I've been getting geeky with the labels for my homemade herbal medicines. I really enjoy designing graphics, even though I'm  most definitely a novice at this stuff. I've always enjoyed it, since I was a kid, and I've hand drawn some beautiful wine labels for some elderberry wine I made for someone's wedding once - I should dig that out to share with you. However, with the rise of apps and programs that make it easy for anyone to do graphic design without a degree in fiddling about with photoshop, which I've never been able to use, making labels online is a lot of fun! I also don't want to get my bottles mixed up - as it is, I have to keep tasting them to see which is hops and which is verbena - they are in separate boxes, but I keep forgetting which box was which. 

I ended up paying for a free trial on Canva, which will go for a month - then I'll just see what happens. If I save and print as many as I anticipate needing, then I won't need to extend the trial. Maybe I should make a few without the names or dates printed on them so I can just type them in on another program at a later date, or maybe I'll just do the free trial again with another email address - I've watched almost a whole year on Stan for free doing that (sssh, don't tell anyone!)

The basic design worked well, and I loved the look, but when I printed it and put it on the bottles, it was kinda hard to make out the writing without glasses - and I don't even really wear glasses! So I changed the font on the 'Breathe' and made the background lighter, so it's much clearer. I also simplified the instructions a little and made them bigger too. 

![image.png](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/riverflows/TEDT59ro-image.png)

I then played around with the balms - I have made a calendula salve, a heel balm and a plantain balm, so they were fun to make as well. Now I have to stick them all on with a glue stick and I didn't bother with sticky labels and figuring out how to print them! Damn those big globs of glue that you have to squish down! I need a better glue solution, as well as something a little more environmentally friendly!

![image.png](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/riverflows/rgaG8op7-image.png)

Then I started to realise I was getting pressed for time and realised that I couldn't stuff around with all the instructions. I figured if I was going to pick up a tincture and use it, I'd know what it was for! And if I was giving it to family, I'd write down what it was for or send them a link to a website. Hence, my plantain tincture label is a little more simple! I almost like this one the best, as I could make the mandalas a little bigger. This way all I really need to do is change the name of it rather than fiddle about with the how to and what's it for. These are really only for personal use, lest I get into trouble, so I didn't really need all the fluff! 

![image.png](https://files.steempeak.com/file/steempeak/riverflows/t4KAvcdu-image.png)

What I'd really like to do is draw the mandela myself, so it's even more personal. Perhaps I'll have time on this road trip. I am currently annoyed that I forgot my hops tincture. Jamie says he brought his... but he is talking about his super hoppy IPA he is currently sipping by the fire under the stars.

# Do you make your own fancy labels for things? Show me in the comments below! 
# What programs do you use for graphic design?