You may have noticed these bottles when I gave you an update on our kitchen here.
I designed the bottle labels with the help of the Canva app. Living in France means that we can’t easily get our hands on a lot of Indian or Chinese cooking ingredients, so when we go to the UK we always bring lots back. Pouring them into these large bottles means that we save on space, so I wanted them to look good.
You can learn how to apply the labels by clicking here, I use waterslide decals to apply them. If you want to give them a go you can download the printout below.
Have you ever heard of Mary gardens? For centuries, almost since the begining of the Church itself and especially the Middle Ages, flowers and plants have been named for and dedicated to Mary. In particular herbs have been used to represent her. Soothing and healing herbs ones for her perfect love and mercy, bitter or sour herbs her sorrows and sweet smelling herbs her spiritual sweetness.
When we know what they represents herbs can add a spiritual dimension to our Catholic kitchens; providing an opportunity to reflect on her nature and experiences. Just like outside you can honour Our Blessed Mother in the kitchen, perhaps on the windowsill, with a mini Mary garden of small potted herbs and a Marian statue.
It was this in mind I created these Marian Herb lables for waterslide decals. Like the measurements chart, they’re super easy to do – follow the link for instructions.
You can get a print out of the labels themselves below, but there is also a part of the prayer for the blessing of herb gardens for the feast of the Assumption which I’ve also made into labels for the back. Here’s the prayer itself (of course it s only a small extract which I’ve highlighted in bold);
Our help is in the name of the Lord; Who hath made heaven and earth. A hymn, O God, becometh Thee in Sion: and a vow shall be paid to Thee in Jerusalem.
O hear my prayer: all flesh shall come to Thee. The words of the wicked have prevailed over us; and Thou wilt pardon our transgressions. Blessed is he whom Thou hast chosen and taken to Thee: he shall dwell in Thy courts. We shall be filled with the good things of Thy house: holy is Thy temple, wonderful in justice.
Hear us O God, our Savior, who art the hope of all the ends of the earth, and in the sea afar off. Thou who preparest the mountains by Thy strength, being girded with power: who troublest the depth of the sea, the noise of its waves. The Gentiles shall be troubled, and they that dwell in the uttermost borders shall be afraid at Thy signs: Thou shalt make the outgoings of the morning and of the evening to be joyful.
Thou hast visited the earth, and hast plentifully watered it: Thou hast in many ways enriched it. The river of God is filled with water, Thou hast prepared their food: for so is its preparation. Fill up plentifully the stream thereof, multiply its fruits: it shall spring up and rejoice in its showers.
Thou shalt bless the crown of the year with Thy goodness: and Thy fields shall be filled with plenty. The beautiful places of the wilderness shall grow fat: and the hills shall be girded about with joy. The rams of the flock are clothed, and the vales shall abound with corn: they shall shout, yea, they shall sing a hymn.
For the Lord will give goodness; And our earth shall yield her fruit. Thou waterest the hills from Thy upper rooms. The earth shall be filled with the fruit of Thy works; Bring forth grass for cattle. And herb for the service of men; That Thou mayst bring bread out of the earth; And that wine may cheer the heart of man That he may make the face cheerful with oil; And that bread may strengthen man’s heart. He sent His word and healed them; And delivered them from their destruction.
Almighty, eternal God: by Thy word Thou hast created heaven, earth, and the sea, all things visible and invisible, out of nothing; Thou hast ordained that the earth bring forth plants and trees for the use of men and animals; Thou hast decreed that each germinate according to its natureand bring forth fruit in due time, and Thou hast decreed that these plants should serve not only as food but as medicine in time of sickness. We humbly pray with heart and tongue that Thou wouldst bless these various herbs and plants and in Thy mercy grant a new blessing upon those powers that Thou hast caused to be inherent in these plants. May they, therefore, be a protection against all sickness and tribulation when we use them for man and beast in Thy name whose glorious Assumption we celebrate this day.
O God, who on this day didst raise the root of Jesse, the mother of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, to the heights of heaven, we humbly pray Thee, that by her intercession and under her protection the fruit of her womb, Thy Son, might be given to us mortal men, that by the power of Thy Son and the protection of His glorious Mother we may be disposed to our eternal salvation by these temporal gifts.
