Monday, January 23, 2012

DIY Magnetic Spice Jars



I have previously posted about the woes of apartment living and my lack of storage, and though the complaining makes me feel better, it does not make armoires pop out of thin air.

Although imagine how magical that would be....

One of my problem areas is my kitchen (actually, who am I kidding, the whole apartment is a "problem area" ...of course so are my thighs, but that's a whole new bag of rubberbands).  I like to cook and bake a lot (hence the thighs), but don't have anywhere good to put my herbs.  My sister has one of those magnetic spice racks that hangs on your wall, and I have always lusted after it.  However, due to my affinity for wall art, there is no wall space for such an item.  And they're expensive (at least in my view).

So on an online crafting quest, I saw someone who had put them on their refrigerator.  Genius.  And a major space saver.  I found these little storage containers at Jo-Ann's, and got them on sale for around $0.50 apiece.

You will also need the following:



Spice jars (washed and dried, of course)
Scrapbook paper
Magnets
Label maker (or printed out labels)
Packing tape (or contact paper)
Glue

The nice thing about the jars I bought is that the tops came with window cling-esque labels, a.k.a. free templates.  I traced the label on the reverse of the scrapbook paper, and then cut out slightly inside the line.

After that, I made my labels.  I used a label maker I already had (you can get them at Wal-Mart for ~$5), because I love that sort of retro vibe it has.


The next step was cutting out the tape (this is where contact paper would have been easier).  Anyway, genius me thinks, oh! I'll put down saran wrap on my lap desk and then put the packing tape on that so it won't get any fuzzies (or Thor hair) on it.  Well once I traced my 9 circles, I discovered that yes, my tape was fuzz-free, but it was also securely adhered to my saran wrap. Whoops. So, I scrap that and decide to just tape to my lap desk.  Much better.  I traced slightly outside the label, so there would be tape extending beyond my paper.


Cut just inside the line, and center(ish) it over a paper circle.


Stick on to lid, tightly adhering all edges.


Add labels...


Now the fun part's done.

Next, glue the magnets onto the bottom of the jars (I used Loc-Tite indoor safe glue)


Here's where I ran into another problem.  My magnets stuck out too far on the bottom, so when I filled the jars with spices, they promptly fell off the fridge. After a short bout of swearing, stomping my feet and pouting I came up with a quick fix...I stuck a piece of foam tape under the magnet on the bottom side of the jar.


But if I make any more...I am definitely going with magnets that cover the whole bottom of the jar.


Oh, and in case you're wondering, yes, Thor helped.  As he does with ALL of my crafts.


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