DIY Authentic Vintage Paper Labels!
Jul 01 2009
Create an authentic vintage look with these DIY herb bottles which can be used for gifts, party or wedding favours or simply to decorate your own pantry! Download your free label designs and read instructions on how to achieve the vintage paper effect.
I will also be providing tea labels in upcoming days so stay tuned for those, but in the meantime, read on to check out these little gems!
WHAT YOU WILL NEED FOR THIS PROJECT:
- Ground Coffee/Instant Coffee
- Boiling water
- A mug
- A baking tray or plate
- A spoon
- 6 brown 50ml bottles (mine are from Aesop travelling kit that is pictured below)
- Hair Blow Dryer
- White A4 80gsm paper
- Black and white printer
- Guillotine or scalpel
- Label Template (download below)
(The Aesop travelling kit consists of 3 re-usable plastic 50ml brown bottles and costs $5.50 AUD)
DOWNLOADS
Download the following free pdf for your labels for Basil, Oregano, Parsley, Rosemary, Thyme and Sage.
INSTRUCTIONS
Step One- Print out your labels onto plain white 80 gsm paper using your black and white printer.
Step Two- Cut out your labels using a guillotine or scalpel.
Step Three- Scoop some coffee into a mug and fill enough boiling water to just cover the coffee grains. You don't want too much water as you want the coffee to be super strong. Stir the coffee until dissolved then scoop a few spoons into your tray or plate.
Step Four- Place one of the labels into the puddle of coffee. You can use your spoon to press it down into the liquid and make sure it's fully covered. Do this to both sides of the label. You want your label to be completed covered with coffee and you want to make sure there's enough water in the consistency so that you don't have too many of the grains sticking to your label when you take it out.
Step Five- Take your label out of the coffee and start blow drying it until it is completely dry. It helps to keep a couple of puddles of water while drying on your label so that when it dries you get that water stained effect. Take your time and experiment with various effects.
Step Six- Once all your labels have dried, use double-sided tape to stick onto your herbs bottles. Fill with herbs and you're done!
TIPS
When I had finished all 6 labels I noticed that the first few had a nice yellowish tinge whereas the rest were a darker brown. I'm not 100% sure on this but I believe this may have been due to the heat of the coffee when I first started. Therefore, it's possible that this can be maintained by keeping the coffee hot for all of the labels and maybe using a very high heat on the blow dryer, making sure to not stop until it is completely dry. If anyone discovers the reason for this or has found any other neat effects, please let me know!
(All the information regarding the various herbs that I've used on the labels is referenced from Encyclopedia Britannica Online)
Dill
cinnamon
paprika
cumin
coriander
cardamon
cloves
star anise
allspice
tumeric
thanks a lot!
I love the look of these and I can't wait to make them! I'll definitely be bookmarking your page for future updates and new ideas!!
Either way, thanks for this awesome idea.
I would like to ask which program do you use to make your beautiful labels?
hey, i was wondering, for the adobe illustrator, did u have to pay for it or is that free?
thnx
je me permet de vous citer sur blog.
a très bientôt, bonjour de france, miette
eg. Star Anise, Garam Masala, Cumin, Fennel, Pepper, Nutmeg
Thanks!
for other spices, i think it would be fairly easy to download the font, open up the page in photoshop, erase the herb text and swap out the info for the herb you want.