O God, who didst command the children of Israel that they should bring the sheaves of new fruits to the priest to be blessed and that they should rejoice before the Lord, graciously hear our prayers and pour forth the fullness of Thy blessing upon these fruits and herbs which we gratefully present this day before Thy altar.
Grant that, wherever they may be placed, they may be a potent means against sickness and pestilence, against the poison of serpents and the sting of poisonous animals, as also against the deceits, snares, and machinations of the devil. Grant that we may be worthy to be received with our sheaves of good works into heaven through the merits of the most Blessed Virgin.
As I said in this post I love kitchen signs, particularly the ones that look handpainted and a little Victorian. I really wanted a sign on the side of the bookcase where I’ve put the French baguette bin, but as it was a fixed position I had two options.
The first was to do a seperate sign and the fix it to the wall. This would have given me the opportunity to take my time in painting the letters.
The second was to apply something to the wall itself. I’ve never got to grips with image transfers, but as I’ve recently found water slide decals this seemed like the best option (see here and here). It meant that I could choose something with a lot of detail too, which is a bonus.
By the way I used an iPad and Canva app to do this, so the instructions obviously reflect that, however I’m sure you can adapt them for other systems.
The first thing was to design a sign. I’d done a lot of inspiration research and I really like a mixture of typefaces and scrolls etc. I also like illuminated letters. I trawled through Pinterest for free to download Wreath illustrations (thank you graphics fairy) and monogram letters to use.
Take a screen shot
When you come across an image or piece of typography you like you can take a screen shot of it – all computers have different ways of doing this, so you may have to look yours up. However on an iPad, as I tend to us, it means pressing the circular home button and your on/off button to the side of the iPad at the same time. When you do that a photo of the image you want will be taken and stored in your photos.
Edit the screen shot
Your screen shot will have lots of other things apart from the image you want on it, so you need to get rid of the excess. On your iPad when you have your photo open in images you’ll see an icon for editing it in the top, left hand corner; press on that.
The edit facility will look like this
The third icon down, the square with arrows surrounding it in shot 2, is the option you chose to edit the image. Once you’ve clicked on it the image will be smaller and you’ll have two capacities on your iPad; to rotate the image to a position you want it in using the dial on the right, or to resize it using the four corners at the edge of the image. Just move the highlighted corner to move the edges inward until the image is cropped. When you’re done press ‘done’ on the right hand side and your image stays like that. However if you want it to go back to the original go back through the edit system and press revert.
Creating your layout
Once you’ve selected typefaces and decorative details for your sign you want to create a layout. I used the Canva app to do mine, which is a free app that you can download. At the top of the open app you’ll see lots of different options – I chose poster for this project.
You can use a pre-existing template, but I just wanted a blank space to try different set ups on. In the left hand tool bar (see above) you can see an option saying uploads. If you click on it an icon for your photos comes up and clicking on this shows you your photo gallery including your cropped images.
Select your image and slide it into the work space. Above the image you’ll see lost of different functions. Move the image to where you want it and make it smaller by touching on one of the black circles moving them in (below).
As I wanted a monogram effect I’d already decided I wanted a stand alone type face in our surname, so I had the image stored in the gallery and added that in the same way. I used the same method to move and make smaller the image. As you can see in the image below, images added from your gallery will have a solid background, so if they overlap another image from your gallery they will block out that part of the image. Canva text boxes don’t have this problem though.
You can see in the next shot that I just position the V in a way that ensures no overlap.
In the next one you can see I’ve applied a text box using the text icon. There are lots of pre-existing layouts you can use, but I find that some are stuck in caps so it’s easier to use the simple ‘add text’.
In the next image down you can’t see a tool bar has come up above the keyboard. It does that when you touch the text to alter it. On the left hand side you can see the typeface which you can scroll through to get your preferred one. Once you see the one you like touch it and you’re text changes. Use the large and small capital to increase or decrease the size of the text and then position the text where you want it to go.
Carry on in this way until you have the design you want. You can see in my final design below how the text of ‘akery’ overlaps the B typeface that I’d downloaded. This is because the text box, unlike the downloaded images, doesn’t have a solid background so they give far more flexibility.
