especially when you can display them in a pretty way!

  4. July 27, 2011 at 8:13 am #

    So cute! I recently reorganized my entire pantry and use peel and stick chalkboard labels on bulk jars… love them!

    • Julie @savvyeats
      July 27, 2011 at 9:56 pm #

      I love the chalkboard look, but hate writing with chalk! Which is why I still don’t have any cute chalkboard items in my house… ;)

  5. July 27, 2011 at 8:33 am #

    I’m a sucker for little jars and containers! Yours look so cute. My teeny kitchen just doesn’t have the space – it’s easier to shove the bags into the cupboard :(

    • Julie @savvyeats
      July 27, 2011 at 9:57 pm #

      When we first moved in, there was pretty much no pantry space…but there was this long shelf. It has made all the difference (and it looks nice)!

  6. July 27, 2011 at 10:18 am #

    I love how we both have labeled jars of bulk products on our blogs today. Except that yours have pretty contact paper labels and mine have haphazard stickers and post-it notes :)

    Next time I’ll go for the contact paper, that is a great idea!

    • Julie @savvyeats
      July 27, 2011 at 9:58 pm #

      Contact paper is one of my new favorite craft items

  7. July 27, 2011 at 10:55 am #

    I love the “mix and match” look of your bulk containers, very “country cute” looking :)

    • Julie @savvyeats
      July 27, 2011 at 10:00 pm #

      Thank you. I’ve been going for the ‘country cute’ look in our kitchen/dining room!

  8. July 27, 2011 at 11:03 am #

    How fun! I can’t wait till I get to see them in person!

    • Julie @savvyeats
      July 27, 2011 at 10:00 pm #

      Get over to Ithaca ASAP! :)

  9. July 27, 2011 at 11:20 am #

    This is a great idea and so adorable- I love it!

  10. July 27, 2011 at 12:54 pm #

    I love this a million times over! I get stuck in the same overbooked way, and never get to do fun projects. I’ve wanted to do something similar for a while now…you have inspired me to finally get to it!!

    • Julie @savvyeats
      July 27, 2011 at 9:58 pm #

      I’d love to see a photo when you do!

  11. July 27, 2011 at 1:41 pm #

    Those are so cute Julie! Where did you find your jars? I was just checking goodwill but they didn’t have any…

    • Julie @savvyeats
      July 27, 2011 at 10:03 pm #

      I’ve been accumulating them over the years, from various places. Dan makes fun of me, because I can spot canning/bulk jars from a mile away (same goes for vintage Pyrex).

      The frosted glass ones and one of the really large ones are from Ikea.

      Some are just generic Ball jars (pint and quart sized), which you can get at the grocery or hardware store usually.

      All the rest are garage sale/thrift store/flea market finds!

  12. July 27, 2011 at 4:24 pm #

    Very cute idea. I love the patterned edges. I just went through my Ball jars of staples…found black eyed peas from 2001. Yikes.

    • Julie @savvyeats
      July 27, 2011 at 9:58 pm #

      Those…you may want to toss.

  13. July 27, 2011 at 4:31 pm #

    Love it! I need some cute things in my kitchen like that.

  14. July 27, 2011 at 4:44 pm #

    What a wonderful idea! I have so many bulk foods just begging to be gussied up. Thanks for the tip – and may I add, what a great blog you have here. Clicked through from HLB.

    • Julie @savvyeats
      July 27, 2011 at 9:59 pm #

      Thank you so much!

  15. Linda
    July 27, 2011 at 6:21 pm #

    Looks Great! Can’t wait to see it in person! ;)

    • Julie @savvyeats
      July 27, 2011 at 9:59 pm #

      7 weeks!

  16. July 27, 2011 at 8:41 pm #

    Those are adorable! Love the label idea!

  17. July 27, 2011 at 11:12 pm #

    That looks so cute and homey! I wish I had room in our kitchen to do that right now but I’m going to bookmark it for when we move. I’ll live vicariously through you right now! :-)

  18. July 29, 2011 at 5:43 pm #

    I love storing all of my bulk stuff in jars. I’ve been using the new Ball dissolving canning labels, but your labels are way cuter! Thanks for the idea.

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