DIY Spice Rack

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DIY Spice Rack with baby food jars

I've been holding onto Some Boy's old glass baby food jars for ages, knowing that one day they would make for a fun craft. And then the other day as I was searching for spice in my cluttered cabinets, it dawned on me: these would make the perfect DIY spice rack! I had an old magnetic Melissa & Doug board and some strong magnets that I bought for another project that all came together nicely for this.

painter paint markers

I was momentarily stumped as to how I would label the spices in my DIY spice rack (I contemplated stickers but thought that would look tacky and eventually start to wear off), and then remembered one of my favorite crafting tools. I always stock up on Painters Paint Markers from Elmer's, and they can be used on glass as well as wood, styrofoam, plastic, metal, fabric…just about anything! I've used acrylic paint with a thin paintbrush for glass projects in the past, but that gets really messy. Painters Paint Markers are a lot more precise and a lot easier to clean up.

DIY Spice Rack

DIY Spice Rack

Baby food jars
Magnetic board
Strong Rare Earth Magnets
Painters Paint Markers

baby food jar craft

Clean out the baby food jars and remove any excess residue (I used a combination of dish soap, Goo Gone and fine sandpaper to do this).

DIY Magnetic Spice Rack

Place a magnet on the inside of each baby food jar lid (you may need to two magnets per lid, depending how strong your magnetic board is and how heavy your baby food jars are). Since the jar lids are made of metal and are already magnetic, you shouldn't need any glue to make the magnets stick. And please be careful to keep these magnets away from your kids…I've heard a couple horror stories about children trying to eat these things.

DIY Painted Spice Rack

Fill each jar with spice, turning the filled jars upside down and placing them next to the empty spice containers. Using the Painters Paint Markers, write the name of each spice on the bottom of each baby food jar. Let dry.

DIY Spice Rack magnetic board

Hang the magnetic board. I spray painted the frame of mine and then simply screwed it into the wall.

DIY Spice Rack

Attach the baby food jars to the board with their magnetic lids.

Tada! Now all your spices will be at your fingertips any time you need them with this fun DIY spice rack.

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24 thoughts on “DIY Spice Rack”

      • I was thinking of suggesting Craigslist but…not so sure about getting used food containers over there, ya know? I’ve encountered some strange ones on that site! Freecycle’s a great suggestion!

      • I was thinking of suggesting Craigslist but…not so sure about getting used food containers over there, ya know? I’ve encountered some strange ones on that site! Freecycle’s a great suggestion!

  1. This is on my craft to do list too!  I have so many baby food jars in my house. 🙂

  2. That is so clever… I’ve had intentions on doing something similar to this for a while now… I guess I will have to just ooo and ahh at yours!!! Great job!!! xoxo- Rachel

  3. I use 1/2 pint mason jars to hold my spices so i don’t need to worry about finding a baby (mine are too old and not ready for grandbabies yet – neither are my kids mind you) and have mine sitting on a step shelf I found at Walmart. I can make my own spice blends or just keep “pure” spices this way. I do like the magnet idea – i just don’t have the wall space to do it.
    Great idea – thanks for posting

  4. A couple of questions…
    1. How do you take the jar off without the spices spilling out?
    2. I have noticed with the jars my granddaughters food comes in that the lids do not seem to actually screw back on after being taken off…is there a particular brand that works best?

    • A good seal on the jar is definitely key to getting the spices off the rack without spilling…the lid needs to stick tightly to the jar as it comes down, not be stuck to the magnetic board. I’ve used Gerber and Earth’s Best, and the Earth’s Best ones definitely close best for me (although mine are a couple years old, so I’m hoping they haven’t changed them). Ball sells 4 oz canning jars that would work really well, though obviously that would add some additional cost to the project.

  5. I love this idea! I, too, have kept baby food jars from my grandson thinking I could use them for spices. Now I have a way to get it set up! Thanks.

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