The image below is towards the end of my final design. If you look at the ‘Pastries’ text you will see there is a turning arrow symbol. I used this to give the pastries word a slant that mirrored the scroll design. You can also see the scroll design below has a part of the image I couldn’t crop out, but as I’m going to apply them with water slide decals this doesn’t matter as I can crop them in real life with scissors.
At this stage it’s best to download your image by pressing the download function button on the top right hand side of the screen and a box appears for you to download (See below). I always use the top option and it saves the image into my photos. I then insert the image into a document page and make sure it’s at full size.
The next thing to do is seperate all the parts of the image so that you can remake them on a bigger scale. I did this by using the additional page function, then copying an element of the design and putting it on an individual page.
If you see the images below you can see I’ve copied the image by pressing on the two, overlaying rectangles in the right hand margin. To get lots of seperate images delete all but the part that you want to use in a stand alone capacity. So the wreath and family name I’ve kept as one image on a page, the bread and cakes part another and so on. Some I didn’t make a page for, like the B, as I already had a cropped image of this to make this mock up.
Take a screen shot of these stand alone parts (see below) and crop them as before (below again).
In your pages section, using the mock up as a template, seperate out the parts so that you’ll be able to print them on waterslide decal paper.
In order to determine how best to lay your design out you need to think about how many pages your design will need to be spread over. I did this by holding a piece of A4 paper in landscape and then counting how many I would need to fill the space in the top portion and the bottom. The design was spread over this many pages.
Do a mock up first; printing on plain paper and placing them where you think they should go. This way you won’t waste any decal paper.
Also, once you have an idea of the text size you’ll need, you may want to rearrange your components of text into different groupings in order not to waste too much waterslide paper.
You’ll notice that the finished piece has some additional illustrations. When I put them on the side of the cupboard I wasn’t satisfied with the gap at the top between bakery and our family name in the wreath and bakery, so I hunted around for a suitable illustration and followed the steps again.
I’d also started placing the bottom part too near the base and there was an unsatisfactory gap. The illustration of the woman drinking her tea was perfect to fill it. As far as I’m aware all these are free to use by the way.
Finally, I’d planned to fill the original bakery B with my own colours, but as I sealed the design with a coat of spray varnish they ran. I’d use different sharpies and expected that to work, but alas no. So the B you see in the image was my second attempt.
Also, as you can see, I’ve changed the baguette bin from lavender to a teal blue. I think it’s a better tone for the yellow, don’t you?
What do you think? The kitchen is no where near finished and I might be a bit crazy to have done it already, but I’m super pleased with the result. Even the hubby likes it!
We had storage jars in our kitchen in England and they came wíth us to France. They’re excellent. Not only do they look amazing, in my opinion, but they’re practical.
My husband took the micky out of me when I first brought them home for his extensive flour collection. He used to bake his own bread and he makes his own pizza too. As a result we’d had lots of bags of flour in our cupboard. The thing is, bags split and the contents spill, making a mess. The jars save you from that and they keep your produce super fresh; as I said, we brought ours with us over two years ago and they were full. The contents are still fresh.
In my last post I spoke about labelling my mason jars and, as I’d added to these with jars I’d saved from the recycling bin, I was looking to label them as I’d done with my other jars. I also wanted to give them a uniform look and all the jar lids were different. The easiest solution, I thought, was to spray paint the metal lids.
At first it went well; I sprayed the lids with a light coat of mint and went off satisfied. However when I returned in fifteen minutes I noticed that all the lids with date stamps on them, you know those best befores, seem to run and come through the paint. A second coat was needed anyway, to give it density, so it would solve that this time surely?
Fifteen minutes later – nope. Another coat – nope. I had some gold colour and that covered it well, but I didn’t really like colour (sorry, no picture). However I had a can of matt, black spray paint that I’d bought for another project that resulted in most of the can being left over. So, I tried that.
Perfect! I’d also produced some water slide decal labels on white transfer paper to finish them off. So, brand new storage jars for the cost of a can of black spray paint and a waterslide decal sheet; about 3,50€.
Here are the jars on my painted shelves. Now these bookcases are all painted I’m a step closer to my dream kitchen.
I said in my last post that waterslide decals are an easy craft project, but there is a nack to them and also you have to be careful of how you use them.
