Home Made Craft Labels

{ or labels on a budget, or in the last minute}

I would like to share with you a great idea for DIY labels that I found many months ago. It is so creative and clever that I wish it was mine, but I actually saw it here, at the lovely blog Patchwork and Pottery.

You’ll need the following:

T-shirt transfer kit

Twill tape

Printer

Exacto knife and board (this one is optional)

Scissors

Iron

 

I used the Avery T-shirt transfer pack, and I bought the one for white t-shirts, as my labels are white. I know that they have a kit for dark t-shirts. I am sure you can buy a cheaper version. I bough mine on Amazon.

Yes, you will need to reverse your image, so when you iron it, it will show from the right side!

Here are the steps you’ll need to follow:

I have undated the instructions since I first published this post as many people e-mailed me with questions:

Download the free software Avery Design Pro 5.

Link for PC here.

Link for MAC here.

Open the software and select the blank page just below File. From the list of templates choose the number of your product - T-shirt transfer. If you are not using Avery, than look for C9045. And from there on it is like using a word document.

Remember to leave spacing and also make sure that the height of your labels is smaller than the width of your ribbon or twill tape.

The good thing about the Avery Design Pro Software is that you don't have to worry about reversing your image. It will know that automatically because you have selected the T-shirt transfer template. Clink of Print Preview to check this. Do print out a couple of test pages. Once you are happy with the colour or the spacing than print it on the transfer paper from your T-shirt transfer kit.

Another tip is to check the settings of your printer. Many modern printers have the “Reverse image " option in the printer settings. If you have this option, than you can use a Word document to create your labels and use the printer settings to reverse the image before printing.

After you have printed your labels on the transfer paper use an exacto knife a board and a ruler to cut strips of your labels. If you do not have an exacto knife, than you can use paper scissors.

Once you have cut out your strips, you’ll need to iron them on the twill tape. At this point you will have to follow the description of your T-shirt transfer kit – but basically use hot iron, no steam and leave the labels to cool off completely before peeling off. A tip from me - try to press your labels, it works better than ironing.

 

When completely cool, peel off the paper and cut your desired labels. Ready – your very own, hand made labels in less than an hour!

 

 

 

 What I love about this way of making labels is the variety - you can choose any colour of twill tape, use colourful writing, personalize your labels or even have little images like flower or butterfly. Or you can make a continuous label tape.

And while I was waiting for the  labels to cool down, I made this absolutely delicious Italian herbs and parmesan bread. OK it took more than 5 min, but the bread is very quick and easy to make. I found the recipe here. I also cheated and used a packet of brown bread mix and the flavour is still amazing.

Have a lovely weekend!

Love

Irina xx