Well the results came in from the BYO label contest, and I didn't win. To be honest I'm not that disappointed because there were some great labels that got in the mag, and I think my own labels are really good. Plus, art is in the eye of the beholder right? The main reason I enter the contest in the first place is a goal to better my skills from one year to the next and I think I've done that. I should probably learn how to use Photoshop or a similar program because that would probably allow me to make some better labels.Which brings me to the subject of this post, my labels.
I've had some emails in the past asking me about my labels, how I make them, and what I use to put them on bottles. For starters, I use a really outdated program called Microsoft Picture It! for my labels. I know for a fact that if I learned how to use Photoshop or a similar program I could make better labels, but I'm really comfortable with my program and have been frustrated when I've attempted to use Photoshop, so for now I'm sticking with my old ass program. I have hand drawn, then scanned, some of my images, like my logo and the El Muerto logo. Other labels are a combination of clipart, fonts, and
other things.
As for the labels on the actual bottles, I use a couple different things and wanted to pass my tips on to those interested in putting some labels on your beer. I used to buy the labels at my local homebrew shop. They come from a company called 4th and Vine. The beauty of buying these is the access to their templates, which have a variety of sizes for bottles. I still use the templates, but have switched to a cheaper method of label paper. I buy the sticker project paper at Office Max or Target. They come in packages of 15 sheets, have a peel away sticky side, and can be used for a variety of bottle sizes. It got costly for me to buy 4th and Vine labels for both 12 and 22 oz bottles. With sticker paper, I can adjust the images to fit even odd bottles, like the pint bottle in the picture above. Another plus is that these labels come off very easily if you recycle your bottles.
I really enjoy this aspect of my brewing, it's another avenue to be creative and it's also fun to give friends a six pack with labels on the bottles.
More to come...
Salud!
Bearded Brewer
2 comments:
BB,
I am one who is a big fan of your labels. I've been trying to label more of my beers but I'm not entirely creative and can't draw. I did recently make a label for a wedding beer I made for a friends wedding and it came out pretty good. I have a picutre so I'll post on my blog.
Happy 4th!!
Cheers,
Jason
If you need any labels give this place a try. They do great work and have done great artwork for me in the past. Free artwork and design which is a good thing.
Stickers-4-less creates custom stickers, vinyl decals, window clings and bumper stickers. We have award winning graphic artitsts on staff and ready to create your custom labels. Free artwork and design.
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