Pantry organization isn’t complete without pretty pantry labels! You can create these DIY labels using your Cricut and vinyl. Customize the size, font, and color to fit any container in your kitchen!
Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all? Pretty pantry labels, of course!
Ahh, how I love a good label. They add instant polish to any space and are especially functional in the kitchen where you have so many different food items to organize.
I’ve been organizing our kitchen one cabinet/drawer at a time and recently used these pretty pantry labels in both our snack cabinet and our baking cabinet.
I’ve gotten tons of questions about how I create these DIY vinyl labels using my Cricut Maker, so I wrote out the full step-by-step label-making process here for all my Cricut friends out there! I use the same DIY labels throughout our home and it’s definitely my favorite way to use my Cricut cutting machine!
Now before we dive in, I do want to mention that you’ll want to think a bit about what your labels say before you start cutting any vinyl. Labels can be very specific or pretty general, it just depends on what you’re labeling!
For example, we always have the same basic baking ingredients on hand, so it makes sense to get specific with those labels (flour, sugar, chocolate chips). But in our snack cabinet, I stuck to broader categories for the labels since we aren’t committed to certain snacks (cookies instead of Oreos, generic treats labels, generic cereal labels).
More DIY label ideas for organizing bins and containers:
- 12 Ways To Label Clear Storage Bins
- DIY Labels Made With Vinyl And The Cricut Maker
- DIY Labels Using Wooden Gift Tags
- How To Laminate Labels
More kitchen organization inspiration:
- Organizing Baking Supplies
- How To Organize Your Small Pantry
- Organize Your Fridge From Top To Bottom
- Creating An Evening Kitchen Shutdown Routine (So Your Kitchen Is Always Clean!)
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DIY Vinyl Pantry Labels
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DIY LABEL SUPPLY LIST
- Cricut Vinyl (I used white)
- Transfer Tape
- Weeding Tool
- Scraper And Spatula Tool Set
- Scissors Or Paper Trimmer
- Measuring Tape
- Level (optional)
- Cricut Explore or Cricut Maker
- Fine-Point Blade
- StandardGrip Cutting Mat (green)
- Cricut Design Space software (download my cut file here)
- Clear Canisters With Lids
- Clear Bins With Handles
If you prefer to watch this labeling process in action, here’s a quick video tutorial of the DIY vinyl labels I made for our kids’ clothing totes. The same process that I used on our pantry labels!
Step 1 – Determine The Size Of Your Labels
Decide where you’ll place the labels on your pantry containers and use a tape measure or rule to determine what size label will look best. Since my labels are usually wider than they are tall, I pay attention to the width of the container and make sure my labels aren’t any wider than that
STEP 2 – DESIGN YOUR LABELS IN CRICUT DESIGN SPACE
Design your labels in Cricut Design Space. You can use any font you like, I typically stick with Cricut Sans for a modern, easy-to-read label. You can download my pantry label design file here.
I usually start with the longest word and size it so it’s no wider than my container. Then you can copy that first label as many times as you need, typing in your new label wording as you go.
Important: If you use a cursive or script font where the letters overlap at all, weld the letters together before cutting. This means your Cricut will cut them all out as one shape, keeping the letters connected, instead of trying to cut the outline of each letter individually.
STEP 3 – CUT Your Labels
Click “Make It”. Your Cricut will automatically rearrange the labels to maximize your materials.
Follow the on-screen prompts that will guide you through cutting your project. Make sure to select the correct material, I used Cricut Premium Vinyl. You will be prompted to load the Premium Fine-Point Blade into your Cricut.
Adhere your vinyl sheet onto a green Standard Grip cutting mat and load it into your Cricut, following the on-screen prompts.
The on-screen instructions will guide you through cutting out your project.
Related: The Complete Guide To Cricut Blades For Beginners
Step 3 – Weed The Vinyl Labels
Remove the cutting mat from your machine. Using scissors, carefully cut a rectangle around each label so they are all cut apart.
Then use the hook tool to weed away the negative space, leaving the lettering on the backing material and weeding away the excess. If your labels are small, you’ll want to go slowly and pay careful attention to the tiny dots on any “i’s”. I like to hold the tiny pieces down with the tip of the hook tool and pull away the vinyl around them using my fingers.
Repeat this with each label until you’re left with all of the labels on their backing pieces and all the excess vinyl weeded away.
Step 4 – Apply Transfer Tape
Cut out pieces of transfer tape that match the sizes of your labels. The clear transfer tape will help you transfer the small vinyl letters onto your containers in one batch rather than trying to manually move one letter at a time and get them all lined up. Transfer tape is your friend!
Peel the transfer tape off of its backing and press the transfer tape down on top of your vinyl label. Use your scraper tool to firmly press the transfer tape down onto your vinyl letters.
Repeat this for all of your labels.
Step 5 – Apply The Labels To Your Pantry Containers
Carefully pull up the transfer tape on your label starting in one corner and making sure all of the letters pull up with the tape and don’t get left on the backing sheet.
If any get left behind, gently push the transfer tape back down and run your scraper tool in every direction a few times to make sure all of the letters adhere to the transfer tape.
Now you can stick your label on the container! I often like to lightly stick the label onto the container and eyeball it’s placement. Then I use a level to check that it’s level before pressing it down firmly.
For these pantry containers, I ended up cutting a scrap piece of paper to serve as a guide so my label placement would be consistent on every lid and container. I used washi tape to hold the guide in place while applying the labels.
Use the scraper tool to firmly press the label onto your pantry container. Run the scraper tool across the label a few times in every direction.
Then lift up a corner of the transfer tape and slowly peel it off of the container. The vinyl lettering of your label should remain in place on your container. If any of the letters start to lift up, push the transfer tape back down and scrape across it a few more times to make sure the letterings stays in place. Discard your used transfer tape and backing pieces.
Now you’re left with beautiful, custom labels for all of your pantry bins and containers!!
I hope you love these pretty pantry labels as much as I do! They instantly elevate the look of your pantry and designate bins and containers for every food in your pantry or baking cabinet.
More kitchen organization ideas:
- Organizing Baking Supplies
- How To Organize Your Small Pantry
- Organize Your Fridge From Top To Bottom
- Creating An Evening Kitchen Shutdown Routine (So Your Kitchen Is Always Clean!)
Check out these Cricut Basics blog posts:
- What Is The Cricut EasyPress 2 And Do You Need One?
- What materials does the Cricut Maker cut?
- The Complete Guide To Cricut Blades For Beginners
Have a fantastic day!
