16 Creative Projects for Label Lovers {The Thinking Closet}

Hey, hey friends! I am absolutely thrilled to have my friend Lauren from The Thinking Closet here today on the blog! Lauren is truly one of the sweetest and most genuine people in all of blogland, and I was giddy with excitement to be able to meet her in person at Haven this year after having known her online for a long time now. We even hung out in a faux shower together! 😀

Lauren’s creative posts and beautiful heart keep readers coming back to her blog again and again, and if you haven’t already discovered her awesomeness, I know you will quickly become a fan of hers as well! And now, here’s Lauren!

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Hello there, Just a Girl and Her Blog readers! My name is Lauren, and when I’m not directing musicals or guzzling down a yummy Starbucks drink, I’m whipping up something craftastic and sharing it over on my blog, The Thinking Closet.

Abby and I have been blog buddies for quite some time now, and when she invited me to come on over and guest post, I jumped at the chance! Not only would I bend over backwards for the girl (we all know what a gem Abby is), but I was also eager to meet you all.

You see, Abby and I have a lot of things in common:

• She’s a preacher’s kid and I’m a preacher’s granddaughter.
• We’re both former English teachers.
• I almost ended up at Grove City where Abby attended college. (How crazy would it be if we had been roommies? Bring on the all-night-craft-sessions!)

Oh, and last but not least:

• We like to label everything.

Which brings us to the subject of this here post!

16 Creative Projects for Label Lovers

I thought it could be fun to share with you all 16 of the many labeling endeavors I have undertaken. Because I have a hunch that Abby and I aren’t the only ones who heave a sigh of relief when we open a cabinet to see baskets of food clearly marked with chalkboard labels. Sure, there may be piles of laundry that remain unfolded and a craft explosion all over the living room from the last DIY project…but if I can block that all out for a moment and just stare at my neatly-organized cabinet, suddenly, all is right in the world.

Can you relate? Well, then this post is for you friends! I hope it brings you some labeling inspiration.

In the Kitchen

These handy dandy D.I.Y. Wooden Chalkboard Labels were actually my very first D.I.Y. project that I shared on my blog…and nearly two years later, they’re still working hard to keep our crowed kitchen cabinets organized.

My hubby gave me a Silhouette machine for Christmas in 2012, and it has vastly helped to up my labeling game. One of my very first label projects with my Silhouette was creating Sugar & Flour Jar Labels from frosted vinyl. It gives my sugar and flour jars the classy look of etched glass!

And I don’t know about you, but I’ve definitely brought home bakeware that was not mine from potluck dinners. However, now that I have permanently labeled my casserole dishes with our last name, I need not worry about that any longer! Creating Personalized Etched Glass Bakeware is a really fun project to do for bridal showers or housewarming gifts, too!

Another “label” of sorts that has solved some of our kitchen woes of accidentally re-washing already=clean dishes, has been this Clean & Dirty Dishwasher Magnet I made. No more mix-ups!

Have you ever tried labeling wood with a wood-burner? It’s one of my husband’s favorite tools. And in the tutorial for our Rustic Pallet Recycle Bin, he walks you through the steps of how to add a wood-burned recycle logo to the top of your recycle bin!

Hospitality

Table place-cards are labels of sorts, right? Whenever we host company for dinner, I take out my Gold Plastic Toy Animals & Sketch Pen Place-Cards to help guide our guests to their special spot at our table! It never fails to give them a smile.

I also created some festive Halloween Treat Bag Labels using Printable Silver Foil for our Costume Party last fall. I always love adding a handmade touch to party favors if I can!

Gifts

My love of labels is so intense, I even give labels as gifts! And who needs labels more than friends in the midst of moving? They’re a key element of my Merry Moving Kit!

After staying with our friends in Colorado this past February, I left behind some gifts for their kiddos as a thank you: Personalized Milk Bottles. (I only grew up with one sibling, and I still very much understood the value of having your name plastered on something. And not just your first name, but your middle name, too.)

Labels don’t have to be too serious either. In fact, I think it can be quite refreshing when they have a sense of humor like my label for the Chill Pills Bottle Gag Gift I made Mark this Christmas. “Side effects may include sudden onset smiling….”

For Father’s Day last year, I made my Father-in-Law a Cowboy’s Toothpick Holder Jar, complete with a vinyl label declaring them as his and his alone! Hands off, pard’ner!

Fun fact: Did you know you can create your own font with just a printer and scanner and pen? And that you can print a clothing label in that font to be added to your D.I.Y. sewing creations? True story! And here’s how to do it: D.I.Y. Clothing Labels with Personalized Font Tutorial.

Storage Time

One of my proudest organizing endeavors was our front hall closet. The “before” is really scary…and so it makes the “after” all the more remarkable. Our white Custom Vinyl Labels have played such an important role in helping us to keep this closet as organized today as it was last summer. That’s the power of labels!

And if you don’t have your own digital craft-cutter for making your own labels, there are plenty of cute ones out there for purchase! Like these cutie-pattootie Martha Stewart Chalkboard Labels I used on my Craft Storage Bins.

In the Home Office

One of my goals this year has been to work on our Receipt Organization, so they aren’t the hot mess and a half they were at the end of 2013! Thanks to some Target accordion organizers and labels on the exterior and tabs, we are keeping things in tip top order in 2014.

Annnd, last, but not least, one of our recent furniture transformations was a Roll-Top Desk Makeover, which has been my most challenging and yet favorite DIYs to date. I just love all the teeny tiny drawers for storing teeny tiny office supplies. So, of course, I used my sketch pens to create some teeny tiny labels to complete the look!

And yes, I have a drawer just for washi tape!

To Close

A heartfelt thanks to Abby for the invitation to share this round-up with you lovelies. I hope it serves you well as you label all the things!

For more label inspiration, I highly recommend you take a look back at Abby’s Fabulously Feminine Home Office because she labeled with a capital L for that project! She also has some beautifully Labeled Pantry Tupperware and a sweet tutorial on How to Make Pretty Labels with Microsoft Word, too!

And feel free to stop by The Thinking Closet anytime. The closet door is always open to new visitors! And here’s a great place to start.

Be well,

 

 

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Isn’t she the best?! Love that girl! And all of those labels seriously make me swoon! 😀 I hope you were inspired by Lauren’s post today– be sure to head over to The Thinking Closet for even more creative goodness, and follow along on social media while you’re there so you don’t miss the fun! Have a great week!