Custom Product Labels Tutorial

I am officially in the "make it to sell it" business and I found myself in need of some custom product labels.  My degree is in Graphic Design so I decided to make some on my own rather than purchase them.  Got something I liked on my second try!  Pretty simple method, but in case you would like to know:



TUTORIAL:

1. Decide on dimensions - I chose tall and skinny to echo the shape of the Soft Straps I'm selling
2. Decide on colors - I like classic things, so I chose grayscale
3. Decide on info - I knew I wanted the name of the Product (Soft Straps), my name/logo, web address, and washing instructions
4. Design it - I used Adobe Illustrator because it's what I'm most comfortable with, but you could easily use Photoshop or even Microsoft Word if you're careful
5. Pick a Paper - I had a pinstripe linen paper on hand so I went with that (it's not quite cardstock weight, but heavier than regular copy paper)
6. Print - I printed them on my home printer (HP Photosmart C3180 All-in-One) on the highest quality setting
7. Cut - I hand cut mine, but I have a steady hand and an accurate eye; you could also use a paper trimmer or ruler and rotary cutter
8. Trim - I used my rounded-corner-cutter to finish the edges
9. Hole - I used a very small (1/8") hole punch to punch a hole for the ribbon
10. Assemble - I wrapped a ribbon around the Soft Strap sets and tied the label to it with a pretty bow

A little bit labor intensive, but I think they look so nice with the ribbon and label... it's worth it!