Labeling 101: Print & Laminate

I'm baaaack!

Did you miss me?  I missed y'all like crazy!  It's amazing what a little time away with the fam will do.  It was so super great, but I am excited to be back to blogging!

I get a lot of questions around this joint, but one of the most frequent is, "How do you make your labels?"  And when it comes down to it, there are over 101 ways to make a label, and although I have shown quite a few around here, I have never really gotten down to the nitty gritty details of each type and how they are created.  So, to build up a label tutorial project gallery, I am starting a new series so properly titled: Labeling 101.

Pretty sweet eh?  Yeah, you think you are excited....

And since this month is Linen & Loo month, I thought I would take a look at our own closets.  We have a linen closet in our hallway, which is so far from all bathrooms, that we turned it into more of a first aid/medication/pet supply closet, and opt to store towels and bath supplies right within each bathroom instead.  This works great since you really shouldn't store your medications in the bathroom itself, and our hall closet is not exposed to high or low temps, it is always juuuust right.

I organized the closet and spilled the details last year right here, and over a year later, it is still functioning fantastically!

The only little problem was with my original label selection.  I printed some labels onto Avery stickers and over time, they have gotten dirty and are peeling away from the baskets.  This doesn't really surprise me since when I stuck them to the baskets initially, they didn't seem to grab as I expected.  A year later I am back to do it right.  And, to share the "how" in making some of my favorite types of labels; the no fail, print and laminate kind!

The reason I love to create my own labels on my computer, print them off and laminate them is because:

• I design the overall look.  I can customize the text font, outline, colors, effects, etc....
• I can mount them onto pretty papers to give them even more strength and happiness
• By laminating them, they will stay durable for years and year to come

I shared an in depth tutorial on creating my labels in Excel here, however, I thought I would do a quickie recap in this post and take you from beginning to end in the process.  Ready?  Here we go!

As I mentioned, I create most of my labels in Microsoft Excel.  I use Office 2010, but I believe techniques are similar in older versions.

To begin, I open a new workbook and go straight to the Insert tab and select the WordArt feature.

I am a huge fan of ULTRA font, which you can get for free here, because it is nice and bold and chunky, rarr!  It makes it easier to play with font fills, if that is your sort of thing.  And my friends, that is definitely my sort of thing.

Once you have your label text, you can format the fill, outline, shadows, etc... right from the Format tab.

I like to really play around with it until I get it just how I like it, so I highlight my label text and right click to Format Text Effects:

Within this window, you can play around with the text fill, and watch it change as you go.  I have a variety of desktop/web patterns and backgrounds saved on my computer, and they make great font fillers.  You just select the option Picture or Texture Fill and browse for the image file on your computer.  Once you select it, I always select the Tile Picture and Texture button, and adjust the tiling options until the pattern fits nicely within the WordArt.

Within the Format Text Effects box, you will see options down the left side, to continue and modify your label text.  I always like to add a fun outline to the text, just to bold it up and bit.

Once I am done creating the text in Excel, I print it out onto heavy duty cardstock paper.  This really ensures the label will be nice and strong and durable.

Here are the supplies I like to use to create the label once printed:

• My laminating machine, which is over five years old and was originally purchased at Target for around $30.  It still works great, and it has been well worth the investment.
• A glue stick
• Pretty paper
• Velcro circles
• Printed labels
• I also like to use my paper slicer to cut nice straight edges

To begin, I cut down the labels and use the glue stick to mount them onto the pretty paper.  This gives the label a nice matte and adds strength.

Then, I cut them down a second time with my paper slicer.

The next step is to pop them through the laminator, this is that final strength they need to last a lifetime of wear and tear.  I try not to waste my laminating sheets, so I cut them down before putting them though the laminator.

And off they go!  It is always good to put your laminate in-between some protective covers.  I use the ones that came with the machine, however, this might also vary by machine type.

All done and cut down one last time!

You can adhere these labels in many ways, it really depends on the basket type and material.  You could punch them with a whole punch and use zip-ties, twine or ribbon.  You could use some hot glue or my favorite, Velcro.  I find it is super durable and removes without residue, so it receives a thumbs up from me.

And done!  Super fantastic printed and laminated basket labels!

And the final product once all the baskets were updated:

I always have all the supplies on hand, which also makes this a quick and simple labeling option.  In the end, it took me no more than 15 minutes from start to finish to whip up these wonderful little labels.