Pantry labels (and download)

As I continue my cleaning and organizing project, the next step was the pantry. It's already pretty organized since I got these OXO containers a few years ago. But I saw this thing on Pinterest with dictionary labels and loved it, so I decided to give it a try. It comes from an Australian blog, The Painted Hive, and she gives a pretty great tutorial on how to do it, as well as some free downloads.

And here they are!

Here's what you need:

inkjet clear waterslide paper (mine from Amazon here)

clear acrylic sealer (This one, but I got it from Michaels)

printer

bowl of water

containers (mine are Oxo Pop)

labels

The original blog posts her labels for download. I had to remake them to fit my containers - I had to make some of them smaller. I also needed some things she hadn't made labels for. So here are mine if you want to use them:

Click to enlarge and save to your desktop. These are 2x2 inch labels

Click to enlarge and save to your desktop. These are 4x3 labels.

Here's what you do:

1. Once you have the design the way you want it, flip it horizontally so you print the mirror image.
2. Print the design onto the glossy side of the paper.
3. Before the ink dries, spray on a decent coat of the sealer 
4. Cut out the image. Try to cut a nice square because it does show up once the label is on
5. Fill a little bowl with hot water. Doesn't have to be boiling, but pretty warm.
6. Immerse one label (only do one at a time!) in the bowl, design up. Keep an eye on it... as soon as you see the transparent film start separating from the backing, pull it out of the water. The hotter the water, the quicker it happens. The instructions I used said 30-45 seconds... that was way too long. The transparent film had already curled on top of itself and it was ruined. In really hot water, it took less than 5 seconds. In warm water maybe 10. I only got 2-3 labels done before the water was too cool for the backing to separate.
7. Quickly flip the design onto the container and place it where you want. Gently (VERY gently) peel the backing off. You can slide it off, but I found that the ink smeared more that way. Wet your finger and use it to smooth all the air bubbles out.
8. Leave it to dry for a couple hours (otherwise it'll rub off!)