How to Create DIY Labels with Cricut Joy for Sourdough Starter Jars
Whether you're a seasoned sourdough enthusiast or just beginning your fermentation journey, organization is key when properly proofing and feeding your starter. Learn how to craft custom jar labels with a Cricut, adding personalized charm and functionality. Quickly distinguish between starters made with various flours or starter and discard stored in the refrigerator.
My sourdough journey started with making bread for my husband, but it quickly turned into a passion. I am now on a quest to find the best and easiest bread recipes, and I love using the unfed discard for quick breads, muffins, pancakes, cookies and so many other delicious baked goods.
When I moved on to create a gluten free sourdough starter for friends and family, I knew it was time to label my jars to clearly set them apart. I did not want to mix them up and cause a problem for anyone with food sensitivities.
Materials:
Cricut Joy
Cricut Smart Label Writable Vinyl
Cricut Joy Pens
Permanent vinyl
Joy cutting mat
Transfer tape
My Cricut Joy and Smart Materials worked perfectly for this project. I chose Cricut Smart Label Writable Vinyl. I had clear, removable labels on hand, so that's what I used. This would allow me to move the labels around when I need to wash may jars or move the starters into smaller or larger ones.
My favorite jars for sourdough are these Weck jars (743). They are a good height and have straight sides, making it easy to keep the insides clean. I remove the rubber gasket and the clips. The lids fit loosely enough to allow the starter to ferment and grow. The discard I usually save in mason jars in the fridge.
Design Space has plenty of labels, so I selected mine from Images. Each image shows which functions work with it, which was very helpful. The first image could be drawn and cut, and the second image could just be cut out. There were others that could be printed.
After uploading the first labels, I typed the text and sized it to fit inside the labels. I grouped and attached the labels and text for drawing and cutting.
I added the cut only image for the flour type labels.
I placed the Smart Label Writable Vinyl into my Joy machine and was prompted to put a pen in the blade holder. The Cricut will always draw designs before cutting.
When I selected my font, I forgot to choose a writing font, so the letters were a bit thicker than I had planned. Luckily, they still printed okay.
Once the drawing was done, the Joy cut around the labels. They turned out well; however, some of the pen ink got on the rotating bar in the Joy, and it transferred to the label material. It didn't mar the actual labels too much, so they were still usable.
Next, I cut out the plain labels and cut letters from some fun multicolored permanent vinyl to stick onto those labels.
These letters were for types of flour, "AP" for all-purpose, "GF" for gluten free and "K" for keto, which I will inevitably try my hand at in the near future. This sourdough thing is a slippery slope, at least for me.
I centered the letters onto the plain labels as best I could since it was hard to see the cut lines.
Now I could stick my new labels on my jars containing sourdough starter and discard. I placed the printed labels on the sides of the jars.
The mason jars don't really have flat surfaces, so I placed the stickers where I thought they would stick the best.
The flour type labels with the colorful vinyl letters I placed on the jar lids.
On a side note, washi tape works great for marking the level of the starter after feeding it, so it's easy to see when it has risen and doubled.
My all purpose sourdough starter is in a bigger jar since I use it more often, and it needs more room for rising. I often feed it with more flour and water to make multiple loaves of bread or to have more discard to use later.
I keep this "AP" discard in a colored mason jar, another way to make sure I don't mix up flour types when making baked goods.
The lid on the large jar is rounded, so I put the "AP" label on the side of the jar instead, where it would stick better.
So, there you have it. Personalized labels for sourdough starter jars made by hand. You can make labels for any items you need to organize to tell them apart and keep things looking tidy. Are any ideas for labeling "fermenting' in your brain right now?
Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up. A. A. Milne
Leslie
Cricut Smart Label Writable Vinyl: Get organized with Smart Label
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