DIY: Clear Labels To Stay Organized

DIY #1 at MakeThemLook has arrived!

Now, I want to preface, this is not my own creation. (I found the inspiration & printables here!) I, like most, simply went to wonderful world that is Pinterest, found some incredible ideas and re-created designs in my own home!

As you know, I love to organize. But something you may not know is that I’m getting really into cooking and baking!

Also, I have a cat.

Hours ago, I had simple paper bags of sugar and flour in my cabinet that had chew marks and rips due to my cat climbing in and making herself at home. Pretty gross, right? This what inspired the DIY of the day, so we all owe this one to Ashes!

I needed containers to keep my baking ingredients organized and unharmed by my cat.

First, I headed to my nearby Hobby Lobby and picked up 3 glass containers with screw on lids. Man, that place has more glass jars in different sizes, styles and colors than I have ever seen. It was beautiful.

Then, I ran next to door to Walmart and picked up some simple, clear packing tape.

I printed out some pre-made labels (I was feeling lazy and also just really loving what Kristine from The Painted Hive had already crafted up! So, round of applause to her for her printable labels!) and wha-la! That was all I needed.

What you’ll need:

Prints of whatever labels you’d like to transfer
Glass jars or containers
Clear packing tape
Scissors
Bowl or container with water

 

Step one: Take a piece of tape and cover the printed area that you want to transfer.

Step two: Cut out the tape-covered print. In certain light, you can see a slight outline of the label (on the finished container), so be conscious of this when cutting this out! I wanted to be sure the space on each side was symmetrical and the corners were 90 degrees!

Step three: Place in water for 1 minute. It doesn’t have to be exact, but I held the label under for the duration of the minute just so it would be completely submerged.

Step four: After the minute is up, take it out and lay it on the table. Keep the paper covered side facing you and start rubbing it off! I was surprised I didn’t have to be too careful of rubbing too hard. The ink was pretty well stuck to the clear tape and I just took my time rubbing off the paper, wiping it away with a paper towel as I went. I noticed if this took me a while, dipping my finger in water and continuing would be helpful.

Step five: Once all of the paper is off of the back, you’ll have a clear label! Simply place it where you want on yoru container and dry it off, wiping away any air bubbles with your finger!

And that’s it! Super easy!

I tried it once with a label I was ok with ruining on a random glass container just to be sure I didn’t mess up, but you really can’t go too wrong! You can always take the label off and move it if needed!

 

So, Why Am I Here… Take A Look At This

So, you may be wondering why this blog exists.

Fair. That’s a fair question.

So far it feels like a project to see how many times I can incorporate the word “Look” into text and titles in fun and creative ways, but that’s not its full intent. I suppose I want somewhere to explore what’s going on in my head. Somewhere to document the things I’m experiencing in my creative-focused lifestyle, somewhere to have an outside “gig”, somewhere to explore what I can do outside of work while also helping myself to understand how I’m progressing in my field.

If you’re confused by what this means, fear not, I’ll get better. Let get me start by backtracking and give you the low down on what it is my life actually Looks like. (See what I did there?)

Here I am in my backyard. (Huge lie. This was taken in Portugal while traveling during my semester abroad.) I actually live in good ole Peoria, Illinois. Aka. Not glamorous. But let’s pretend.

My name is Jen. I am a 22-year-old (but give me 16 days and I will officially be 23). I love design, cats, Taco Bell and long walks at night with a pint of ice cream and a metal spoon in hand. I just made a chicken & avocado burger solely because I thought it Looked cool. It tasted fine, but I primarily enjoy that it Looks different from the usual stir fry or omelette I muster up the energy to make. I love being organized but if you walked into my room right now, that may not be the judgement you make of me. I promise you though, I clean my room about everyday, it’s just I can never get myself up in the morning which causes frantic outfit-picking and makeup-doing… so, by the time I get home from work, I Look like a total slob again.

This may seem like I’m completely off topic, but stick with me, I promise I’m going somewhere with this.

The point is. I love the way things Look.

I make certain foods because I want it to Look nice before I eat it. I clean my room everyday because I love having it Look nice even though it won’t stay that way for more than a matter of hours.  I am a graphic designer because I love to create things that Look nice and other people may appreciate enough to take a Closer Look.

Here lies Jen one morning before work. You’ll see my room isn’t in too rough of shape but I definitely have some things to put away. Give me ten minutes… you won’t see the floor.

So, that’s why I’m here.

I want to explore that ways things Look. This may include DIY projects that I do in my apartment, sketches I randomly am inspired to make, projects I’m working at work, or if I feel it’s interesting enough to note, a Look inside my life as a 22-year-old Creative Director, who just may be over her head half of the time but couldn’t be more grateful.

If you’re curious:
• I used “Look” 12 times in this post
• I live in Peoria, Illinois
• I graduated May 2016 with a degree in Graphic Design and a Minor in Social Media Marketing
• I work at Bump Boxes, a pregnancy subscription company (but I’m sure I will get into that much more later)

That’s all for now. Give my page a follow to see what pops up next!