Cranky Puppy Farm: jam

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This blog belongs to two Gen X-er's smackdab in downtown Kansas City where we've been renovating and decorating two old Victorians built in the 1890's. Our life is filled with 3 demanding Pomeranians (1 of them cranky, of course), honking cars, noisy neighbors and the hustle and bustle of city life but we dream of the day when we can move to our 40-acre farm and hear nothing but the wind and the cows next door. Until then, we're chronicling our triumphs and mishaps here as we try to garden and preserve on 2 city lots, raise chickens, and learn all those things we should have learned from our grandparents. Welcome to our world - we hope you'll stay awhile!

Creative Ideas for Labelling

Sunday, June 24, 2012

If you've been buzzing around here this week, you know that I made jam out of 4 lbs of the most delicious-looking strawberries I think I've ever seen. Whether frozen or preserved, strawberries don't seem to last very long around here. But I've had some friends and neighbors drooling on my foot when I told them what we were doing, and that got me to thinking about giving some of it as gifts.

But I hate just handing someone a plain ol' canning jar. So I thought I would have some fun with it today and make my own labels. Might as well be somewhat productive since it's 95 degrees outside with 3000% humidity. All of this took me about 10 minutes total. First, let's start with the labels:

How do you like those names for the jams?

(Okay....there are some inside jokes there that I need to let you in on. Our youngest dog, Domino, likes to "woo hoo". When you say those words, he starts running back and forth down the hallway, up onto the furniture, and generally going nuts. I picked "Sneak-A-Lick" because that's what our dogs are always trying to do when we're not looking. And "Ornery Streak" because Domino has a white streak of fur on the top of his head and we refer to it as his ornery streak. He is one cute little brat, that's for sure.)

Now...before you think I'm a creative supergenius. I happened to run across a site called the Jam Labelizer, which has these designs and allows you to change the colors and wording. So you can make these also!

Step 1. So the first thing I did was print out the labels with my color inkjet printer. These would look great with a color laser but mine shot craps. I played around with the sizing and printed a couple of different sizes so that I could use the bigger size as template for some card stock and then use the smaller one as the actual label.

Step 2. Use stencil adhesive to attach the bigger size label to some card stock (I used red since it complimented the label color). I had this card stock already, but a full sheet is just 40 cents at Hobby Lobby.

Step 3. If you want, you can also use a different design paper on the back. I chose to use the red and cream design above and decided to make it the same size as the label. Looking at it now, I wish I had made it the same size as the cardstock. Use regular adhesive to afix the paper to the back of the card stock (the side that doesn't have the label.)

Step 4. Carefully cut around the outside of the jam label.

Step 5. Remove the label from the cardstock. This is where using stencil adhesive comes in handy, because it will peel away very easily and not leave any sticky residue behind.

Step 6. Carefully cut around the outside of the smaller jam label.

Step 7. Using spray adhesive, afix the smaller jam label to the front of the card stock.

Voila! Here's how it looks....

Step 8. Use a hole punch to put a hole in the top of the label.

Step 9. Cut a circle of fabric approximately 8 to 9 inches in diameter. Again, here's your opportunity to be creative. I tried felt (25 cents at the craft store), cheap muslin, and a bandana (99 cents at the craft store).

Step 10. Place the fabric circle on top of the jar and use a rubber band to hold the fabric down. I can never find a rubber band when I need one, so I had to skip this step.

Step 11. Use string, yarn, raffia or decorative ribbon to affix the fabric on top of the jar. I tied mine in a knot and then threaded one end of it through the hole in the label. Then I just tied a pretty bow.

Felt looks okay..but not my favorite. I can't believe this took just 10 minutes to put together.

The bandana is my favorite! I think it really dresses it up. But I think it would look better with a cream ribbon now.

Other Ideas:

Place the fabric under the canning ring. I think there are white rings, but I've never been able tind them.
Leave the date off the label and laminate them. That way they can be used over and over again and you can just write the date they were preserved on the label with an erasable pen.
Print these on label paper and stick them on the jar or the canning lid. (Personally, I would do the lid. I hate trying to get labels off the jars when you wash them!)
Use old dish towels for the fabric. A white towel with red stripes would have looked awesome.
Personalize the labels with stickers, metallic writing, stamps or other crafts.
Come up with your own design The possibilities for creativity are endless!

Well, I enjoyed sharing this with you as much as I enjoyed making them. I love seeing what other people are doing, so if you've got some ideas for creative labelling or dressing up your canning jars, I'd love to hear about it. Please leave me a comment!