Easy Labels for Home Canning

I love canning.

I never thought I would say that, but I just love to hear that "pop" and opening the cans later to find some deliciousness from the fall.  This year, we made a few cans of chutney.

Of course, I also love paper, and I was super excited to find that the Tim Holtz Lost and Found paper contains 2 x 2 inch squares of his paper.  These squares fit perfectly on a canning lid (after being cut into a circle).  The other benefit of this paper is that it has a micro-version of the print, so instead of a small piece of a big pattern, you get a really nice scaled version of the paper.

Some people think I'm strange to make pretty labels for the cans, but I think it makes it easier to give them as gifts later, and it feels more special to me.  Why shouldn't my cans look fabulous?

After a few years of hand-stamping labels, and storing them in my (slightly yucky) basement, this is the process I use to make my labels.

1. Print the text on a sheet of desired paper.  For these labels, I chose a slightly translucent paper, since I wanted to see a bit of the pattern.  I use a table in my word processor, with the width and height of the cells equal to the size I'm going for.
2. Cut out the labels with a circular punch, die, etc. of your choosing.  I used my spellbinders dies.
3. Trim the patterned paper to 2 x 2.
4. Glue the label to the patterned paper.  For a translucent label like this one, I just put a little glue behind the black writing.
5. Run the 2 x 2 patterned paper through a xyron with a laminate/adhesive cartridge.  This makes the top protected with plastic (good for our basement), and the bottom with a strong adhesive.
6. Cut out the label with a die, punch, etc. of your choice.  I used a spellbinders scalloped circle.
7. Stick on your can and admire!

And what, you might ask, is Marrow Chutney?  Well, chutney is a sweet-and-sour type of relish that is popular in indian food, and in England.  Marrow is the British name for zucchini.  We got a huge zucchini from a friend, and Paul has been wanting to make marrow chutney for a while.  We use this on our sandwiches quite a bit to add a bit of zing.

Just love these new papers by Tim Holtz - I can see a lot of crafting possibilities with these.  And, the spellbinders dies are used constantly in my craft room. Basic shapes are the best - circles never go out of style, so you can't go wrong stocking up with these shapes.  And, the laminating/adhesive cartridge for my xyron is something I make sure is always in stock for canning season.