E&E Creative Spice Solution

January 13, 2007

Spice rack, originally uploaded by Elaine Vigneault.

When our lives merged, Ed and I had an abundance of spices. Yes, we’re hot! No really, we had too many spices. I had a spice rack, he had spices. And then he just kept buying more and more spices. And then Queer Eye gave us a spice rack (and one of ours mysteriously disappeared). So, we devised a solution to the overwhelming spice problem.

We made a custom spice rack.

You know those store bought spice racks that come with spices? Well, the spices are usually old and not so good. Spices should be purchased at a grocery store, not a home decor store.

And you know how most spice racks come pre-labeled? Or if they don’t, the labels provided don’t include the cool spices. Well, you need custom labels for that problem.

Then there’s the problem of where to put them. Spices can take up precious counter space. But they’re pretty and colorful. Why hide them in a drawer or cupboard? We put ours on the fridge.

This isn’t an original idea. Spice racks are sold that do the same thing. But those are sold in quantities of six or eight, not fifty. So that solution ends up being pretty expensive and my cheaper method isn’t much work.

First, we bought tins online.

I can’t remember which store we used, but I made sure to get 2 ounce containers with clear lids. Spices are often sold in 2 ounce bottles or baggies. The clear lids were a must so that we could identify the spice as well as the decorative element. Get screw on lids if you can find them.

Then we printed up labels on clear sticky paper using our ink jet printer.

(Laser printers can get jammed with these types of thicker or plastic “paper”). I just used a simple Microsoft Word label template, but you could use Open Office or anything.

We bought heavy duty craft magnets at the craft store.

Get the strongest magnet you can find. You don’t want the spices falling off the fridge when you slam the door shut. Then we (I) glued the magnets to the back of the tin containers. I used gorilla glue - strong and ugly craft glue. I am betting a glue gun would work, too, but I didn’t want to chance it. I wanted these things to stay put. (Beware, Gorilla Glue stains things yellow).

Finally, we attached the labels and filled the containers with our spices.

Our spices were so impressive that when the press visited our apartment after Queer Eye, the photo they used for the paper was Ed standing by the fridge. You couldn’t see anything else about the apartment - just the spices! And Queer Eye didn’t even do it! Haha!

We love our new spice solution. But we do have a warning: when you open the containers, you need to be gentle and careful or the spices will spill out. It’s a good idea to tap the container before opening it so that the spices settle to the bottom instead of the side of the container (since they’re on their side while on the refrigerator). It’s also a good idea to keep these magnetic spices in a cool, dry place. For example, if you stick them on or above your oven, the heat will destroy some of the spices.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Home & Design, Tutorials

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Comments

3 Responses to “E&E Creative Spice Solution”

loyo on January 14th, 2007 4:09 pm
If by chance you recall where you got these online, can you post it? Went Googling, and found plenty clear lid/slide on top, and screw top/opaque metal lid.
The clear lid/screw top is hiding out there somewhere. Thanks…..great idea.
Elaine on January 14th, 2007 4:22 pm
Actually, we used the pop off type. I just suggested screw off because they’d work better. Sorry I couldn’t be of more help. Take care :)
Stacey on February 19th, 2008 4:42 pm
I’ve done this using aluminum watchmaker cases (53mm in diameter) available online at www.leevalley.com

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