I received quite a few questions on the durability of labels once printed. I must say this wasn't on the forefront of my mind, mostly because I'm one of those ADD decorating types who is prone to switching things around every few months. Truth be told, my pantry will probably have newly designed labels by the end of the year, and so having labels to last a lifetime was not my goal.
That being said, I did want something that wouldn't wrinkle up in the fridge from moisture (which has happened to other labels I've done). I considered going to Staples and asking them to laminate for me when I remembered that I had this small pack of laminating sheets I bought a few years back. I dug them out of my office organizer, and they were the perfect fit! These guys are supposed to laminate business or membership cards (not quite sure why I thought that was something I needed to do at the time of purchase), but really you could laminate anything with them. Anyways, they are from the dollar store, so for $1 you can laminate 8 labels! I only used them in my fridge as they don't look quite as pretty as their naked counterpart, but if durability and everlasting labels are your thing, this just might be the solution for you!
And for those wondering which super powers I use to cut my labels, well, you're in for a disappointment. I do not have special cutting skills. Just me and my dollar store scissors! I'm actually pretty sure anyone could do a better job than I.
Once your "shape" is cut, you just put it in the sleeve of the laminating sheets, pull off the paper and then stick it all together. Make sure to squeeze out the air bubbles and press nice and hard to make a tight seal.
Don't leave it looking like that, though. That's kind of ugly. Whip out those scissors again and start cutting. As you can see, the top and bottom are almost flush with the laminate sheet. I just made sure to leave a small border on the other two sides to make sure it stays laminated and so far, so good. Or you could just use a smaller label. But this works, really!
I used my bff the glue runner to stick the laminated label to my fridge, and ta da! If anyone else tries this (or has tried it) please share - would love to know how it worked out for you!