Spice it up

Inspired by this post on The Kitchn, I decided to make my own fancy magnetic spice storage system. But I didn't go buy jars - thankfully, I work with a preschool director who kindly gave me the hookup for about 30 baby food jars. That seemed like a lot, until I actually pulled out all of the tiny bags of spices stashed in my stove-side cabinet. I had to ask her for 15 more!

This project is relatively simple. I used:
Small baby food jars with lids*
Ceramic magnets (I got a package from HobLob with 40% coupon for $5).
Gorilla Glue or another strong glue

For the labels, I used:
ModPodge
A foam brush
An inkjet printer
Label paper

but you can use labels according to your taste (and budget!)

Glue the magnets to the outside of the lids and let sit until dry.

I started with five tiny baby food jars to see if the magnets would be enough to defy gravity. One per lid worked fine. But when I started collecting free ones, the tiny jars were at a premium, so I had to settle for the small ones (about 4 oz.). These required two magnets (or stronger magnets, but I had already bought these).

Attach labels to the bottoms of the jars.

I like seeing what's in my spice jars, so I didn't want a large round label. But I definitely wanted the herb names on there, and I'm in love with herbal illustrations and botanical prints. So I printed some portions of plant illustrations along with the names of the spices onto label paper (an 8.5x11 HUGE LABEL). I cut out each name and picture and stuck it on the bottom of each jar. I added two coats of ModPodge over this to keep them from peeling off. A few notes:

1. I used the label paper because it was there and I hate ModPodging tiny pieces of paper that slide everywhere.
2. I have used this label paper for years in various ways, and have become an expert at peeling off the sticky label part from the paper back with my fingernails.
3. If not for #2, I would have preferred the sliding pieces of paper. Choose wisely.

Fill jars with spices and attach to your refrigerator, or a custom-cut brushed stainless steel backsplash (Hey, I can dream, right?)

I really enjoyed this one and love my new jars. If you prefer to shake your spices, this may not be the project for you, but I always pop off the plastic rings and dump the herbs into my hands to measure, so it's great for me. And it freed up three shelves of cabinet space (small shelves, but still!)