When we ran across this recipe for Peppermint Hot Fudge Sauce on Kitchn this week, we got the urge to whip up a batch of our own, create an adorable label and hand them out as party favors and presents to our family and friends this season. Check out the recipe! Sounds delicious…

Rhoda’s Peppermint Hot Fudge Sauce
Yields 4 cups

2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 t. Kosher salt
2 c. heavy cream
1 c. unsalted butter, cut into pieces
2 t. peppermint extract (substitute vanilla, if you don’t want the mint flavor)

Directions: In a double boiler over medium heat stir in cocoa, sugars and salt. Add the cream and butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the butter is melted and the sauce comes together and is smooth and glossy. Bring to a boil for 1 minute. Then, remove the bowl from the heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the peppermint extract. Store in the fridge and re-heat when ready to use.

Storage notes: This sauce is great to packages in glass jars for gifts. When pouring the sauce from the bowl into the jar it is helpful to use a kitchen funnel if you have one available. This sauce will stay in the fridge for up to two weeks or more.

Serving ideas: In addition to ice-cream, this sauce is excellent drizzled over slices of pound cake, cheesecake or a meringue. The version made with vanilla extract is also delicious served with poached fruit.

Ok, so we know that Halloween only happened yesterday, but its already time to start thinking about the next big holidays and planning ahead. We’ve been seeing holiday parties and ideas all over the place already, so we’re jumping on the bandwagon and saying, better start preparing and ordering your custom wine labels for the holiday season, today! It’s a busy season, so planning ahead is always a good idea.

Custom labeled bottles of wine can be great as hostess gifts during the onslaught of holiday cocktail parties, or work as a beautiful and personal touch and addition to any table at holiday dinner parties. Giving custom wine as a gift to friends and family is a nice touch (especially if you make your own!), and so is simply spicing up the looks of your drink table or bar at your annual Christmas party. There are so many options and reasons to get custom wine labels during the holidays, so check out some of our favorite holiday labels and get to ordering yours. We can’t wait to see what you come up with this season!

Sprinkled Cupcake Push-Up - Cupcake Project, Blue Candy Push-Ups – Kara’s Party Ideas, Crab Party Cupcake Push-Up – Birthday Girl Blog, Pink Frosted Cupcake Push-Up – Love from the Oven, Chocolate Push-Ups – The Decorated Cookie Blog

And check out these completely charming holiday and event ideas…we love the graduation push-ups!

Graduation Push-Ups – Kara’s Party Ideas,  4th of July Push-Ups – Love from the Oven, Halloween Push-Up – Erin Lincoln Blog

Are you going to try your hand at the latest in party treat trends?

We’ve come across a lot of party and favor packaging shops with unique options on Etsy recently, and they are stocked full of charming picks that would look great with your very own custom label. Whether you are an expert pie baker and need boxes to package your goods for holiday gifts for friends, or a cupcake queen that needs a pretty way to carry your little cakes to friends and family on their birthdays – there are a ton of lovely options out there.

Check out our picks from some of our favorite Etsy sellers…

FromSoul has a lot of simple choices for packaging that can be jazzed up with colorful twine, pretty tags and even doilies, lace or ribbon. Each box is sweet and stylish – we especially love the macaroon boxes!

All images via FromSoul

For all of you cupcake fiends out there, Hey Yo Yo has cute little boxes with “windows” to safely and adorably transport your little cakes.

Images via Hey Yo Yo

Last but not least, and this store is one of our favorites, we have Petit Moulin. We adore their vintage-inspired choices and minimalist (but charming!) options. The little cherries are our number one pick!

But wait, there’s more…

Images via Petit Moulin

Feeling inspired to start creating your own pretty and creative packaging? We are!

We recently developed a major crush on JP Creatibles, an incredible custom cookie studio located in Ashburn, Virginia, where each cookie is hand-decorated by owner and designer Jen Fisher. Every order than Jen creates is one-of-a-kind because each order is completely custom designed and made-to-order. We are so impressed with her work – the cookies we have seen are like tiny little works of art – so detailed and beautiful, we can hardly believe that they are edible!

We love the tiny ladybug cookies – how precious are they?! Jen’s cookie creations would be the perfect addition to any themed party that you may be planning for the future, or think about her cute monogrammed-style cookies for a wedding favor or treat.

Aren’t her creations amazing? We are constantly ooh-ing and ahh-ing over what she comes up with. Very impressive!

The Cakes by Cindy label is one of our all time favorites. How adorable would it look on a cake box filled with homemade baked goods? The granola label is a close second – we would love to see pictures of these labels in action!

For more label inspirations for homemade projects and goodies, check out our Pinterest account – full of beautiful inspiration!