I shared with you my first water slide project, these storage jars, with this image…
I was super excited to label all my storage jars. However when I was a considerable way through labelling them all, I suddenly realised something. These black labels looked great against flour, but what about dark produce like raisins?
My husband, didn’t get the whole labelling project. He also doesn’t get why you need to stack pans in order of size so they’re don’t keep falling out on top of you, so in the matters of home organisation he doesn’t have a full vote. Anyway, he said ‘you’re going to see what’s in the jars anyway’.
Well I don’t know about you, but I can’t tell the difference between raisins and currants just by looking at them. There are different types of seeds, herbs and other things that are difficult to distinguish without a label.
Of course as I’m spending the time doing this I wanted to, you know, see them. I want them to be a feature as well as a practical measure.
So I’ve tried lots of illustrated frames, with solid blocks of colour behind the writing like this…
thinking that would provide a contrast so the writing would stand out. Unfortunately on the transparent decal paper I was using it was too translucent.
I tried different colour wreaths like this…
but that was too translucent when printed out too.
So the black stood out the most – would a black background with light, contrasting letters work? This was my next design…
They look pretty on the jars don’t they?
Sadly when they have produce in them the same problem came up. I didn’t even bother putting up an image of the juniper berries jar, you can’t even see the label.
I tried sealing them I. translucent gold glitter spray, glitter purple nail varnish (still see through) and frosted glass spray inside the jar. None of it worked. Read on to find my solution. In the meantime here are my dos and don’ts.
Do spray acrylic varnish four times
When you print out your images on decal paper the advice is print it shiny side up, no need to mirror image it, leave it for 30 minutes to dry and then spray it with acrylic varnish. I’ve read other how tos that say spray two or three times, but four is the charm. Believe me. I know this because I accidentally sprayed one sheet four times and the others three. The sheet with four coats worked so much better.
The three times sheet had a more malleable feel, like cling film. They were tricky because, just like cling film, they stuck to themselves a good deal of the time. I wasted so much transfer paper.
However the four times one was remarkably more durable, almost like a laminate sheet pre laminating. It was far easier to remove and lay on the object as a result. I don’t think I wasted a single piece done like this. If you don’t follow any other dos, do this!
Do put water on the object
When I was trying to use the transfers in a more cling film like state they were tricky to apply. So I started to dip my fingers in the bowl of water that I was submerging the transfers in and coating the surface a little. It acted as a means to slide the decal in place more easily on the surface itself. It continued to work well on those I’d coated four times with varnish, allowing me to have far me capacity to move the decal on the objects surface. I’ve been able to move them around a good couple of centimetres.
Do grip the decal between your fingers and thumbs
Submerge the decal in water and it will curl up like one of those magic fish you get in crackers that are meant to tell you your fortune. Leave it for about thirty seconds. To remove the decal grip it with your fingers underneath it and your thumbs together on top of it. Grip it firmly then push your thumbs away from you. You’ll feel it give and it will start to do as it’s names says, slide in the water.
Remove the decal from the water, half on and off the paper. Place it where you want it to go on the moist surface and then finish sliding it off.
Do get rid of the air bubbles beyween your thumbs too
On the decal place your thumbs or fingers in the middle of it side by side. Then slide one of them out to the edge and off the decal, keeping the other firmly in place. Return it to the middle and do the same the other side. Make sure all the bubbles are gone like this.
Do choose your colour scheme well
As my description shows when it comes to something like glass storage jars it needs to be fit for purpose. This might mean not having transparent paper at all, as I’ve finally concluded. You see my solution to my dilemma is to go back to the drawing board with this design….
and this for teas….
on white decal paper instead of the transparent type I was using. Notice how I put something together with a border that I can give a clear edge too.
I‘m already coming up with some idea of how to use the leftover transparent paper. Watch this space for that. In the meantime I’ve added this free download of the labels here….
minus our house name and address which, as you can’t see on the label, I’ll be having on our final jars. I’ll update you when the paper arrives and they’re done and there will be another free download for herb labels (if you’re not a subscriber follow so you can get them when they come online). Can’t wait!
By the way, a shore out to the graphics fairy for the vintage, wreath image I used.
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