Chalkboard Labels DIY

Hello! I finally did it, my first diy of the year! I've been working on my craft room off and on, it's not done yet, but I needed to do something crafty. So I cleared off my work table and got to work. I bought some glass jars at Hobby Lobby for my dogs' treats and just for fun I wanted to label them. Instead of chalkboard paint (which I love) I went with the vinyl chalkboard surface, also at Hobby Lobby and made the labels myself, so here is the DIY instructions for it!

This is a super easy project and fun and addicting. As you will see I made a ton of labels, just for fun! Also don't forget to read some tips below the diy!

The Supplies you will need is:
     1.) Chalkboard Vinyl Surface - It will stick to almost anything, plus it's removeable and reusable!
     2.) Cricut cartridges- I used Storybook and Songbird
     3.) Jar - Or anything with a smooth surface
     4.) Cricut Machine - This one is the Cricut Create, any cricut will do
     5.) Cricut Mat
     6.) Scissors

Step 1: Cut the chalkboard vinyl to the size of the cricut mat. Smooth out any air bubbles.

Step 2: Pick the shapes you want to cut. I chose from Songbird (the one on the right), the top label. Any shape will work as long as it have enough room to write on.

Step 3: Program your cricut with the shape, size, and any other feature.

Step 4: Press the cut key and the cricut will cut your shapes. Since vinyl is a little thicker than paper, make sure your mat is sticky to where the vinyl will stay on, if not hold it down as it cuts, just be careful not to get too close to the blade. And if the vinyl slips off the mat while cutting, just press the stop button and unload, then realign and start over with cutting.

Step 5: Peel off your shapes. They should peel off easily. If not, like the big one on the left of the mat, lift off what you can then use your scissors and carefully trim off the rest of the vinyl. The blade may have left an imprint so cutting may not be super hard.

Step 6: Peel off the vinyl backing and stick to the jar (or whatever you decide to label).

Step 7: Write on you labels using chalk and have fun!

As you can see I love these chalkboard labels. And yep, I had to put a bird on it (Portlandia reference), which turned out a little small. I like it none the less. So yeah, next up will be my sugar, flour, and etc canisters... and probably more!

I did make a few mistakes on this diy, so here's my tips from what I learned. 

- Before cutting the vinyl, practice on a regular sheet of paper. I didn't quite get the right size at first, as you see in the picture of the cut vinyl. This way you don't waste your vinyl trying to figure out what size labels you want.
- Make sure your cricut mat is really sticky. Mine wasn't, so the vinyl came up from the mat when cutting. If it's sticky, you shouldn't have to hold it down. Plus the shapes should cut out fully.

Cost of project-
  -Jars - $5.00 and under per jar, plus half off (Hobby Lobby)
  -Chalkboard Vinyl Surface- $7.99 orig. $4.79 with 40% coupon (Hobby Lobby)
     So, all together, with my 4 jars and chalkboard vinyl, for my project, it was under $10. Not to bad. That is if you already have the rest of the supplies. The cricut machine cost anywhere from $120 to $300 depending on the size and kind you get. The machines already include the mat, blade, and even a cartridge. Now I think most machines come with a pre loaded cartridge with shapes and fonts. Cricut has evolved since I first got mine. You can check out the Cricut website for more information of that.

As an alternative, if you don't have a cricut machine and don't want to buy one, you can just use a stencil of the shape you want to cut, a pencil to trace, and scissors or an exacto knife to cut it out!

Well, I hope you enjoyed this diy. It's super simple, fun, and addicting. I love it! The dogs, however love what's inside better! :)

And yes, Riley and Lily both love bacon! I do too, I mean real bacon, not bacon dog treats!
Now to go make some labels for more things. Thanks for reading! :)  -Jen

Disciple

Hello! I hope you had a good Easter Sunday! Mine was spent at church, then with family, and ended with watching the conclusion of The Bible series. Yep, I still get an Easter "basket" (decorative box, basket, or etc...this year was going to be a flower pot for my front porch, but I was unable to decide on one), anywhoo... :)   It was a bag filled with candy, a new glass water bottle, a melon baller (yes, I been kinda wanting a melon baller,  I like kitchen gadgets and appliances  it's my other addiction besides office supplies.), and a few other fun things! My doggies were also giving a basket full of 3 different kind of dog treats- one is duck shaped crackers, they love those! and a new rope toy (they love stuffed toys to shreds (literally) so only durable toys make it in this house now).
The Bible series was pretty cool. I only saw a few episodes, but they were good. I hope to watch the whole series sometime. I'm more of a visual person. I like to see things in order to figure things out, like with problems I like to write things down, or with traveling I like to see the directions and how to get there on a map instead of hearing the directions. I've been reading/hearing the Bible since I was very little. Always tried to picture the stories in my mind. Actually seeing them through this series brought them to a different light. One of my favorite things to see was involving the disciples. I don't know why, it just stuck with me different. Seeing a portrayal of their relationship with Jesus, how they interacted, how they loved him and each other, how they followed him- even after his death and resurrection, and a bit of their stories.

Being Christian then wasn't easy. Many of them were persecuted, most were put to death because of their beliefs, and yet they didn't give up. Being a Christian today is a little different, depending on where you live of course. Living in the U.S, there is persecution, but not to the point of prison or death. But there is more distraction, more things that make us comfortable and willing to live in our comfort zones. Jesus is outside of our comfort zone. I don't want to be a Christian who just sits on the side lines. Just goes to church and lives a nice life of being good to people and loving God... I want to do more, be more. I want to be like Peter, when an opportunity comes, to speak bolding about Jesus and do His work. I want to be like Paul, to encourage people and not give up. I want to be a disciple who does the work of Jesus, believes His word, and loves people. I want to live the life God intended me to live. One in which He will say, at the end of it all, "Well done, my good and faithful servant."

But how? I know what being a Christian means, I know what His word says, I know how to love others. But how, specifically does God want me to be a disciple. It's kinda a weird question, I mean you should be a disciple in your everyday life- at your workplace, school, home, in everything. I guess for me, i'm trying to figure out what God wants me to do. I've been wondering this for awhile, as far as my calling. I suppose that's for another post. But yeah, I just want to be a disciple. One who walks with Jesus, one who hangs out with Jesus, one who knows Jesus. I want to help people, heal people, give to people, love people, and most important share with people that God loves them, that Jesus is their Savior.

That's what i've been thinking about this Easter. Being a true disciple. I guess I can go in more detail on that too in another post. This is mostly about what's on my mind. God is amazing and good. And even when we think we aren't good enough, He doesn't see it that way. He loves us right where we are, and wants to help us grow from there. There's so much more I can post about this and I will, but I will end this here for now.
-Jen