We’ve been making labels for awhile now, but just recently, within the last few months, we’ve added a new category to our label options – custom labels for homemade food, treats, gifts and goodies. They come in a variety of sizes – so you can have one to put on a tiny jar of jam or on a big bag of waffle mix – whatever your heart desires.

Homemade gifts are a great way to save some money and spend time making something for someone special – its thoughtful and if you have a special talent for jam, pie, cookies, sauces, etc, your friends and family will definitely appreciate having your special creations on the shelves in their kitchens.

Ideas for Custom Homemade Food and Gift Labels - Jam Wedding Favors: My Eco Wedding, Mini Pies: Tip Junkie, Olive Oil: Bride Finds, Homemade Granola: My Own Labels, Candy Boxes: Craft Gossip, Blackberry Jam: Alison Iven, S'mores Kit: Once Wed

The options are endless- check out some of our new favorite designs…if you can make it or bake it, we can label it!

Custom Homemade Food and Gift Labels from Bottle Your Brand

When we stumbled on this collection of wines from Swanson Vineyards, we instantly fell in love with their label design and packaging. This vineyard has been making wines for the past 25 years, and recently started producing special bottles just made for those extra special occasions in life – from bar mitzvahs and weddings to birth announcements and engagement parties. You could serve guests with these charming little bottles, or give a few as gifts.

We especially love the black label and simplicity of their design and font.

These labels are proof that it doesn’t always have to be fancy to catch your eye and make you want to get a bottle of your very own!

Easter is quickly approaching – have you thought about what you’re going to do to celebrate this year? We’ve been busy looking for Easter inspiration this week – party, favor, invitation and decoration ideas, and then we found these Bunny Brownies over at the No Fuss Fabulous blog.

These would make a fabulous personalized gift or party favor for your Easter celebration this year, and they’re so adorable, we’re pretty sure you’re guests would love them – and the thought and work you put into making them. Check out the recipe below, find a cute jar to hold all the ingredients, and then all you have to do is get some custom labels (we know a little bit about that, just sayin’) – change the name, add your name, whatever you can think of to make it personal and custom. Happy Easter!

BUNNY BROWNIES:

Ingredients and Directions:
1. Reduce 1 sleeve graham crackers to crumbs.
2. Layer 2/3 of the crumbs in a 1 qt jar.
3. Place 8 marshmallow bunny peeps standing up, facing out around the inside of the jar.
4. Press them up against the glass, but don’t squash them.
5. Carefully spoon remaining crumbs in the center of the jar to support the bunnies, pressing down to keep it snug.
6. On top of this pour 1-1/4 cup Easter M&M’s.
7. Spoon 1/3 cup brown sugar into center of M&M’s, gently pressing with a spoon.

Happy Superbowl weekend! People everywhere are gearing up for Sunday’s big showdown between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers, and we’ve been seeing labels for both teams rolling through our offices this past week. If you are hosting a party for the biggest football game of the year, custom labels representing your team loyalty and pride are a great way to make the event more festive and fun. Check out some of the designs we’ve seen from fans this week…

And don’t worry Steelers fans, we haven’t forgotten you…

Clever and funny, no? Who are you rooting for this Sunday? Have a safe and happy weekend!

One of our customers, Andee, recently ordered a home brewery kit for her husband as a Christmas gift, and bought these labels for his first batch of beer. Her husband loved the labels so much that he just ordered more labels today – for the packages of meat that he smokes. Those are labeled “Big Sexy BBQ”. Great ideas and labels you guys – can’t wait to see what else you come up with in the future!

We love it when we stumble across another great wine-related product. A bottle of wine can be an excellent gift for any occasion – and these gift tags from Popptags are the perfect finishing touch. Witty and charming, with a stylish design, its a great addition to giving a personalized bottle of wine as a gift.

Each tag is done on in letterpress on recycled paper, and comes with a classy ribbon that you simply slip over the neck of the wine bottle. Don’t forget to sign the back, and you have the perfect packaging for a personalized bottle of wine.

These cute tags are sure to add an extra pop to your gift of wine to make it a hit! Which one is your favorite?

A new year means new trends in just about everything – including label design. Predicted to be big in labels this year? Retro and vintage designs for your wine, beer and water bottle labels. We’ve seen a lot of great ideas out there recently, take a look and start getting inspired about how you want your next label to look!

Retro fruit labels, with their bright colors and clear, bold designs make great labels for beer bottles.

Put a more delicate, antique-inspired label like one of these art nouveau styled ideas, on a wine bottle label, or favor boxes and bags at a bridal or baby shower. And, if you’re planning a retro or vintage-inspired wedding celebration, these label ideas are sure to complete the look of your wedding to perfection.

