DIY Reusable Labels

So. I’m nesting. A little bit. (It’s still early.)

And I’m on a bit of an organization and labeling craze.


I had a whole host of plain plastic magazine holders my dad gave me. I’ve used them for organizing sewing patterns and other random papers. I also turned some of the magazine holders onto their sides and use them in my pantry, a tip I shared last year.

I wanted to have some cute little way of labeling the holders I used for my pattern storage. And I really have admired many projects others have done around the web using cutting machines to make fun-shaped labels. But I don’t have a Silhouette cutting machine, label maker, or laminator. And I won’t be purchasing one. (I'm just too frugal!)


So I made my labels the cheap way. To make labels in this manner, you’ll need scrapbook paper (I used two layers, cut with scissors into oval shapes), adhesive labels (or just white paper cut into strips), clear contact paper—which I purchased at the hardware store and it has lasted forever, and a dry erase marker.


All I did was cut a piece of contact paper slightly larger than the oval. I made mine twice the width so I could just turn it onto the oval.
It’s a little tricky to hold the contact paper flat while removing the backing.



Place the label on top of the smaller over.  Remove the backing and place the smallest oval face down (with the label stuck to it) and then place the larger oval over that.


Now, just carefully turn the contact paper over onto the back side of the oval, smoothing out any air bubbles as you go.


Trim off the excess contact paper and you are ready to write on the label with the dry erase marker.

If you wanted to make these non-reusable, you could write on the labels prior to laminating them with the contact paper. Use tape to secure them to the surface you want to label.

Simple. Cheap. Used materials I had around my house.

And here’s one final simple organizing idea. I love to repurpose food containers. And my family has, I mean, I’ve eaten a lot of salsa from Costco in the past two years. So I’ve used the containers to hold some of my children’s toys/educational items.



It still doesn’t make my child want to do craft projects, but at least it looks good.