Finally, we stumbled across this utterly adorable idea over on one of our favorite blogs for ideas and inspiration, Eat Drink Chic. Perfect for a bridal or baby shower, or even a child’s birthday party, these brightly colored soda bottles and retro-styled labels are a throwback to the days of soda fountains, root beer floats, jukeboxes and milkshakes. Check out Jones Soda Co. for their colorful soda’s and then try designing your own label, based on this great retro idea, on our site. Cheers!

We have been working like crazy little elves in Santa’s workshop over the past few weeks here at Bottle Your Brand. Finally, we’ve finished all of your custom labels for the holiday season, and we are taking the next few days off to rest and reboot. We wish you all a very happy holiday with your loved ones, and can’t wait to see the label ideas you have for us in the New Year! Plus, stay tuned for a whole new kind of blog post and lots of exciting new designs and ideas from us, coming up in the next few weeks. Happy Holidays!!

Tristen’s boss had a birthday coming up, and they were still in need of a logo for their brand-new business (GorillaJedi) so Tristen thought she’d hit two birds with one stone.  She designed custom beer labels with a snazzy logo on them, and created a party box for her boss’ birthday with the surprise logo inside.

[singlepic id=306 w=240 h=240 float=center]She labeled two cases  of beer with the custom beer labels, then used chalkboard spray paint to turn the beer carriers into a canvas!  She used chalk and pictures to make the carriers completely thoughtful and custom.

[singlepic id=309 w=240 h=240 float=center]Then, knowing that no party is complete without a hangover cure, she labeled some bottles of water as well with a GorillaJedi hangover cure label.  Then, she placed the custom beer and water on a box and gave it to her boss.

Voila!  It was a GorillaJedi party in a box!  Thanks so much for sharing these photos and ideas with us Tristen, what a fun birthday gift!

• Clean, empty bottles are almost always appreciated.
• People who brew their own beer and wine are never at a loss for a good time.
• You can make homebrew from darn near almost anything.

For example, some friends recently gave one of our employees some homemade dandelion wine.  Who knew you could make a fantastic beverage from what most people would consider weeds?!

If you have friends who routinely blow your mind with the brews that come out of their garage, give them a custom gift that shows how well you know them and how much you support their awesome hobby: custom beer or wine labels.

The neat thing about our custom beer and wine labels is that they’re re-usable.  They’re self-adhesive, and waterproof, and the adhesive in the back is formulated in such a way that you can easily remove the labels and re-apply them when necessary.

This means that if you order a batch of labels, your friends can label their brews, get the bottles back, remove the labels, sanitize the bottles, and then re-use both the bottles and the labels!

Homebrewers tend to be immensely proud of their brews, so show your support and love with a custom, one-of-a-kind perfect gift.  Who knows, you might even get yourself some bottles of brew in thanks!

Are you looking for a fun way to use your favorite photos this holiday season?  Turn them into custom wine labels!

You can use personalized wine labels to show off your newest engagement, wedding, or family photos and the best part is that it’s really easy.  All you have to do is order the labels online, and then email your photo to us.  We’ll take care of the rest.

We have a few wine label designs that are built to display photos.  The newest design (shown above), “Scroll Frame“, is fiercely stylish with muted colors and decadent scrollwork in the lower left corner.  You can customize the text to say whatever you want!

We also have another label design called “Portrait” that has space to display a photo.  The styling on this one is classy and subtle, with a black ribbon and monogram accent.  The colors on this one can be changed to match the holiday season, all you have to do is let us know which colors you’d prefer in the “Special Instructions” field of the order form.

If you have your own design in mind, definitely contact us with your ideas!  We love helping people design custom labels and will be happy to talk through the design process with you.  You can either give us a call or email us at Artwork@BottleYourBrand.com

No matter what design you choose, your friends and family will love your thoughtful gift and you’ll have a completely custom keepsake you can enjoy for years!

[singlepic id=141 w=320 h=240 float=center]If you want to go the extra mile, however, or do something thoughtful that’s completely unexpected, we have a housewarming gift idea that will definitely get noticed without requiring a mortgage of its own.  You can snap a photo of the new house and use it to create a personalized, unforgettable keepsake for the new homeowners.

You can customize the label with the homeowner’s names and new address, and then add the photo of their new house.  Put these labels on a bottle of wine (our custom wine labels), a pack of beer (with personalized beer labels), or some “Moving Day Water” (with custom water bottle labels) and you’ve got an affordable, one-of-a-kind gift.  We’re happy to help you customize our label designs, so if you have any questions about color or text changes just let us know!